Rachel went in for an MRI on the morning of the 18th. That afternoon I was at work, anxiously awaiting word from her neurologist about the results. The call came at 3, and I heard what are probably the scariest words of my life: “There’s something in her brain that shouldn’t be there.”

Dr. Cheyette immediately ordered a Contrast MRI for the next day. The purpose of the contrast was to determine whether the … thing … was getting blood flow. Blood flow would mean it was probably a malignant tumor.

Happily, the result of the Contrast MRI was that it was NOT receiving blood flow. In the picture, the darker color indicates that no contrast, and thus no blood, is getting to the … thing.

We breathed.