It wasn't as dreaded as major surgery, but there was still some nervousness when I went down to the hospital recently for an MRI scan, at the invitation of Manager of Diagnostic Imaging, Elaine Williams to be one of the 25 volunteers.

Medical personnel have a way of putting patients at ease, which Rona Donawa certainly did as I got set to get on the table to be wheeled into the machine for a scan of the renal area (kidneys) that would take about a half hour.

She placed me in, put 'coils' on my abdomen and with my earphones in place and a final reminder to relax and lie as still as possible, the scan began. Some scans require the patient to be wheeled into the machine head first, but for me it was feet first, going into a tube with only inches to spare.

I was talked all the way through the process by Mrs. Donawa who, while in the adjacent room and watching through a window, I could hear quite clearly through the earphones. In case I suffered any discomfort she could hear me, too, as she constantly asked me if I was doing okay.

I laid back and listened to the music as Mrs. Donawa prepared for the first scan (seven in all were taken) which, she warned me beforehand, would be noisy. It reminded me of the fire alarm that I had heard on a few occasions at work, but in this case there was no retreating outside.

"Take a deep breath, breath out, hold it," she told me as another scan was taken, the noise drowning out the music which I was starting to enjoy.

"Relax. You're doing great, she assured me. "Are you feeling okay?

"I'm going to move you in a bit more," she warned, as the table moved what seemed to be just an inch or so.

"Boy, this machine is very sophisticated," I thought as I wondered how the images were being made.

In between scans and without moving my head too much I looked around at my surroundings, not that there was much to see in the tunnel. There is a light in there for the comfort of the patients, but of course those who have fears of confined spaces and prefer not to see their surroundings can simply keep their eyes shut. They can also have their eyes covered if they wish.

Neither that nor the noise bothered me and before I knew it 30 minutes had passed and Mrs. Donawa was telling me the procedure had been completed and that she was bringing me back out, by which time I was actually enjoying the experience.

No doubt different people will react differently to it, but I was reminded afterwards that it is considered a very safe exam with no radiation. There isn't a part on the body that cannot be scanned.

As Mrs. Donawa and Carol Maher of General Electric (who was here for a week helping Mrs. Donawa become more acquainted with the machine) showed me my images on the computer, Mrs. Maher told me she observed that I hadn't had anything to eat.

After being given a printout of my scans I was on my way, with a better appreciation of what Bermuda's own MRI machine will be able to offer its people in the months and years to come.