I've had a brain scan!

So, what are they like?

Well, I went to the MRI scanner at Salford Royal Hospital ("The Hospital Formerly Known As Hope") this afternoon and after signing in at the MRI scanner reception I went into another room where I was weighed, put my valuables in a locker, and was asked a few weird questions about whether I'd had any previous brain operations or had any piercings. As this was happening I could hear a continuous loud knocking noise coming from behind a large white metal door, the front of which featured a large picture of a magnet in a red triangle, and various notices advising that "THIS MAGNET IS ALWAYS ON". I busied myself with the new Will Self novel while I waited, and after a few minutes the door opened, a woman was wheeled out in a chair, and I was taken in.

The scanner itself looks exactly like this...


I was asked to lie on the bed, given earplugs to wear, and put my head in this kind of box. Plastic wedges were inserted between the sides of my head and the walls of the box, and then a Velcro strap was fastened over the top, holding me in so that I couldn't move my head at all. A large pad was placed beneath my knees, holding my legs up a little, and finally a plastic cage was slid over my head, a large mirror mounted at forty-five degrees on the inside to allow me to see across my chest, over my feet, and through a window into the control room. Before the man left, he placed a plastic bulb in my right hand, and if I needed to speak to somebody I could squeeze this to get their attention.

As soon as he had left the room the scanner made a series of loud bangs, and the bed pulled me back into the tube itself. Inside it was quite dark, but the light from the room helped brighten it a little. The scanner operator said something to me from inside the control room but thanks to the earplugs I couldn't hear her. Oh well. Then, the machine started to make a loud buzzing noise, which became more like a growl, and for a moment crazy thoughts like "you're going into a blender!" and "your head is in a microwave!" started to race through my mind.

Thankfully the bed was very comfortable indeed, and so I closed my eyes and fell asleep while the machine banged, buzzed, hummed and growled away. I had a little dream about being in Lindos for a bit, and twenty minutes later the man came back in to free me from my cage, strap, and array of wedges. He told me that I should hear from the neurology unit within the next two weeks or so. Hopefully everything will be alright.

Other news: A bit of a hitch with the tiling. Rick the tiler rang on Wednesday to say that the floor tiles for the kitchen are currently out of stock but are arriving at the end of next week, so the floor is now being done w/c 14th April - the same time as the rewiring. As for the wall tiles for the bathroom the stockist contacted him to say that one of the boxes had some broken tiles in it, but he could use those for cutting up and so this was not a problem. Hurrah! Then he phoned on Thursday to say that the stockist rang him to say that when the delivery was loaded onto a pallet for delivery to him it was found that every single tile in every single box was completely smashed, so it would appear that Tiles UK is staffed by The Chuckle Brothers. As these were the last they had in stock, and that more of the same tiles "should be here in a couple of weeks or so" (stockist's words, not Rick's) the bathroom is being tiled at a later date, unless we can find some others we like tomorrow. This is a shame, as the bathroom wall is currently covered with carrier bags to keep the plaster dry. Not a great look, to be honest.

Finally, as for the mysterious "other" thing, it would now appear to be sorted. This is good news indeed.