Woman Too Big for Hospital MRI, Told to Go to the Zoo

I find it difficult to believe someone 275 pounds couldn't fit into an MRI machine. Whatever the case, the folks at this hospital should be a little more sensitive to the woman's condition, assuming she's telling the truth.

Imagine you need an MRI exam, but you can't get one because you're too big for the machine.

FOX 4 medical reporter Meryl Lin McKean has the story of one woman who says she was told she could go to the zoo for an MRI.

Carolyn Ragan has been through a lot since a tumor was found on her spine, including surgeries and paralysis. But she says nothing was as humiliating as a trip to the hospital to get an MRI two years ago.

She was told that at 5 feet and 275 pounds, none of the MRI machines would hold her. Carolyn says an assistant began searching for one elsewhere that would.

"So he suggested the Kansas City Zoo. I thought, I know I'm big but I'm not as big as an elephant," she said. "And my husband got mad."

The University of Kansas Hospital says it can't verify or deny the statement, but says its MRI department knows there is no animal MRI in our area that will accept human patients.