The other day I was the subject of a very cool medical test at the University of Chicago Hospital. They put me on a moving x-ray machine and had me chug barium-sulfate strawberry shakes while a radiologist took pictures of my throat and esophagus in action. The doc reacted in real-time to what he saw, and put me in different positions to try to get the best view.
I had recently experienced some difficulty in swallowing on occasion. In my case it turned out to be something relatively minor. I was relieved at the diagnosis, since there are all kinds of things, some very nasty, that can interfere with normal swallowing. I knew about all these nasty things, because I had googled the topic sufficiently to be in a proper state of suspense.
Google your symptoms for a good fright -
Something to keep you up all night!
Now I'm mostly worried about what the bill will look like. That big machine represented a huge capital investment. And I sure swallowed a lot of those strawberry-barium shakes. I bet those cost more than the shakes at McDonalds.
Strawberry-Barium
Yum, yum, yum!
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