I finally got to my room around 6am. I get in my gown, and thankfully, the nurse brings me jammie pants. I love jammie pants. I nap for a little while. Around 9AM, they take me to get my MRI. The trip in the wheelchair was a long one! I was on the 7th floor and the MRI was way down in the basement. Way, way down in the basement. In fact, when the guy tells me we are almost there, we come to the end of the hallway and have to go either left or right. Right is "MRI". Left is "Morgue and Body Receiving". I remember my eyes closing and thinking, "Please go right, please go right, please go....oh, thank God."
The MRI wasn't terrible....as long as you don't mind loud noises and feeling like you are in a little tube. But, they gave me ear plugs and a blankie. I just kept my eyes closed. When I was finished, I was waiting in the hallway for transport to come. I could tell the techs were looking at something. I heard them say things like, "Wow", "Now that's a really clear picture" and "Oh, look at that." So I deflated a little bit.
I clearly remember sitting in the hall, thinking to myself that "This is it. There is something wrong and those people know what it is. You can lose an arm or a leg, but it's really hard to replace your brain. Is this really happening?".
It was about 9:50 when I get back to my room. I order a scrumptious breakfast of oatmeal, brown sugar and raisins (seriously, it really was the tastiest thing they brought me!).
For the next 2 hours I sit in my bed. I'm a fall risk, you know. Can't get up to do anything on my own. I also start to realize that there really is no hiding from whatever is messing with my brain. Escape is out of the question, I can't walk a straight line and the whole world is spinning. I would just break something.
11:30am....I meet my doctor. He brings some residents with him. They have me do some exercises, like following his finger and trying to touch it with mine. Fail - I miss it everytime with my right hand. He makes me follow a pen with my eyeballs (Hello, OVI test). If you pulled me over, I would fail miserably. No smooth pursuit, wacky nystagmus. Then they ask me to walk down the hall. It was hilarious. As I got out of bed, I knocked a bunch of stuff over and couldn't stand up. I had 3 residents following me with their hands out to catch me. They didn't make me walk too long.
Then we get me back in bed. I remember where everyone was and how Dr. Kanter said it, "So, what we have here is an inflamed Cerebellum. It's what we see in MS."
Oh.
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