I have another MRI coming up on Sunday.

I’ll have to admit that my first MRI was bizarre experience. I didn’t know what to expect. I had watched a YouTube video and read about what the procedure would be like. However, watching something on your computer and actually having to go through it are two different things.

I was in a hospital gown when I walked into the room. I approached the white cylinder with trepidation. The video on YouTube did not prepare me for how big the MRI machine was. It almost took up the whole room. A doctor and technician would watch the progress of the MRI in another room. I was given a lead apron to wear.

They fitted me with a neck brace that would help them take better images of my head and neck. MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. It’s scanners use magnetic radiowaves to form images of the body. In my case, they were taking images of my head and neck to see if lesions were present.

I was asked to lay down on a table that slid into a tube. I was told that I would hear a lot of noise but I had to remain stationary at all times. It was a little uncomfortable for me as I am somewhat claustrophobic in small spaces; I got over that really quickly as I had no choice.

The tube reminded me of Tron for some reason. To calm myself, I pretended that I was going into the Gaming Arena, even though they don’t get there through tubes. Hey, whatever works right? It was mind over matter at that point.

Then the scanners started rolling around me and I will admit to being afraid, just for a moment. Then I just thought of the thrumming of the machine as if it were techno music, or electronica, heavy on the beat.

Inspired by my being in a Tron tube, heading for the Gaming Arena, I thought of Daft Punk who had done the soundtrack to Tron Legacy. With the heavy beat, however, I was reminded more of Daft Punk’s album Homework.

I don’t remember how long it lasted for. I was in a tube filled with light, wearing a neck camera, surrounded by noise. It was no time at all and forever at the same time. When they finally rolled me out of the tube, I shook my head and let my Tron and Daft Punk fantasy fall away.

At my six month check up in February, I finally had a chance to see my MRI. It was weird seeing inside my own head, at the white circles that stood out so brightly against the greyed out shapes of my brain. There were several of them, one that looked like as big as a golf ball, all bright like lights or stars on the MRI images.

The MRI that I am having on Sunday will be able to show the doctors whether or not my medication has had any affect or whether or not I have new lesion’s in my brain. I will have to have an MRI on a regular basis, so this is something I’ll have to get used to.

However, this time I’m not worried. I know what to expect, what will happen. Thankfully, I still have lots of time to listen to some Daft Punk and watch Tron and Tron: Legacy so that the images and music are fresh in my head.

This Sunday, while the MRI is being done, I’ll just head back to the Grid.

Awesome.