Nothing changes
And nothing stays the same
And life is still
A simple game.
~ The Moody Blues “Nothing Changes”
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose ~ Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
We’re finally home and Nik is settled into bed after a long, exhausting day at the hospital for his MRI.
I’m too tired to write any cute stories about how Nik charmed the nurses (he did) or how my mother thought the doctor was hot and well-hung. I kid you not! My 76 year old mother…dear God, I need a drink— or a shower— after that one! In her defense, he was extremely handsome but I didn’t, um, “Check out the package.” (To all my male readers out there who are cringing, I apologize. Truly, I do! You know that’s not my usual style but it was my mother for heaven’s sakes! I couldn’t NOT tell that one!)
The long and short of things with respect to Nik is status quo. There is no change in Nik’s brain imaging. They even scanned all the way down to include the first few of his cervical vertebrae to make sure there was no change in his C2-C3 fusion (a simple congenital fusion, not to be confused with Klippel-Feil Syndrome). Everything looked “Nik normal.” No change at all.
That’s very good news because it eliminates a whole bunch of really awful and scary things as possible causes for the continuing episodic pain. It’s not very good news because it doesn’t point us in any direction to look next.
Meanwhile Nik is back to not sleeping through the night. It was nice while it lasted —all three nights of it! And the episodes continue…
I spoke with Dr. Mary this evening; she is going to put in some calls to the “fabulously brilliant” neurologist we’ve seen. Maybe she’ll have better luck getting a response from him. She wants to see if he has any brilliant ideas that no one else has been able to come up with. I’m all for that but I still resent the fact that the guy never bothered to call us —or even have someone from his office call us —after we’d called about Nik’s head injuries in September or his EEG in July. I am frustrated but I also know that this guy is the most highly respected in the area and so I will put my personal feelings aside —for now —if he can truly help Nik.
But the second he blows us off again? I already have a new neurologist lined up.
And Dr. Mary has not gotten a reply from the diagnostic group. She’s calling again on Monday. If she has no reply by Wednesday, I’m going to call in a favor from a friend at the hospital; she’s a well-connected administrator who can give me names and numbers of the doctors on the team and any inside information. If I need to cal them myself or drop by the next time I’m at the hospital, say next week… Hey, you do what you have to do for your kid, right?
Tonight, though, that looks like putting on the kettle for a cup of tea and settling in with a good book.
I’ve just started reading Tom Groneberg’s One Good Horse. I don’t know that I would have picked it up if it weren’t for Jennifer as it’s not necessarily the genre I am drawn to. But I feel such admiration and affection for her and her three beautiful boys and have such a strong sense of knowing her that I wanted to get a sense of Tom —beyond the little bit Jennifer has written on her blog.
So far, I am enthralled. I’ll tell you more after I’ve finished.
Oh, I’m sorry there was no big “a-ha” moment, but I’m also glad there was no big “a-ha” moment.
Poor Nik.
And what’s up with your mom? Too funny.
And poor you. Tom’s book should take your mind off it for a bit. We ordered both his books recently…J loves his writing.
Sending a hug.
I’ve been wondering how everyone was doing. I guess it is good news, mostly, right? Continue your search for answers and bug whoever in whatever way gets you closer to helping Nik!
As for your mom, hilarious!!
I hope you get a little rest and can enjoy the book.
your mother reminds me of MY mother!
i’m sorry Nik’s back to hard nights. it’s so exhausting and stressful when the sleep is bad. i hope you do get a nice cup of tea and some time to sit and read–sounds like a good one.
but i’m SO GLAD nothing scary turned up on the MRI. next up: what IS going on. we’re all sending it out there so Nik can be done with those episodes. poor sweet guy.
Well, I’m glad the MRI didn’t confirm any of your worst nightmares. I wish you had found some answers, though. One step at a time, I guess …
Looking forward to hearing how you liked the book.
Hi there. Wow. The not knowing is so hard, but I just can’t see a clean MRI as bad news. Hugs to all of you for getting through what must have been a very rough day. And your Mom! I love her. I just love her. Here’s wishing you some quiet reading time, some uninterruped sleep and a peaceful nite for Nik.
I hope you get some answers, and some sleep, for all of you.
And thanks for reading Tom’s book! I don’t write about him much because he can tell his own stories, better than I can…
Hope you enjoy it!
I hope, really hope, that someone or something can identify and treat this pain so that all of you can cease suffering.
Ditto. Hugs from Denver. K.
I hope Nik gets some rest tonight. Your mom sounds like a hoot! Hopefully you will hear from the doctor soon. I hate the waiting.
I wish, truly, that each of us could take turns carrying each other’s burdens for awhile. That we could step in for each other, and soothe the child in the middle of the night, or stand in while the teacher gives another scathing report, or better, be there for someone else’s good report, sloppy kiss, or minor victory.
We mothers carry alot. An awful lot. I wish I could do something for you, Niksmom. Truly I do.
Please accept our prayers and thoughts and love.
P.S. I would have TOTALLY checked out the Doc’s package with your mom for you. I mean, since you didn’t want to do it.
It’s hard when there’s no news – but in this case, it sounds like that really IS good news.
Ah! I am rolling!! Was he wearing scrubs? Those pants leave nothing to the imagination. Your mom is hilarious!!
I am glad there was nothing major on the MRI. But the pain of not knowing Nik’s pain has got to be so hard.
Just know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
I’m glad they did not find anything major with the MRI. I will keep the prayers coming that they find something soon.
Sending you hugs. I can only imagine how frustrating this is for you.