Celebrating My Milestone Birthday With an MRI
By JCA on April 29, 2025
by Jason DeRusha for nextavenue
Like most men, I blissfully avoided the doctor as I aged. But when I turned 50, I decided to get some aches and pains checked out.
When I turned 40, I had a party with 150 people at a local brewery. I celebrated my 50th with an MRI. My first MRI to be exact. Well, since we’re being honest, I had three MRIs in one visit on my two shoulders and lower back. Diagnosis: I’m getting older.
Like most men, I spent my 20s, 30s and 40s blissfully avoiding the doctor. Of those the Cleveland Clinic got to actually admit it, 55% of men said they don’t get regular health screenings. In my experience, men are more likely to be liars than they are to get an annual physical, so I’d guess that number is much higher.
As I approached my 50th birthday, I decided it was time to make a change in my avoidance. Maybe part of it is seeing my formerly healthy and vibrant father-in-law start the long goodbye due to Alzheimer’s disease. Maybe it’s because my shoulder has been hurting me for a year and it wasn’t getting better. Maybe I’m just growing up.
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