It’s me back, doctor.

An early start to catch the 7:19 No 6 bus for my 8 am appointment at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Pouring rain so I wore my big coat. Bought a Guardian at WH Smith’s in the foyer and up to Floor C in the lift. I signed in via the touch screen and was seen at 8 am on the dot. The nurse asked me for the form I’d filled in, then he asked me the questions anyway: did I have a pacemaker, any metalwork, shrapnel, any allergies. After stripping down to my underwear in the small locker room, I put on a hospital gown. The nurse came in, took one look at my underpants and told me to put on another gown to cover my front.

This time, as the MRI was for my lumbar spine, I was given headphones and no crash helmet with fitted periscope and went in feet first. Before the machine started I felt cool air round my knees. I’d taken my glasses off so the only metal on my person was the two silver rings I wear, one on the ring finger of each hand. Just before the noise started I felt a strange sensation around these rings, as if they were being pulled off. As the MRI machine contains a powerful magnet, perhaps these rings are not pure silver!  Same horrible rhythms as before, but not quite as bad as my head remained outside the machine. DERDERDERDERDERDERDER with a faint puppy-dog whine in the background. I stared at the ventilation grille in the ceiling until it was over.

At 8:27 I was fully dressed and standing in the corridor checking the time. Time for a coffee! Lift down to Floor B and the coffee shop. Nearly an hour to spare to do the Guardian cryptic crossword, until it was time to take the lift up to Floor M for my follow-up appointment with the TIA team. General discussion with Clare, the nurse, was encouraging, but no conclusion reached as the Consultant won’t be back from her holiday until 27th September!

More heavy rain as I set out on the Parkway. The sky over Canklow Woods was a weird shade of purple. When the sun came out each car in front trailed a spray rainbow.