Neurologists and Neurosurgeons

It was a big week last week with my trip tio Melbourne to see my new doctor his name is dr Andrew Evans.

Thats him above Jasmine thinks he looks a bit like Jim Parsons (aka Sheldon from Big Bang theory). We were due to see him on Tuesday and dad being who he is made a practice run to see where the office was and where we could park on the day. Good thinking 99. So we got to the appointment on time and we had a great parking spot (go dad) and we went up to the floor that had his rooms.

Problem.... the door is locked.. hmm not a good sign. After a few phone calls and text messages we find out that yes I had the right day but the receptionist (that was a standin the week before) had mucked up by saying that yes my appointment was in Melbourne when it was in fact in Launceston! RAAAAA!!! The receptionist was rip snorting mad that

A; I had been told the wrong thing, about the appointment ( you have to ring and confirm at least a week before or you dont get the appointment and then you get charged for the consultation anyway!)

B; That I had to fly interstate when I didnt need to and that my appointment could have been given to someone else who might have needed it :(

As it turned out the receptionist was great (the regular girl) and she managed to fit me in on the Thursday morning which meant I had to stay 2 extra days :( This being the last week that Jasmine was home before moving to melbourne for uni didnt make me happy at all.

I also had to call Jetstar and try and change my booking, that was a drama too they made the whole thing very difficult and in the end told me they "might" refund my ticket. gee thanks alot! So after going back to dads and rebooking another flight home on the latest available in case the dr wanted to do some tests while I was there.

Roll around to Thursday and de~ja ~vu I think Ive been here before???? I sit in the waiting room and wait and silently panic about if I have all the questions I wanted to ask and how long will this take etc... I was told to leave 3 hours free! After 15 mins we are told that he is running late... ok... an hour later he comes in very rushed in a suit that looks 2 sizes too big for him ( I know weird thing to notice). After the intro's are made and he does a quick physical we get down to what happened and when. I try to talk as fast as I can but I dont do very well and dad and Robyn are trying to help out. The dr notices that I have a pappilladeoma behind my eyes and wants me to have another Lumbar punture that day, I freak out because Im not ready for that kind of test and because they hurt like heck! In the end he has to wait because they can't fit me in *phew* Its just putting it off I still have to have it done and soon *crap* He also wants me to see the surgeon ASAP. *double crap* I'm waiting to hear back from them and if I havent heard back from them by Thursday then I have to call the neuro guy and he will jump on them.

Ohh and uni starts on Wednesday, and Jasmine has her driving test Tuesday afternoon and flying out that night and dad flys in Wednesday night yep... its all happening now

1st day back at school-

Its been a busy day here today, With Gabrile starting prep so he is at school 5 days a week!! Then Niamh started kindagarden and she goes 3 days a week Tuesday through to Thursday. We got up on time and after we had a guest for dinner the kids didnt clean up their toys so first thing before breakfast at 6.45am they were up and cleaning their toys away. They did a good job and got it done quickly before sitting at the table for breakfast. They raced to their rooms to get dressed for school, I went out last month and got new school uniforms for them and new shoes, runners, bags and lunch boxes. We were very organised with me making their lunches the night before and they were in the fridge waiting for them. I had enough time to have my breakfast and a shower and watch the news and we were still early! The kids were on the couch waiting to go to school and asking Allen every 5 seconds "can we go yet?"
Gabriel was very excited to be in his new class room with his friends from school. He was very happy when we left and I couldnt wait to get home and get some stuff done without them and spend some time with just Hezekiah. Niamh was very happy to spend the whole day at school and bought home her first drawing and her first cut and paste picture (a fish) I'm looking for the blutack at the moment its grown legs I just have to work our who's legs they were????....
Niamh was sooooo tired by the end of dinner and was in tears because she couldnt get to pat the duck that daddy was holding, so off to bed she went ( with more tears) she went to sleep very fast. Xaviour being a prefect this year (who forgot his badge) had a good day and was organised and had left at 8.15! Unheard of in our house its usuallly running into the kitchen at 8am and trying to make lunch while having his breakfast. He came home happy and was very quiet and hungry ( being almost 16 he's constantly eating). I love that we can sit and talk when he's ready to. I know he is going to have a great year with his senior dance.
jasmine decided that today she was going to finally clean her room. She has been so excited about moving for university that she has packed everything into boxes and is literaly living out of her suitcases. Tomorrow we get to repack the stuff she actually needs right now and then store the rest. She is starting to get reality of moving and having to pay rent and buy food and make her dinner herself every night! My father is close by in case of emergency and my brother in case of "boy" trouble. Jasmine leaves on the 28th and dad arrives the same day and will take her car on the boat for her so that she has her car in Melbourne. I know she is going to have a great time and that Im going to cry at the airport when she leaves :(
University for me starts back next wednesday for a day then the follwing week its full steam ahead, with Hezekiah starting day care for the first time. I know he will be fine he fits in really well with others and plays nice with other kids.

Hospital stay

Ok so on the 30th of January I woke up and was having some trouble walking.. I didnt think much of it at the time as I'd just got up. ... Fast forward till dinner time 6.30pm that night and I was having alot of problems walking my body just wasnt doing what I wanted it to and I couldnt work out why. My husband being the ever pressent pain in the butt had been waatching me all day like a hawk ready to pounce on me, he rang a friend of ours "mother Jackie" who is a retired nurse and we ring her all the time for medical advice, little stuff like "whats this weird rash on ...kid?" that sort of thing. Anyway Jackie rang (no Allen rang) and she wanted to talk to me ( no bully me) into going to the hospital. I tried my best to fight her off by saying "I'll be fine, I'll see my G.P in the morning ..." nope she wasnt taking any of that! So as I said I got bullied into going so I went begrudgingly to the hospital where they poked me and proded me they took a Cat scan and then and X-Ray then drew more blood then they tried the "stroke test" I thought I did an awesome job, allthough after the 8th time of answering "who is the current prime minister" I was ready to say daffy duck just to muck with them. I was tired and getting cranky, the seniour doctor didnt like the look of me and wanted to admitt me, there was no way in hell I was staying so after signing the relevent "get me out of here now" forms I went home with a promise to go to my G.P the next day.
I went to see my G.P the next day and my walking was still a bit "off balance" I kept leaning to the left and my speech was starting to slur, so after a 5 minute chat my G.P sent me back to the dreaded hospital.... After some debating and some more tests and a fantastic nurse who decided that a canular was a great thing to put in my arm when she was annoyed with someone else :( I was admitted to the stroke unit. By the next day my speech was terrible it was all stuttering and no words, my mind was working fine but my body was going nuts! I wa given a pen and paper by one of those very smart nurses :) I was able to communicate again allthough a bit slower. I stayed for a week seeing the senior doctor for stroke patients, and another neurologist from Hobart. After some debate between the 2 they decided that it wasn't a stroke (yay!) What they kept refering to was something I hadn't heard of before it was an "Arnold Chiari"
The doctors were saying that this may be the cause of my "incident" after another visit to the GP for more medication, I wrote this thing down and came home and did some reading about it.
I won't go into details because I'd just be repeating what the website says, but if your curious then the site is www.chiariaustralia.com Its a great site and you can see some of the wacky syptoms that Ive been having and check out what the surgery looks like after. Yeah it freaked me out! Thats a massive scar.
So Ive been waiting for an appointment with a neurologist in Melbourne and a neursurgeon also from Melbourne. I got a letter confirming my neurologist appointment is on the 21st of Feb, so thats only next week. Im hoping that after he sees me and I tell him who my surgeon is he'll give him a ring and I can see him sooner. Wish me luck!

Things on my mind....

Ok so in the past 7 days Ive had Hezekiah turn 2 and have spent 4 days in the hospital, and a friends husband passed away. The one thing that has occupied most of my time has been my frineds husband sudden passing. You know when you met certain people its like you can feel their strength, feel their love for others? Thats what I get from Lisa King. We are not "best friends" but know each other and I know her parents well. I always was in awe of her and her family as they struggled at times with their son Noah who was born with hydrcephaly ( I hope I spelt that right) I remember her and her husband Aaron's testmony at church after they found out what was wrong with Noah and how even though they were upset and were grieving for what might have been for him they were both so strong and knew that it was going to be ok because they had each other. Noah passed away on the 8th of October last year 2011 and I was amazed to hear her talk about her little "cheeky monkey", Aaron spoke as well as 2 of their boys aged 12 and 7. Through my tears I kept thinking how amazing they were what an amazing family what courage, what spiritual strength they all have. I can't even begin to think what its like to loose a child, Ive had 7 ( yes 7) misscarriages and I grieved for each one its not the same as seeing holding, hearing, touching, loving, that child then loosing him/her.
The King family went to St Helens to spend some family time together, their first summer without Noah, their first Christmas without him. They were just starting to rebuild some new kind of "normal" with one person missing from their mix. Then at 9.50pm on Australia day Aaron had a massive heart attack, his brother in laws worked on him till the ambulance got there while Lisa and the boys watched on willing him to get up, to breath, to stay... It wasnt to be. My heart was so full of sorrow for them when I was told the next day, I sat and cried, in shock, that can't be? Not now? Thats not fair!
The funeral was on Tuesday, the church and every available seat and standing room was packed. well over 700 people attended. Lisa has an unbelievable strength, her love for our Father in Heaven and his plan for us all. I am again in awe of her, I can't begin to understand what she is feeling or what her boys are going through (the youngest is just 3) but if you read her story from her blog maybe you will feel the need to help like so many others have.
www.lisaking.blogspot.com
If you want to donate their is this set up for her and the boys.

www.mycause.com.au just type in Lisa king into the search it will come up then.