Satan's Health Emporium

Let me be clear: I love this place.

Ainsworth, B.C. is perched along the shores of Kootenay Lake, deep in the heart of B.C. So deep that if you saw a map to it you'd swear you can't get there from here.

It is, however, well worth the trip. There are caves.

The hot springs main pool is a very pleasant temperature, 35C if memory serves, and there's a small cold pool, 30C, for plunging. Best of all there's an outside pool that you enter to go into the caves.

I'm claustrophobic. I'm glad to report it was not an issue.

From this smaller outdoor pool bathers have a choice of two tunnels to enter that form a horseshoe about 20 or so feet later. The tunnels are maybe six feet high and about four feet across with water that came up to mid-thigh on me. For the record, I'm a few hair wisps under 5'4."

At the horsehoe the tunnels widen by several feet plus there are a few open alcoves to rest in. Muted amber lights are mounted in the cave walls and unless you are in the horsehoe or an alcove you can see out either tunnel.

This is good for the claustrophobes. I only had a minor problem with it the first time through as I didn't know it was a simple bend and the hot water, 40C, plus the minerals in it were making my chest feel heavy. Not so great when one has asthma and an irregular heart beat. I kept going and refused to panic. It paid off.

It's recommended to spend only about 15 minutes at a time in the caves and that's about all I could handle. The weather was cool with a biting wind so the heat was welcome, but I wished I could have stayed in the pool just outside the cave entrance longer. Same hot water as the cave, but good fresh air. Too many people had the same idea.

I'd go back in a heartbeat. It's a wonderful hot springs and the view of Kootenay Lake and the mountains is magnificent.
Between the hot water and the fragrance of its minerals I couldn't help but think that if Satan opened a health spa, then this place would be it.

This what you see when you take the waters.

How Much Room?

I need room.
I have to have plenty of space around me or I feel trapped. I’ve been claustrophobic all my adult life, but lately a new layer has been added. I feel crowded when I eat. Even when I have the table to myself.
I have to spread things out.
I like to read when I eat and it’s usually the newspaper. Broadsheets take up a great deal of space and I need it far enough away from me so that my almost ten-lustrums-old-laser-buzzed eyes can get a proper bead on the words.
In the past I needed a bit of free space around me, but managed to make do with whatever was available.
Not any more.
It’s gotten to the point where I can’t seem to get enough space on the table. No matter how much room I take it’s never enough and it’s making me growly.
A few months ago I had lunch with a friend and we sat at a table for two. I felt assaulted from the lack of room around me because the table itself was so small.
This sensation of crowding is expanding now to other areas. I feel better with the doors open in the house because it provides the illusion of space.
I find I have to raise my arms and spread them out or up as much as I can to open myself to the space around me. It’s as if I have to claim more physical area for myself. My territory must expand.
Lately I’ve found I need even more space to prep food. I get very irritated if I lack space when I’m chopping something and I’ve had to move the drain board away from the sink so I can have that space to work with, too. It still isn’t enough.
I’m not sure where this is going. Space is limited. Either I have to find out why this is happening so I can channel the expansion to the right area of my life, or we get rid of the furniture.
**
What about you? Do you ever feel crowded? Do you need a great deal of space, or are you okay with just enough?

I need room when I chop.

Cardiac 101: How To Cheat On An MRI Test

If you’re claustrophobic like me, then getting Magnetic Resonance Imaging done requires some lengthy second thoughts. I’m lucky in that I am only moderately claustrophobic. As long as there’s light and I can see my way out and I know I can get out I can usually get through it.

I had a cardiac MRI a few months ago. I asked many times just how enclosed I’d be and let it be known about my confined spaces issues. I was assured I’d be okay and it was even suggested that I could be sedated if need be.
I decided I’d be okay. I really wanted one and not just because it was a good diagnostic tool. I was curious as to what all the fuss was about.

The subdued lighting in the room was more than adequate for me. The MRI tube itself is very well-lit, enough that you could easily read in it if you were able to move your arms.
The tube is open at both ends so I could crane my neck back enough to see outside. It helped keep my breathing natural. I was only in part way, too, and my legs from the thighs down were outside the tube.

I was strapped down to a very hard board with some sort of plate over my chest. My arms were held in place by the straps that held said plate securely to my chest.

Bad idea.

I can’t have my arms restricted because it makes me panic. I asked and they were freed.

The test took an hour and the images are viewed as taken. This is good because I had to cheat a bit to get through it. You have to hold your breath as the images are shot. That’s fine. I had to hold my breath for as little as nine seconds to as much as 19 for my test. That’s not so bad for holding one’s breath.

Except they don’t tell you until you’re strapped down and slid up the tube that it’s on the exhale. Take a deep breath then empty your lungs and keep them empty until you’re told otherwise. You must also remain stock-still. The techs are very reassuring and tell you to do the best you can. My guess is the lousier you do the longer it’ll take.

Nine seconds is okay, but even as much as two seconds longer is a long time to go on empty lungs. I was told each time how long I’d have to not breathe so I counted along to keep my mind occupied. No matter how deeply I concentrated fighting for air is a natural response and I had to let some in once.
I got away with it, but I knew there had to be a better way. Hmm, I wondered… what if I leave a bit of air in my lungs?

So I did. I left enough to get me through yet exhaled enough for the images to be okay.
I’m glad I though to do this. If you ever find yourself in an MRI machine I say leave a bit of air in your lungs. That’s not medical advice and I am not a doctor. It’s something I learned from experience that worked for me and it might work for you too.
If it doesn’t, and you’ve left too much air, the techs will tell you.