I accomplished something yesterday I’ve never done and always feared. I had an MRI. I actually had an MRA (same machine), a type of MRI that checks for blood flow. Monday I go in again for the MRI, part two of an exam to check my heart.

Many years ago, I was told I have a mildly enlarged aorta. When I was younger the doctors were not concerned. As you get older, they like to pay more attention to it to make sure it doesn’t get larger, or eventually explode. Lucille Ball died from an aorta problem she was unaware of.

Since Lucy and I are so similar (I am kidding), I decided to finally get on a prevention program with my cardiologists. I had already been given an EKG and an echocardiogram by Dr. Robert Segal and his associate Dr. Bipul Roy who then suggested the MRI and MRA to have a more in-depth baseline.

Well, this Digidame flipped right out in their office. The suggestion of being inserted into a donut hole made me freak. My equilibrium became shaky for a few seconds and my breathing labored. I hate being out of control, so I immediately focused on getting my stability back. Then I went to war with Dr. Roy about not wanting to be trapped in an MRI.

He hunted six weeks for an open MRI for me that my insurance would pay for. I am not going to go into all of the false starts we experienced at other radiology centers that claimed they had open MRIs. That is a whole other story about people trading on false information.

What I learned as a novice (pretty pathetic, considering I am supposed to be somewhat tech savvy) is that an open MRI doesn’t mean open the way I interpreted it. Open means both ends of the donut are open, but your body is still inserted into the tube.

I thought Park Avenue Radiology would have an open MRI where I could see the sky. No siree! It was a donut. I told the technicians I couldn’t do it because I was claustrophobic. The truth is I am neurotic. Interestingly enough, Dr.Oz had a TV segment yesterday suggesting that none of us is ever really in control. It registered very deeply with me, and I was thinking about it while considering chickening out. The tech guys asked me to relax in the waiting room while they took another patient.

While I was sitting there, a woman around my age arrived with her husband. She was shaking and crying because she too was scared. She was uncontrollable. Her husband immediately informed the technicians that he would have to accompany her to the MRI room. They agreed without hesitation.

I watched the two of them interact just the way Eliot and I would have. He kept reassuring her everything would be okay and she kept snapping back at him, telling him to be quiet and to stop annoying her.

For some reason (where are the therapists when you need them?), her hysterics gave me the courage to proceed. I also have to admit the two male technicians I had were terrific. They articulated every step of the procedure, coaching me as if I were five. Sixty-five is more like it.

I did pretty well considering I dreaded this my whole life. I am acting like a big shot now. Let’s see how I get through part two on Monday.

I also want to thank my friend Dr. Williams Lucena who once told me he was very capable of doing something out of his comfort zone. I once asked him if he needed help with a particular travel task and he turned around to me and said, “I’m a big boy, I can handle it.” I kept thinking about his words as they were rolling me into the donut hole.