Day 100: MRI Fune

I went in for my MRI today.  It was cold and I was prepared with a long sleeve shirt and flannel pj's. 

I have had an MRI on my foot, recently on my upper thigh, and now my brain. 

I laid back and immediately they gave me headphones with a selection of music and warm blankets.  I didn't have to remove my pants and change for the exam.

Half way through the exam they gave me an injection which was used to highlight what was going on in my brain.

Since I have been having headaches with weather changes I wanted to rule out if there was anything else.  Actually just getting the exam was a stress relief in itself.

Preventive care is so important.  If there is one thing that stressed me out about getting an HIV test, say 8 years ago, it was the fear of getting it.  Then I decided to get checked every 4 months just in case.  I realize is a 6 month window period, although now it's decreased to 2 months with the oral test and 1 week for the blood.  I began to understand that waiting a year, even if I wasn't at risk was still stressful.

Perhaps not realizing that a simple kiss could not give me HIV could have prevented a lot of that stress, but still the idea of knowing for sure at the moment was helpful.

People - if you haven't done so in a while get tested.  Get tested not just for HIV, but for your body chemistry, lyme disease, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, your physical . . . if you know where you are it's easier to make changes for the better and when the time comes that repair is needed, you will be better equipped to manage the stress.