Lying flat on her back in the metal tube, a solid, heavy bar bearing down on her chest, Elissa Jenkins tried to remind herself to breathe. It wasn’t her first MRI – a benign pituitary tumour meant she’d seen her fair share over the past two decades – but the setup was different this time. The Brisbane children’s entertainer had gained weight since the last time she had undergone a scan, and this particular machine included a head capsule that needed to fasten down over her chest – something it couldn’t do properly because it was too small.
“I could feel this panic rising inside me,” she recalls. “The radiologist had tried to shuffle me down to get a better fit but she was unable to make it work, so she told me I’d have to put up with the pressure on my chest.”
It became physically impossible to fill her lungs, at which point a distraught Jenkins knew she couldn’t take another 20 minutes like this. Hot tears of humiliation pricked her eyes as she asked the radiologist to stop.
This wasn’t the first time the failure of medical equipment to properly accommodate her body would pitch a barrier to healthcare for Jenkins, and it wouldn’t be the last. Once, she’d been in hospital for a routine treatment and two trainee nurses refused to let her go home because her blood pressure was too high. They’d failed to realise the blood pressure cuff they were using was too small, causing a false high reading.
Denne historien er fra February 2022-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra February 2022-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SHANNEN DOHERTY
The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.
Back to EARTH
In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway
ODE to LIGHT
Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent
JEN ATKIN
The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels
A NEW DIRECTION
When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life
LADY LUCK
Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?
CURTAIN CALLING
Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton
LEIGH-ANNE
The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix
