Dr. Troup. The man is a Godsend. And I'm scared to death of him. Well, not HIM, but what he has to say. More specifically, the conclusion he comes to at the end of everything he has to say. Emma had a routine visit with him a few weeks ago, and it was pretty mild. Nothing too exciting, just a lot of cautious question-asking by Dr. Troup and nervous answering by me, trying to figure out just exactly what he was getting at with each question. Conclusion: barring any unforeseen hiccups, Emma will have another MRI in January 2013 to assess the situation with her compressed brain stem and the giant cyst along her spinal cord.
Emma's choking has leveled out; no better, no worse. Which means that the compressed brain stem probably isn't CAUSING the choking. It's not helping matters, but I don't think it's hurting, either. It's my understanding that the choking would get worse if the compression is causing the problem. So many of Troup's questions were aimed at getting me and my mom to say, with 100% confidence and in complete agreement with each other, that Emma's choking was getting better, worse, or staying the same. We agreed: staying the same. The next issue is the cyst - if it becomes symptomatic, Emma will most likely begin to lose movement in her arms or dexterity in her fingers. I think my mom is a little more worried about this than I am. It can be fixed by draining the cyst....assuming we don't miss the signs and it causes more permanent damage. Now THAT scares me. But I'm watching Emma become more and more accurate with her fingertips while using our iPhones and iPads, so I think we're ok for now.
You know, let's get the other medical mumbo jumbo out of the way, too. Emma has had a hoarse throat for the last month or so, and she goes to see an ENT in July. I don't know what they can do about it, especially since my mom's diagnosis is probably correct: Emma's constant choking and coughing has damaged her vocal chords. Hmmmm, if we could only get Emma to stop choking...that's my prayer EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Join me in that prayer, won't you? Oh, and while we're all at it, how about throwing one up for tomorrow, Wednesday, at 3:50? It's Emma's first dentist's appointment. Yikes. She HATES having her teeth brushed, so I guarantee that wherever you are in the world, you will hear shrieks of anger and fear around 4:00 tomorrow. The highly sensitive gag reflex that's so characteristic of spina bifida might necessitate that everyone in the exam room wear protective vomit gear.
Ok, medical update. Check. Boooorrrrriiiiinnnggggg.
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Praying for that sweet baby girl! :)
ReplyDeleteHi MB, It's so exiting to see Baby Emma's progress. I haven't read the blog in a while, but it's nice to see her reaching her milestones. Have you heard of the Meyer Center? It's an awesome place, you should check them out.
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