YOU CAN DO IT -- JUST PRAY

For quite some time now I have been dealing with a nagging pain in my right shoulder. I zap it with a little electronic device called Mini Masseuse and I take lots of Advil. I go see a Massage Therapist every 5-6 weeks. Oh, and I COMPLAIN a lot. This is a very common area for a Hairdresser to have problems. Imagine blow drying and round brushing all day long. I have been diagnosed with R B D which means REPETITIVE BEHAVIOR DISORDER, which means I am just "going in circles". The diagnosis came from ME. The R B D is a result of A D D which was NOT a self diagnosis. It is real and I live with it and those around me must endure it as well. Menopause has exploited it.

My real doctor believes I have a problem with my rotator cuff which I found funny because all my life I thought it was a cup and thought only Pitchers for Major League Baseball teams had them. Turns out, I have one, actually two, and one of them just might have a problem. My doctor tells me I need an MRI. Who knows what MRI stands for but I know "magnet" is involved and total encasement. OK, panic attack on the table right there. I tell him immediately, "I cannot have an MRI." He looks at me very funny. I had been in there for about 20 minutes by this time and he's already given me some funny looks. I went on to tell him how I had surgery in 1992 on my jaw and I have 16 screws in my upper jaw, only 8 teeth in my head are truly mine and 6 of those have fillings, I have wires holding my upper and lower jaw together. I kid you not, the man looked me in the eye and said, "Wow, you are a mess. Were you in a wreck?" I explained that I was not IN a wreck but I AM a wreck. I had a congenital (Oh, Lord, help that be the right word - con does go in front of it, right?) jaw deformity and had I not had the surgery I would now look like a cash register with its drawer out. He smiled. He then said, "You should be fine." SHOULD? SHOULD? Is SHOULD good enough? I did not even go into the fact that along with the A D D is the R L S (restless leg syndrome). I am fidgety on a good day. The MRI was scheduled.

Yesterday, my dear friend, Ron Cody, was here. I told him I had to have an MRI. He then told me this story of how a young boy was killed during an MRI. A door was left open and somehow an oxygen tank flew in and the whole place exploded. What do you say to that other than, "Shut up, Ron."

My MRI was actually scheduled for last Friday but the Tech called and rescheduled it because the machine was down. I just knew that was a sign. She rescheduled it for this morning but called Saturday to say that it was still down and rescheduled me for Wednesday. Well, that is 3 more days to anticipate the rapture taking place and I could miss the whole MRI thing altogether.

Guess who calls early this morning? Yep! The MRI place and asks me to come at 11:15. I drove over there -- too scared to pray but had sent an email to Ron and asked him to pray that the door at least gets shut and there is no oxygen tanks around. When I drove up, it said OPEN MRI. Well, the Lord was with me already.

I am starting to feel pretty good about this whole thing until I had to start filling out paper work. They asked me if I had stuff in me or on me that I could not even pronounce. I said no to all of them because I figure if I cannot pronounce it I must not have one. I am starting to feel even better until the dental questions begin and then, of all things, permanent eyeliner. Well, this caused me to get up and go to the desk carrying this cute little clip board with the pen attached with a string. At this point, I could care less about the whole privacy act, I begin confessing everything. I tell her all about my denistry and surgery, I tell her that not only do I have permanent eyeliner, I have permanent eyebrows and lips too? She said, "You should be fine."
SHOULD? SHOULD? I hate that word when I am about to go into a magnetized field with all the metal in or on me? Who knew a tattoo had metal? She said it could just cause "swelling". Well, I can live with swelling but I could not live with the mental picture of my entire face being sucked up into this machine, not to mention the whole oxygen tank and explosion thing. I do NOT need any more of my screws to come loose.

The Tech tells me to undress from the top up and if I am more comfortable I can put a smock on. Ya think? You betcha -- I want a smock! The Tech hands me a key to lock my purse and upper clothing in a locker. The key is on one of those little squiggly bracelets which I find funny because I KNOW I am NOT wearing that bracelet with a metal key on it. He tells me the whole thing will take 45 minutes. Come now, Lord, Jesus. He settles me in and covers me with a warm blanket. He said, "We will begin now and CLOSES the door. Tarry just a while longer, Lord Jesus, I can do this.

I began to pray. Seriously. I prayed for complete peace and I ask the Lord to just let me go to sleep. I am not artistic; cannot even do a stick figure much justice. I do, however, have pretty nice penmanship. I painted the above scripture and it hangs right by my bed. It is my proclamation when sleep fails me.

Psalm 3: 3-5 says this:

But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me,

my glory, and the lifter of mine head.

I cried unto the Lord with my voice,

and He heard me out of His holy hill. Selah.

I laid me down and slept;

and awaked; for the Lord sustained me.

Forty-five minutes later I was awakened by the Tech who said I did great and they would fax results to my doctor. I got dressed and as I was walking to the front, I noticed 3 oxygen tanks. They were safe and secured to the wall.

Thank You, my precious Lord, that you do hear me. You ARE the lifter of my head. You cause me to rest and to sleep because YOU sustain me. Amen.

If ever you have to have an MRI,

YOU CAN DO IT -- JUST PRAY.