When I came home yesterday, and told Mr. Muse I took a “Tesla 3” for a test drive, I received a look of incredulous shock. Then I got a look of “Heyyyy…. why didn’t you invite me?” Then I got a look of “Ohhh. Not a Tesla 3, but a 3 Tesla. Totally different.” (He works as an Electrical Engineer for a Design/Build firm specializing in medical facilities… he knows medical equipment.)
Indeed.
For those who have been playing along at home, I started to complain of heart issues when I was fourteen years old. I was diagnosed 10 years later with AV Node Reentry, a variety of arrhythmia I had a cardiac ablation which fixed the issue and I was good for a few years. Then, I got hit again with a new issue, Ventricular Tachycardia, another arrhythmia Having two separate, yet similar, arrhythmias isn’t common at all. My cardiologist, Dr. Awesome, would really like to “fix” me, but we’re waiting for technology to get to the stage that they can actually fix everything that needs fixing. I went through a second cardiac ablation but they couldn’t take care of everything when they were in there. So, I went through my second Cardiac MRI yesterday in a 3 Tesla MRI scanner. More power!!
Last time I spent some “tube time”, it was in a 1.5 Tesla MRI and I didn’t have to take out my titanium studs, etc. This time even the titanium had to come out along with the wedding rings, the glasses and then… I had to wait for them to make sure I could go in with the IUD I have in place. Yeah, TMI, but if you have one and have to go into an MRI, you’ll be happy to know that the Paraguard is safe for both the 1.5 and 3 Tesla MRI scanners. Your IUD won’t come ripping out through your soft tissues… which I suggested might be the Radiologist’s concern to the Radiology Technician… which caused her to pause as I laughed about it. She said that that probably wouldn’t happen, to which I replied, “But if it did…. THINK of the story I could tell people!”
Going through the MRI isn’t too bad. It’s tiny. If you’re claustrophobic you’re probably REALLY going to hate it and I bet you’ll be sedated. You get to wear HUGE head phones and they play whatever music you want to listen to. There is a blue light. The contrast dye is cold and it tastes weird… and you can feel it as it moves through your body. It might make you feel like you peed your pants. It’s breezy and chilly in the tube, so ask for a blanket. There isn’t much in the way of padding – you will probably get sore. If you have to do breath holds like I did – there will be a lot of them. All in all, between napping in the prep area while they made sure I wouldn’t have my IUD come ripping out and then an hour in the tube, my afternoon was spent doing a lot of waiting. And driving, but mostly waiting.
I had some great Radiology Techs yesterday who humored me with by taking some photos on my cell. Thanks Univerity of Wisconsin Hospital – Radiology!!!
Musings of the Amusing Muse 
Ooof — AV node reentry is rough. (I was about to write “not for the faint of heart,” but figured this isn’t really an occasion for busting out puns.) I have a cardiac arrythmia too (vaso-vagal syncope), and it’s no fun. I hope Dr. Awesome is able to fix you up beautifully!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed! One day it’ll happen, till then I take my medication and get shoved into the MRI all in the name of science. 😉
And, puns are ALWAYS allowed! I have a bit of a twisted sense of humor.
Well! All of the things that are top-of-mind to say are extremely mundane and are likely to be on balloons found in hospital gift shops, so I’ll skip those & say, I really have no grasp for what the different arrhythmia’s mean for you (or the implications of their double threat action), but it doesn’t sound good and I really do hope this Tesla 3 knocks the socks off of Dr. Awesome with new invaluable insight & he can give you your rhythm back. 🙂
You know, the pics you posted earlier made me laugh – you looked like Vanna White is a REALLY bad designer gown as you were introducing the machine. If I had any prize money, I’d buy a vowel – May I have an “O” please?!!!!.
HA! NOW I have the theme song to Wheel of Fortune in my head!
I do hope your get a treatment soon, waiting is never the favored option. But I have to applaude you so much for your honesty, positive outlook, and openness. So many people get put down by an issue for whatever reason, and not enough people talk honestly about what they do have. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle or facing some kind of life imperfection and it is great to have such a positive and real post. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for writing!
Actually, in the grand scheme of things, I’m not too bad off. It is what it is, you know?
I have to say that thumbing my nose at Mr. Reaper has made me MUCH more adventurous!! Seize the day and all that jazz!
For a brief moment , I had a vision of you all dressed up in protective gear playing happily with lightning bolts ! Then I began to worry that if somehow the fun experiment went terribly wrong and you harnessed all the power from those lightning bolts , you might become …. a SUPER VILLAIN or (preferably in my opinion ) a Super Enlightening Amusing Muse Hero ! Then I read farther and was sad that you have to go through that other not so fun Tesla experience ! But happy you have a sense of humor about such a thing ! You are awesome and inspiring ! Very much wish you good health and happiness!!!!!
LOL I’d TOTALLY be a Super Villian!!
And no worries about the Ticker Issues. Hasn’t killed me yet! And Science is an awesome thing – they make advances all the time in the field of Electrophysiology – just waiting for them to advance to the point of me being fixed… again.
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That IV photo makes me a little sick. Love the one of you showing off the machine though. I’m sorry this is part of your story, but I love your attitude.
lol Stephanie – I can’t ever watch the needle GO IN – but once the initial poke as been made, none of that bugs me. As for my story – there are worse ones out there 😉 I’m in a good place and too stubborn to let it get me down. I have a great doctor, live near, and get treated at, one of the best hospitals in the nation for what ails me and… life is pretty great.
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