In June 2019, 14 year old Charlie Attfield attended one of our screening days, where he was detected with a potential problem and referred to his GP. Previously, Charlie had shared with us his initial experiences (on the screening day). Here, in his own words, Charlie provides us with an update:-
“On 22nd May, I visited St Georges Hospital for my MRI scan. At first, I was quite nervous about having the scan as I didn’t know what to expect, and I was concerned about travelling into London safely with the current COVID-19 circumstances.
But when we arrived at the hospital the MRI department was completely empty. The nurse asked me if I was happy to have the scan on my own, so I followed her into another room while my mum waited in the waiting area.
The nurse explained the machine would be very loud and gave me earplugs and headphones to block out the noise.
I was asked to do a range of different breathing exercises during the test, while they monitored my heart. About halfway through the MRI scan, the nurse injected a dye into my arm to compare pictures before and after – it didn’t hurt at all. The whole process took approximately 30 minutes.
After the scan, I saw the consultant. He confirmed he was happy with the MRI results and advised that the heart arrythmia had also shown when I wore the heart monitor for 24 hours back in November.
I will have appointments every six months to have regular tests and continue to monitor my heart”.