Neurosurgery Report

Our appointment yesterday was, as I expected, just wonderful!  It's amazing what happens in six months, though.  The elder neurosurgeon retired and moved to Kenya with his wife (who was also an NP there).  He never performed any of M's procedures, but I do recall (vividly) my first encounter with him last December.  We came in and had an emergent procedure done by some super hot highly qualified adult neurosurgeon because our beloved Dr. I was out of the country - I know, how dare he.  Anyway, the peds nsg checked in us the next day.  He opened with: "I see you adopted her from Louisiana.  What'd you do that for?  Couldn't you find any healthy, white kids around here to adopt?"  Oh, yes he did!!  Turns out he has a pretty twisted, and very dry sense of humor.  We got talking about how he takes mission trips to Kenya to do hydro surgeries and when he retired he and his wife would move there.  I still never got any warm, fuzzy feelings about him, but I digress - he and his wife have left.  So, there is a new nsg.  Our favorite NP, J, has also left.  She was like my best friend during our 10 week stay earlier this year.  She did most of M's shunt taps, checked in us almost every day and occasionally just stopped by for a sweet, M snuggle.  I really loved her and am going to miss her dearly.  So, there are two new NPs.  There is also, of course, a new resident whom I met yesterday.  I wasn't particularly crazy about the last one - he'd be the one that ignored all of the signs that she was bleeding during her hemorrhage in February until I got there, found Dr. I and told him that she was white and neurologically bizarre.  This one appears to have just graduated - from middle school, that is.  They come and go pretty fast and so far, no one has measured up to our very first resident - he was great!  I am happy to report that the person that was there doing a fellowship for our last two months in the hospital is gone.  He was a prick - cocky, rough, sloppy.  I couldn't stand the sight of him and from what I gathered yesterday, no one else could either. 

Overall, Dr. I was pretty happy with M's status.  He's a man of few words, but his expressions tell the story.  He gave us another six month pass.  Barring any "issues" she'll have an MRI and another visit next May.  I completely forgot that he would have no idea about her IS diagnoses since she was diagnosed just after our last visit with him.  She started having clusters of spasms just after her post-op hemorrhage in February and ALL THREE neurologists that followed her in the hospital repeatedly blew us off.  They thought it was muscular, med-related, or just "healing".  Therefore, it took three months to get an IS diagnoses.  That's three months of unnecessary damage.  At hundreds of spasms a day, that's a lot of damage to add to an already very damaged brain.  Anyway, when I told him, he was so sad and so disappointed.  He knows that her outcome could've been completely different had it been treated right away. 

In spite of everything, I think although developmentally she's not where he was hoping to see her, he was thrilled to see her smiling, squealing, laughing and being silly.  We're pretty happy, too!