Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Thing 1 and Thing 2

We have officially received two opinions from two separate neurosurgeons in two separate towns. Here's the lowdown:
We saw Thing 1 on Monday at Children's Hospital in Dallas. After waiting 1 1/2 hours for him to even show up to the office, in a pediatric waiting room that did not allow food or drink, we saw him. Now, if I were to see this man in a dark alley, I would probably run the other way (even if he were wearing the same wrinkly scrubs). His hair was frightful, as if he had just woken up, towel dried his thinning wavy hair, and forgot to brush it. He had huge glasses with thick black rims that he nervously adjusted as he spoke to us, and barely looked at the Baby before rendering an opinion.
His opinion was that while he is "not going to diagnosis her with hydrocephalus" he "is not going to rule it out" (because that makes total sense). He diagnosed her with ventriculomegalie (large ventricles). He wants to see her in 3 months and do an MRI at that point.
Now, I obviously do not have a medical degree and do not have the expertise that others do, but I do have my common sense and a mother's intuition. The last of which is what prevented me from feeling better after Thing 1's non-diagnosis diagnosis.
We saw Thing 2 today at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth and simply waiting was a much more pleasurable experience. The staff was friendly, and Baby ate a snack while we waited (although the wait was only 15 minutes). The nurse came in before Thing 2 (yes...Thing 1 had no nurse, just him, rushing in) to go over our information and check height, weight, and head circumference (yes...Thing 1 didn't check any of these things). When the doctor arrived, he was friendly, clean, and his hair was nice. I believe he had even brushed his teeth for us, which is always a nice touch. He shook my hand and my dad's (Grandaddy went with us today), then turned his attention to the Baby. His "bedside manner" with her was so much more gentle than Thing 1, and he knew exactly how to get her to cooperate without screaming. He examined her VERY thoroughly, looked at all the information we had given and rendered an opinion.
His opinion was that he also does not believe she has hydrocephalus, but he wants to do an MRI to be certain there is no pressure building up in the enlarged ventricles. We have an MRI scheduled for October and will go from there. Assuming nothing is wrong, he said we will probably have to have a small-scale MRI every 6 months to 1 year to ensure that everything is working as it should.
This was a huge relief to me. I just felt better that he was actually examining her and looking at her entire history. I also would rather know there is no issue, instead of worrying that one could arise at any moment. In the mean time, both doctors have told us to watch for the danger signs of hydrocephalus and rush to the ER if we notice them.
Thanks to everyone who has called to check on us and been there to support us!! While this issue is not over, at least we have some peace of mind.

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