Friday 26 June 2015

Weekly Update #88: 'No Referral' MRI Clinic Found!


Dave Sim's Weekly Update: In which Jimmy (Amelia Rules!) Gownley points Dave in the direction of a 'No Referral' MRI clinic! Plus an 'Off-White House Copies' update.

13 comments:

Steve said...

Someone please remind me, what are the plans to market / capitalize / make some sort of cash on the OWH issues?

I'm just asking because it's looks like there are more linear feet of issues than there are fans to purchase those issues.

Steve

Travis Pelkie said...

Well, I know I need a 225 still. Can't seem to find one anywhere. And with the Puma Blues book in the current Previews, I will undoubtedly want a copy of the jam issue that isn't being fully reprinted. Beyond that....

I still find it hard to fathom that there are no hospitals or clinics in Ontario where one could go, get seen by a doctor and get an MRI the same day. Which is basically all Dave's doing -- he's getting the referral right after being seen by a doctor, which is what he didn't want, no? I dunno.

Michael said...

I find it mind boggling when you have an issue with the part of the body which provides for your livelihood that one would be so unprofessional and lackadaisical in getting the attention it needs. For the love of pete go see a professional. The internet crowd source is not going to evaluate your MRI in any meaningful fashion. When your basement walls needed shoring up you found an individual who had the equipment, knowledge and experience to do the job right. You should be doing the same thing here.

To much fatalism going on in your life.

Steve said...

Travis, there are currently 10 copies of #225 available on eBay, the least expensive priced under $6.50 with postage.

Steve

Jeff Seiler said...

Did anyone else get a rerun of the June 12th Update, instead of this past Friday's update?

Wierd!

A Moment Of Cerebus said...

Jeff,
I think you just need to refresh your browser. I've noticed this glitch a couple of times... But it's easily fixed.
Tim

Jeff Seiler said...

Yup. Much better. Turned the phone off and then back on. Et, voila!

Will Collier said...

One of my oldest friends is a radiologist specializing in MRIs (in Atlanta). Here's what he said:

"I don't see why he needs a referral for any self-pay outpatient imaging center for an MRI. I am sure that there are centers that wouldn't care, as long as he is paying. All he should need is a credit card, really. But, why on earth would he not have a referral from a physician for an MRI, anyway?"

Will Collier said...

He also added this later: "If he's a self-diagnostician, he needs to be careful about what he pays for. Eg., hand pain could originate from the hand, elbow, shoulder or spine. Those are 4 different scans."

Unknown said...

And, keep in mind the wrist/hand injury that Giancarlo Stanton sustained a few days ago. It was to the hamate bone, which is right around the area that Dave has complained of and which is right around the area in the drawing posted some time ago. The hamate bone appears to be on the inner part of the hand (as opposed to the side of the hand), but it may (and I stress, MAY) be connected to that little bone spur you can feel just below the meatiest part of the hand that is farthest away from your thumb. It's upon that that you usually rest your hand when you're drawing or writing. Something Dave has done continually for around 40 years. So, I think that that is something he should look into, also, and I plan to call him soon about that.

Okay, just looked it up on the dub-dub-dub, and it appears that the hamate is one of the 28 bones in the hand (in this case, his right hand), and it does sit just adjacent to the bone I described above, which is either the pisiform or the triquetral bone. All three of which constitute part of the 9 carpal bones of the lower hand, below the fingers and just above the wrist.

One image, demonstrating how Stanton may have injured his hand, does indeed show that is in the area where an artist would rest his hand on the drawing bone and seems to correspond to the demonstration Dave gave us a few weeks back of how he holds his hand when doing the very fine inking. It seems to be similar to where the hamate bone rests on the bat, just above the knob of the bat, while the batter is swinging.

Or, he could have just plain old carpal tunnel syndrome. But, I would add that the ulnar nerve runs right alongside of the hamate bone (and the pisiform and triqruetral bone), so it may very well be that Dave will find that he has a nice, nasty little mix of conditions.

All resulting, most likely, from 40 years or more of asking or making his right hand to do things that it is not particularly meant to do, at least not repetitively.

One lay person's opinion.

Unknown said...

As to Steve's question at the top of the page, Dave and I had a very interesting conversation about a month ago, when I just made an offhand remark about something seemingly unrelated and he perked up. He asked me a bunch of follow-up questions and I gave him way more information about the topic than he ever knew or wanted to know.

It was a topic I used to be well-versed in and have once again, about 25 years later, become well-versed in again. Some people out there might be able to read between the lines and figure out what marketing strategy and psychological principle/s to which I am referring, but Dave and I haven't pulled the trigger on the idea yet (if we ever do).

BUT, he was very intrigued and seemed very much to appreciate the information.

If he/we do pull the trigger, it could help the sales of the OWH copies and the others immensely.

But, I believe we're still in Ramadan, so (as Dave told me the last time we spoke) I won't hear from him again until that's over. I hope he is having an enjoyable, though tough (hours-wise) Ramadan, Inshallah.

Travis Pelkie said...

In the sad news department:

http://www.newsfromme.com/2015/06/30/leonard-starr-r-i-p/

I assume that Dave will find it significant for Strange Death that a Stan Drake collaborator died on what was, according to NPR's the Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, the 79th anniversary of the publication of Gone With the Wind?

Eddie said...

Hey Travis. Thanks for the link (and the information about the very resonant connection).

Sad news indeed. His artwork is some of the best the medium has ever seen, in my opinion.