Results, Maybe

So, you want to hear about my day?

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I feared and could have been much worse. Even with the research Meron and I did on some of those diseases tossed around by the nurse practitioner (ALS, MS, etc.) and the fact that most of my symptoms and situation didn't match them, I was still nervous about the results. It about killed me last night to see Meron tossing Benjamin in the air and think maybe I'd never be able to do that again.

So my mom and I headed down to North Little Rock. Got in, filled out paperwork (including a sleep survey which seemed really irrelevant, but hey, if they give you the paperwork, you better fill it out), and got in to see the doctor about 9:45 or so. Of course, I have to get into one of those hospital gowns. Thank your lucky stars this isn't a video blog, that's all I'm saying. Anyway, the doctor gets all the info, tests reflexes, muscle strength, etc. She even has me walk some in the hallway so she can get a feel for how I'm moving.

After all of that, she informs me that it is most likely Guillain-Barre syndrome. According to this guide of peripheral nerve disorders, Guillain-Barre is "an uncommon acute neuropathy which usually affects the motor more than the sensory nerves. It reaches its worst within one or two weeks, four weeks at the most. It should be treated as an emergency. Most people make a very good recovery."

Still, they want to do the nerve conduction survey to make sure that's what it is. However, this doctor doesn't do them--another one in the clinic does. And, of course, she's pretty booked up today, but seeing as we are from out of town, they'll try to squeeze us in. They took Mom's cell phone number and said if there were any cancellations, they'd call, but the 3:00 appointment hadn't confirmed, so if we could be back then and that guy didn't show, we could get in then.

Of course, killing time when someone can't walk much is a difficult process, especially since we didn't know how long it'd be. We went to the mall, but I barely made it to the bookstore, where I picked out a couple of books to help with the wait. (And apparently Mom felt sorry for me as well, because the Star Wars DVD Trivia Pursuit game I wanted for Christmas was half off, so she bought it for me). I sat on a bench while she hit a couple of other stores.

After that, we got a snack, sat in the car reading and taking a short nap, got some lunch, went back to the doctor's parking lot to read, then went back into the doctor's office around 2:45.

We didn't actually get into the doctor until about 4:15. I got back into the gown, rubbed my hands and feet down with alcohol swabs, soaked one hand and my feet in hot water, then the NCV doctor came in. After some talk (and seeming to dismiss MS, etc. by casual conversation), she actually ran a similar one as Coulter ran last week, using the electric current on the nerves. Hers was faster and not quite as painful, either, which was a good thing.

After that, she poked a needle into the muscles in the leg a few times to register the electrical activity. That didn't hurt too much save the one time the muscle decided to start cramping up a little bit.

However, as she's doing all this, she says that she thinks I'm going to need a spinal tap. I first thought she was kidding, but after she mentioned it again, I realize that she wasn't. Apparently due to the fact that I wasn't sick before this came on (which is a typical way of getting it) and some of the numbness I'm having makes them want to make doubly sure that's what it is. They also said some blood work needs to be done.

They couldn't reach any of the doctors in Russellville (since it was almost 5:00 by this time) so they are going to call them tomorrow and see if they can't get all that work done here at St. Mary's instead of having me go back down there. If they can't, though, I'm heading back down the interstate.

So, for those of you thinking and praying for me, I appreciate it, and if you could maybe keep that going for another day, it'd mean a lot. Thanks, everyone!