By: Michelle Fox

Sitting in class and learning about the MRI and what it can do and how helpful it has been for medicine and psychology really brought back some intense memories.

An MRI, Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine, by definition is a technique where images are taken of the body and used to detect internal problems, that can be over looked by the naked eye or by other machines. The machine uses magnetic forces and radio waves to create visible images, that are used throughout the world by doctors and radiologists.

What is different about an MRI than other imaging techniques used by doctors, is that MRI’s can see soft tissue rather than just hard tissue such as bone for X-Rays, or shadows of organs for sonograms. Also, MRI’s can show detect brain action and patterns. It shows oxygen in the Brain and the activity going on in the brain. Typically on medical imaging machines you wouldn’t be able to see such things, but with the very advanced technology of an MRI you can.

Now all of these things sound wonderful and very informative and helpful, but to a 10 year old it was all very intimidating and scary. Now you are probably wondering why a 10 year old needed an MRI. For 2 weeks, I had been complaining to my mother about the severe stomach pains I was getting. The school nurse said it was gas, the blood cell tests came out normal, and my sonograms came out negative for anything. My doctors were dumbfounded. No one could figure out what was wrong with me, so the next step was an MRI.

As I sat in the waiting room and at the radiologist’s office, I could hear how loud it was through the big thick wooden doors. Walking in, and following the instructions I laid down in the tunnel with big headphones on. The doctor asked me what music I wanted to hear, I told him backstreet boys– hey, I was ten. But what I heard was not ‘I want it that way’, or ‘Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely’, instead it was a serious of loud bangs and horrible sounds that continued on for what felt like an eternity. After getting the test done, the doctors looked at my results and informed my mother to rush me to the E.R. and that they would be there ready and waiting to prep me for surgery. They did not even tell me what was wrong with me.

After 15 hours of intense surgery, I woke up to the doctors informing me that they had just performed an emergency appendectomy on me. I no longer had an appendix. If I hadn’t gotten that first MRI I would never have known my appendix was leaking.

4 years later, after my appendix surgery, I was back in an MRI. I was having severe stomach pains–yet again. After getting my second MRI done, we discovered I had two problems now, I had adhesions from my former surgery tearing inside my abdomen causing slight internal bleeding. Also we discovered I had poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. After going through yet another surgery, all my problems were solved.

MRI’s are so much more advanced and helpful when it comes to things such as these when compared to other imaging techniques. Thanks to MRI, I am still here today.