Frizzworld

If ever there was a day to make me claustrophobic this would be it.  I made my way down into a hospital basement.  Used a toilet that was lit with ultraviolet light for “clinical and safety” reasons (anyone heard of this?)  Then found where I was supposed to be, as an aside it turned out to be a private unit, there was a magic door which took me from grim public building to smart office reception (white walls with modern art, smiling staff). I was there to have an MRI (see I got to the claustrophobic bit eventually).  I’ve had MRI’s before, they were short-ish.  This one took the best part of an hour, that’s an awful long time to spend in a tunnel not much wider than my body, I defy anyone not to have a glimmer of claustrophobia as they are projected into the white space. The autogenic training came into it’s own.  Tip if you have to have an MRI ask for earplugs, makes a big difference.  So after an age in the tunnel (makes me shudder just thinking about it) they gave me an injection and some other things I’ll save you from knowing.  Then back into the tunnel.  Then when it was all over and I got up, my eyes (which are doing weird things anyway) wouldn’t focus (I was in my own tunnel of blurredness), so they checked me out and had me lying down and it turned out to be a rare side effect of the drug they had injected.  Relief.  Forty-five minutes later it had mostly worn off and I made my way late, to a meeting… only to have someone pull the emergency handle on the tube (high-pitched bleeping noise) and the train come to a halt… There was a noticeable panic on my fellow passengers faces.  My thoughts went straight back to being in the MRI and suddenly I couldn’t help but see the similarities, only I was underground.  Really, it didn’t feel like a good idea.  It turned out to be a kid in my carriage that had pulled the lever by accident. Relief.  I think I might take the bus home.