In this personal vlog, the speaker explains why he travels two hours to Duke University for his yearly brain and spinal cord MRI despite living far away. He outlines two main reasons: Duke’s cooler MRI environment, which is crucial for his multiple sclerosis (MS) because heat can exacerbate symptoms, and Duke’s proactive communication during the scan—staff provide timing updates and give headphones for music, reducing claustrophobia. He contrasts this with a local facility where the room is warm, staff give no updates, and the lack of information heightened his anxiety, even leading him to press the emergency button. The speaker notes that his MRI takes about 45 minutes, includes both brain and spinal imaging, and that he has not had any new lesions in 13 years. He mentions an upcoming infusion in September and asks viewers to pray for continued good results—no new or active lesions and no disease progression. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of a comfortable, well‑communicated MRI experience for people with MS.
Chapters
I'm headed to Duke for my annual MRI. Some people might ask, okay, I live like 2 hours away from Duke, why would I go all the way to Duke for my MRI? 2 reasons. Usually how we set this up is my doctor is at Duke, so I go towards you know, morning, midday to get the MRI, and then, uh, when the results come in, meet with that doctor, uh, a few hours later. So killing two birds with one stone, one full swoop, get it done. Um, the doctor had to cancel my appointment later today, so we're going to a virtual appointment, uh, in a few days. But, uh, still going to Duke for my MRI, so there's quite a few Duke affiliates around me. Um, I went to one before, or I used to go to one, uh, quite a few times, especially during COVID because everything was virtual and, you know, I wasn't, uh, I wasn't going to see the doctor, so I might as well do it more local. Um, but the last time I did it there a few years ago, they kind of keep that room warm, right? So if you have MS like me, you don't— when you heat up, you hear my slurring here, but when you heat up, you— it kind of, you know, makes the symptoms worse than if you're cool. So that was one reason they keep it kind of warm in there. There. Plus, I'm in there for about 45 minutes because they do a brain and a spinal cord MRI, um, against my baseline to see if there's been any progression or if I need to react in any kind of way. Now, there hasn't been, um, new lesions since I first had the MRI, like, you know, 13 years ago. So been blessed, very good news. Uh, praying for good results today. But back to, uh, the local stuff anyway. They keep it warm and there is no clock, okay? So I'm a little claustrophobic, especially when it gets warm and the mask is on my face and the machine and, you know, it's not the best environment, okay? So they keep it warm, but then they never talk to you. I mean, Duke does it the right way in my opinion. They keep it cool. People, you know, going through the MRI machine say, hey, we're going to do the side of the head, it's going to be 15 minutes. Hey, we're Hey, we're doing this, it's gonna be 10 minutes. Hey, we're doing this, it's gonna be 20 minutes. All right, so you got kind of an idea of the timeframe and the time left. And when I did it locally, it was warm. Of course, I'm a little claustrophobic, but nobody was talking to me. So I didn't know if I've been in that MRI for half an hour, 40 minutes, 10 minutes, you know, I'm talking to myself, trying to, trying to make it through, uh, trying to calm myself down. And, um, finally, the only time I've ever hit the little button they give you, I finally had to hit the button. I was like, I couldn't take it anymore. So they, you know, pull me out of the machine, lady comes up, she's like, oh, you only have 3 minutes left. I was like, man, that was good information before I got up. Um, so anyway, we don't do that anymore. We go to Duke, they talk to you, they give you headphones, they let you listen to music. Uh, it is not quite as claustrophobic. They don't put the mask on too much anymore unless it's, uh, um, old school, but The machine still makes you feel a little claustrophobic, but you know, I'm fine. I'm fine with it if I'm cool, if I got a blanket, if they're talking me through it. Hey, we got 10 minutes. Hey, just 15 minutes. Hey, this is 20 minutes. Hey, this is whatever. I'm fine. But it was sitting there warm. Claustrophobic, not knowing if I'm, you know, 10 minutes in, 20 minutes in, half an hour in. So anyway, that's why I really get it done at Duke. Most times the doctor meets me that afternoon, so I get both of it done. I do have my infusion coming up in September, so This is usually before that, for the MRI, for the script to write my— to get it done in September. Excuse me. But anyway, head to Duke, see what's going on. I'm at a stoplight, that's why I'm looking at you. But yeah, it's MRI time. Um, so it is what it is. Uh, keep praying, keep believing, uh, praying for good results, uh, no new lesions, no active lesions, no, um, progression of the existing lesions. So I'm praying for all that. But, uh, but yeah, headed to, uh, to Durham. See y'all soon.
