A Hole in the...Leg?

Well, the X-rays and MRI I had recently showed that I have ankle tendonitis. Take Aleve, stay off it as much as possible, ice the area, and so on and so on. That I get; that I can handle.

What intrigues me are what else was found via the medical procedures. It seems I have holes at the base of each leg bone, the tibia and the fibula, right where they come into the ankle joint.

After eliminating the dangerous possibilities which the condition may have suggested (and there is nothing dangerous, I am assured) the orthopedic specialist called them 'benign deformities' and nothing more. We would likely have never even known they were there without having had the X-rays and MRI.

So I have a hole in my leg. Beats a hole in the by a fair margin I suppose.

The Very Serious Doctor

My doctor is a good doctor. He is also a very serious doctor in fact. That's fine, of course, and laudable. Yet it sets him up where he can't seem to take jokes.

As a result of the MRI I had done this past Monday to analyze the ankle pain I've been having, he called to tell me that the results indicated acute tendonitis. That's not so bad. His instructions were to stay off my feet as much as possible for a couple weeks, and to take Aleve, as it is the best over the counter medication for my condition. He advised me, "Take it twice daily, with food."

"Oh, okay. You mean with potato chips or chocolate cake, then?" I was asked, clearly believing the joke was obvious.

"What? Oh, no, no, no," he responded after a reflective pause. "Take it with your breakfast, with something like oatmeal or cereal, then again with your dinner. Eat something substantial with each tablet." He was completely serious. I could see it over the phone.

I agreed to follow his advice. Maybe I should take it more seriously anyway.

Impressions on an MRI

Yesterday morning, as I related to one and all, I had an MRI of my foot done. Although I have had an MRI before, it was of my head. It showed nothing.

There: I beat every one of you to the punchline.

The main difference with a foot exam is that I wasn't put all the way into the machine. That actually felt more odd than when I was slipped into the unit head first back in 2016. I was surrounded by the thing then. With my foot, I was aimed in backwards, so to speak, so that the top half of me was outside. It gave me the vague feeling of being swallowed up. Then too, the ceiling above where I lay had a tranquil landscape for me to gaze upon. Unfortunately it caused me to feel like I was experiencing Edward G. Robinson's dying scene from Soylent Green. I have felt more mentally comfortable.

On top of that, the television in the men's change room (I had to put on a hospital gown for the procedure) had a readout in the upper corner which claimed that it was Saturday, August 18, at 8:17 AM. That too made me less than confident in the proceedings.

Physically, I felt as though I were swaying mildly all through the MRI. The tech said that might have been a side affect of the procedure, as the MRI was set at one and a half times the pull of the Earth's gravity. That, she said, can throw off the patient's equilibrium. 

Perhaps. But it made it that much harder to keep my damn foot immobile for the 40 minutes or so the exam took. 

Ah well. She told me, the tech, that is, that they got a good solid look at the ankle. So come on now, Doc, let me know what ails me.

Begin the Week, End the Month

A few weeks ago I related that I'm having ankle pain, sometimes severe enough that I can barely walk, above my left foot. At the time I went in to have X-Rays taken.

They were inconclusive. Just my luck. So by the time you're reading this I hope to have had an MRI finished. My appointment was at 6 AM this morning at Harper Hospital in Detroit. It was the first appointment of the day and honestly, I leapt at it. Maybe I'm fooling myself with some psychological game playing, but I feel like I'm gaining a day on the results, being so early on and first in line. I especially like that last part. We all know how delays pile onto one another as time goes on.

What a way to begin a week. Or end a month I suppose, as it is January 31st. I truly hope that the MRI will find an easily handled issue. Perhaps the answer will only be to keep my foot out of my mouth after all.

My first MRI: on a holiday Sunday night no less!

Now that I've experience my first MRI, I can understand why me Pops didn't care for them. You are in a tightly enclosed space.

I knew going in that I would be told I couldn't move my head. So I wasn't surprised that there was a mold which I laid my head into which would help keep it still. I was even okay when the technician placed a folded towel around my head as well. I did not however expect the Hannibal Lechter face mask which was fit into place on top of the mold. "Hello Clarice," I joked to the attendant, who by one of those strange coincidences in life was actually named Clarice.

Okay, that wasn't true. Not that I joked, but that her name was Clarice.

I never actually became claustrophobic, although I did follow not-Clarice's advice and keep my eyes closed during the exam. There was a lot of popping and whirring and odd mechanical sounds, as those of you who have enjoyed an MRI will know. It actually reminded me of a scene I wrote into my first book some thirty years ago. If you've read A Subtle Armageddon, you'll get what I mean. If you haven't, help me out and buy the book would you please?

Be that as it may, I got through the exam all right. I see my doctor tomorrow for the results, and then an ear, nose, and throat specialist (otorhinolaryngolist; say that three times fast, I dare you) next Tuesday. And all joking aside, I find myself at times worried about where all this will lead. I've been dealing with vertigo for several weeks now, and not knowing why becomes rather scary if I dwell on it. Here's hoping tomorrow brings good news.