We just got back from our trip to the neurologist in Carmel (a northern suburb of Indianapolis). It was quite an “adventure.” We left the house in plenty of time but with an almost empty tank of gas and no real clue as to the exact location of the doctor’s office. The appointment was scheduled for 10a but we had arranged to meet my mother and Britta, my eldest niece, between 9:30a and 9:45a so that they could take the kids to a park while we were at the doctor’s office.
We got to the general vicinity in plenty of time but for the life of us could not locate the doctor’s office. We spent 40 minutes driving around looking for it and tried several times to reach the office by cell phone. There was a constant busy signal so we couldn’t get through. This whole time, the van was driving on fumes and I was anxious that we would be stuck by the side of the road somewhere. Plus, we were worried about my mother and Britta waiting for us, wondering where we were.
Sigh. Such is our life. We were quite stressed out by the time we were found by Britta, who guided us to the right location. We were told by the attendant that since we were a half hour late for our appointment, the doctor could only see Michele for a short time.
In spite of apprehension about going to all this trouble for nothing, we were pleased with the doctor’s visit. She seems to be genuinely concerned about Michele’s condition and asked lots of questions and did a quick examination.
One mystery that she cleared up for us related to our understanding from Michele’s regular doctor’s receptionist that the MRI showed nothing. Fact is, it confirmed what the CT scan showed, which was described as a dark or obscure area in Michele’s brain. I have no idea why we were told that the MRI showed nothing. The neurologist believes it is a cyst or dead area that Michele may have had since birth or at least, for a long time. She doesn’t feel it is dangerous. She didn’t rule out the possibility that it may be growing and may play a part, but she thinks it’s doubtful. It is located in the basal ganglia on the right side of Michele’s brain. She will monitor it over time.
The neurologist ordered some more blood tests and also scheduled a 48-hour in hospital test that is basically an EEG given over a long period of time, including during her sleep. She also scheduled Michele to be seen by a neuropsychologist since Michele mentioned some memory problems as one of the symptoms she’s experiencing. This person will help determine which area of the brain might be affected.
The upshot is that we do not have any significant answers yet, but we weren’t expecting to have any. The doctor told us that Michele’s symptoms could be caused by a wide variety of things, even something as weird as a particular kind of virus or an undiagnosed strep infection. We just have to wait and see what these further tests will tell us.
After the doctor visit, we met up again with my mother and Britta and went to a nearby park to have a picnic lunch. It was in a beautiful location overlooking a little stream in a wooded area. Britta is getting ready for her upcoming wedding in about a month. It was great to see them.
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