Today was a long day, and it took every ounce of our strength to get through it. Let my preface that today offered us some good news and some bad news.
Meeting the neurologist for the first time, we found him to be very personable and thorough. He wasn't one of those in for one minute and out the next kind of doctors. He spent over thirty minutes listening to our concerns, testing our theories, and evaluating Brandt.
First--THE GOOD NEWS--The neurologist did agree with the diagnosis of hypotonia, but he did not find it to be a severe case. He said Brandt has signs of muscle strength, and he seemed hopeful that it should continue to develop. That was hopeful to hear, and it did give us a shimmer of hope.
Now--THE BAD NEWS--The neurologist noticed that Brandt has sacral dimple on his lower spine. He noted this could be a symptom of a much more complicated condition, and he put in orders to have three images done of Brandt's spine. Initially, I was outraged because this was something we noticed at birth but was dismissed by all doctors and nurses. Later, as I was concerned as to what this would mean, I researched and found that this could be a symptom of spina bifida. Of course, we will have to wait for the MRI to be performed and come back for results before we will know anything.
In the evaluation, the neurologist also noted several things that he thought might be cognitive, so he went ahead an ordered an additional image of the brain since Brandt was already having to be sedated for the spinal MRI.
Following the evaluation, we were sent out for some lab testing. That was hard, and I really didn't have much energy left for that. Darrin and I had to hold Brandt down while they performed a series of ten blood tests and a urinalysis. It was hard to listen to him scream and cry, but it is harder wondering what the labs might tell.
We are waiting for the MRI to be scheduled, but we won't go back to the neurologist until May 10 for results. It will be a long game of waiting and wondering...
We are entering a dark road, where we go full speed ahead, hoping to find our way out of the darkness...
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