Referral to a Neurologist

I guess E.'s abnormal EEG isn't too much of an emergency as he got a referral to a neurologist and the appointment isn't scheduled until February 24th!

*** Edited to add: The neurologist called us back and moved E.'s appointment up to February 22nd. That really seemed like no big deal, until they added that E. has also been placed on the cancellation list for the "first available appointment." Hmmmm.

Abnormal EEG

E. was about out of anti-seizure medication, but has held off refilling the prescription since he figured he'd be weaning off them any day. When we still hadn't heard anything about the EEG results yesterday, E. began making the calls. It appeared as if the EEG results were "lost." To make a long story short, the results were eventually found and E.'s EEG was abnormal. Apparently, he is having seizures!

How can he be having seizures and we don't even know it? We're not sure. Perhaps the medication is keeping them from being visible? Are the sharp shooting pains that E. sometimes gets in his head possibly seizures? When E. occasionally gets the chills, could that be a seizure?

Since E. had a very short telephone conversation with the nurse (with Peanut running around in the background), we don't know a lot. What we do know is this ...

1. E. will continue on the anti-seizure medication. (Obviously.)

2. E. will need to see another doctor. (We're not sure what kind of doctor ... presumably a neurologist?)

3. E. will need another EEG ... this one without meds? (Again, we don't know the details, but supposedly something is being mailed to us.)

In the meantime, thank goodness for anti-seizure medication!

Visit with the Oncologist and EEG

E. had to stay up until midnight last night and then get up at 4:00 a.m. for his sleep-deprived EEG today. (I was supportive and stayed up until midnight with him. At 5:00 a.m., I opened one eye and said "You up?" When he assured me he was, I promptly fell back into slumberland. Support only goes so far, especially when precious sleep is at stake.)

The EEG itself was painless. E. laid on a bed in a quiet and darkened room while the EEG tech attached a bunch of discs (electrodes) to his head with a sticky paste. Those electrodes are then hooked to wires which run to a computer to record the electrical activity in the brain. E. had to breathe deeply and rapidly for a bit, a strobe light flashed intermittently and E. even fell asleep for awhile. An hour and a half later, it was all said and done. E. said he didn't feel anything throughout the whole procedure.

The EEG tech explained to E. a little more about the importance about taking the Dilantin. When E. underwent brain surgery, there were holes left in the places where the brain tumors once were. Those holes filled with blood. Well, brain cells don't much care for the iron in that blood and will freak out at the iron's presence. Instead of throwing a party, they throw a big tizzy fit in the form of a seizure. The Dilantin increases the seizure threshold so those brain cells are more tolerant of the trespassers. If you don't take your Dilantin like you're supposed to or if you go off your Dilantin too soon, the result might be a big ole seizure which could potentially be fatal. Fatal. *Gulp.*

No results were immediately available from the EEG, of course, but I guess what we're hoping for is no "spikes" in the peaks or valleys. Since E.'s never had a seizure either pre or post surgery, we're hoping the EEG results are all normal and he'll soon be able to wean off the medication.

After the EEG, we visited with E. regular oncologist. We last saw him when he visited E. in the hospital after brain surgery, so it's been awhile. Like everyone else, he was more than pleased with the recent PET/CT and MRI results, but also with the way E. was looking and feeling. Nothing much for him to do right now, which is great. We'll see him again after the March check-up for another follow-up.

S.

Neuro Surgeon Appt

E. met with the neuro surgeon, Dr. M., yesterday. He reviewed the MRI CD that we brought back with us from Texas and was pleased with the results.

Dr. M. asked about any pain or discomfort that E. was feeling and E. mentioned that he sometimes gets some "stabbing" or "shooting" pains around the surgical site (that shoot up to a 6 or a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, but only last for a few seconds at a time). The doctor didn't seem too surprised by this and explained that it was probably from the occipital nerve. He couldn't really say if it would get better, but did say that if it got worse, sometimes surgery was necessary to deaden that nerve.

Dr. M. also pressed on E.'s forehead and asked if that "pin" bothered him any. Pin? E. shook his head in confusion and questioned, "Pin?" The doctor nonchalantly commented, "Yeah. Some pins and small plates to hold things together." Hmmm. Wow. Things you learn.

As you might remember, E.'s been taking an anti-seizure medication called Dilantin. E. hasn't had any seizures, but the risk was high (before the surgery because of the tumors and the swelling pushing on parts of the brain and then after the surgery because of the havoc the surgery itself caused in the brain). Anyways, E. is scheduled to have an EEG which will measure electrical activity in the brain. If it comes back normal, then he can finally begin to be weaned off the medication.

E. shook Dr. M.'s hand. "Thank you Doc. You did good work." Peanut blew him kisses. I loved it.

S.

Who's He Look Like?

We hear so often how much he looks like daddy.

I really don't see it much.

I'm not saying he looks like me either.

He looks like a little elf to me.

*Grin.*

Happy New Year!

Another year has flown by. It doesn't seem possible really. It seems like only a short while ago we were bringing in 2010. And yet, in the blink of an eye, 2010 is gone and 2011 snuck on in.

Once again, I've heard so many people comment on how glad they were to see 2010 go and how much better 2011 has to be. I don't really see it that way. Oh sure, 2010 posed a few challenges for us, as did 2009. And if you really want to go back, I bet 2008 had some challenges too. As did 2007. Matter of fact, I bet every.single.year has had some challenging moments. Not just for us. For you too. For every single one of us.

Life is like that. You see, life isn't perfect. And I'll bet big money 2011 isn't going to be perfect either. Here's the thing though ... life doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. Cheesy? Maybe. But true.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not always sunshine and roses, rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes I fall into pits of despair and wallow in self-pity. But, and here's the big but ... I'm usually enormously thankful for what I do have. So, I'm gonna ride those waves of thankfulness and gratitude as long as I can for as far as I can and hope they pull me through those ruts we all can sometimes fall into.

All said and done, 2010 was a pretty incredible year. There were moments I wasn't so sure I'd still be able to say that at the end, so the magnitude of that statement is not lost on me. And I can't begin to put into words how thankful I am. With that, I say goodbye to 2010 with a sigh and a smile. Not perfect, but still beautiful. Oh so beautiful.

Welcome 2011!

S.