An Upate

Today I'm so thankful for the friends that God has placed in my life. Dear Betty Ann - she is like a bulldog - very determined and able to eloquently speak on behalf of those who can't (right now literally) speak or aren't sure what to say. Last night, dear Betts called asking if she could talk to my neurologist today because she is being inundated with emails and calls from folks about getting me more/quicker help. So dear Betts, called Dr. S. this morning and had a long conversation and eased things up a bit.

Dr. S. said that usually for an Essential Tremor an MRI is not indicated, but he is ordering one (mostly) because I also have migraines. It would not be helpful to go the States for an MRI sooner. Sure, they'll take my money and do it, but it won't be very helpful. Also, going to the ER before my MRI would not necessarily be helpful especially if I didn't get to see him (which he couldn't guarantee). The doc I see at the Migraine Clinic was sure that if it was really necessary they could bump someone off who was getting an MRI for their knee as a brain is more important :).

Betts, in her convincing way, asked if he would do a re-assessment which will be on the 17th (unless he has a cancellation before that) and tack me on on the end of his day. My MRI is still the 21st, but he will reassess to see if there needs to be any concern about my delaying in speech.

The best thing to do right now is apparently make sure that I don't get stressed. Heehee... who can say that they have no stress?!? Stress is a trigger (that I realized last week) and will make things worse. There are lots of things going on (waiting for babies to be born, not living in our own home, general business of life) and so since escaping to an exotic island (or Scotland) is not an option right now, I'll just have to take things easy.

The biggest things that others can do to help with this are:


  1. Pray. Pray that I'll be patient that I won't get frustrated and that I'll remember who is in control of all things!

  2. Don't squeeze my arm. I know the first thing that you want to do when you see my arm shake is hold it to stop it, but really, that hurts. A lot. I have no control over the tremor and if I try to stop it it hurts.

  3. This one is hard, and I'm not really sure how to say it best... I know that everyone is concerned but the more anxious you are it raises my anxiety which in the long run makes things worse. Because the symptoms are something that are very visibly seen and seem to change drastically from week to week and day to day it is easy to get more concerned and express that concern (not that you need to talk quietly in a corner :)). Right from the start I things have not been on my radar (tumors, MS or a host of other things) which has been a blessing because I wasn't thinking of those things and what they entail treatment wise, but as people think and talk about what they are thinking then I start to think more about it.

As things progress and appointments are made and had, I will do my best to keep you updated. Thank you all for your love and support and the reminders of the love of our Heavenly Father, who knows and ordains all things.

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