four years ago and now this

i was in america.

now i am back! have you american readers felt the positive vibe? yes, that's me.

i was here last time for stuttery stuff, when i went to see vivian with the prof. we learned lots and had a good old stuttery time. sadly, vivian died this year. but her ideas live on as we share her stories of soup on stoves and easy stuttering.

so, what am i doing here? i am kinda on holiday, but i'm also here to see shelly jo. she is a mouth fixer (as you should know by now) and she thinks about stuff too. she's presenting at ASHA later this week, so i said i'd come and see how they do it here.

anyway, today i went for an MRI scan, which uses magnetism to look at brain structure and function. good news. i do have a brain after all. i now have a picture to prove it. as an additional bonus, it seems to work and does not show any blips up that may suggest my blogging may cease anytime soon. i do have mild congestion though in my nasal cavity, so don't read too close.

i was in the machine for 2 hours! they had to reboot several times as it was being a bit temperamental. i was pretty ok with this, but my back hurt like bejaysus after a bit. regular readers will remember about my other condition to accompany my broken mouth... crooked back knack.

basically, i was put half way in a tube with not a lot of room, and requested to move minimally. then some pictures were shown (one of the dear old queen, which made me laugh each time i saw it - 'hellowe, you may recognise me from stamps and money') and i had to say "queen" or whatever it was. after that i had to listen for a particular sound and click a button. these tests were to see how my stuttery brain worked in compairson to a nonstuttery brain. there might be some differences doncha know?

*then* (this felt like 3 weeks after i'd been interred) the machine clunked at me (it being a series of magnets) to see what shape my brain was. i can reveal, my brain is brain shaped and has the bits in the right places. relief all round.

i had to keep a straight face once more as one of the magnet sounds had a characteristic 'guhguhguhguhguhgugh' quality, which was kinda like stuttering. moving would have buggered up the scan so i kept my serious professional head on, underneath my hairnet. no, really.

so, there you have it. i have been part of a research study and am the wiser for it. oh, and i had a blood sample taken for genetic purposes. they want to cross my clone with a carrot, or parrot, or something

i dunno, they talk funny here.