MRI - 2/22/10

Hi everyone . . . thanks for the well wishes. I had my MRI this morning, promptly at 10:15am. I asked to view the images as I came out but was told they were too busy with other patients at the moment to stop everything.

However . . . the MRI tech did a double-take with me -- ("Hey, you're the guy with the symphony who composes, right?") -- but she still wouldn't let me peek at my scan.

However . . . I was able to go straight to the film room and get my personal CD with the images. I drove home quickly and fired up my computer.

However . . . guess what? I suddenly found myself on the wrong side of the Mac/PC debate. The CD works only on Windows with Internet Explorer.

However . . . MJ and I had some side business scheduled with our car dealer whom we know very well. I asked if he had a PC up and running at his desk. "Yes," he said. "Do you mind if I use it for a moment?" I asked. "Sure," he said.

I slid the CD in his computer, on full view in the middle of a car showroom. With some help, I got the program up and running.

Of course, I cannot read the scans as a doctor would, but I have seen enough of them to know what to look for in order to get a general idea. Using the wheel on the mouse, I was able to "spin" through the images, searching for anything that looked suspicious.

I found it, right where it had been before. Not huge, but also not a speck anymore (as it had looked in November). A bright white mass in the area that I think is called the third ventricle.

Also, there were a number of tiny white dots along the top of my brain. I'm not sure what those are, but I wonder if those relate to the constant "tingling" sensation I have on my scalp. It's certainly right in the same area.

I have a call in to my neurosurgeon and am waiting for the call back. I don't know what any of this means or what my next step will be (surgery? chemo? radiation? wait?) until I can get in to talk this over with my surgeon.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?