Monday, June 28

Jimmy saw the neurologist this morning, and get this... they called him NORMAL! Clearly the doctor doesn't know him at all.

But seriously (folks), it was great. The doctor was genuinely thrilled at the progress my wobble boy has made, and this was an opportunity to let him be a teaching case for the 12 year old medical student in residence. There were a few weak spots on the neuro exam, but like I said, everything fell within the range of normal. Yay!

He's to be careful for the next couple of months, no sparring at karate, no contact sports.

I asked all the obvious questions -

Do you still think it is/was accute cerebellar ataxia? Yes
Is it going to come back? I don't think so
Is he more likely to develop this in the future? I hope not

Ahhhh, neurology.

He's not yet cleared, there's one issue that the doctor wants to keep an eye on, a thing they discovered during the MRI of his spine and considered an incidental finding because it did not explain the symptoms he had; and he was not exhibiting any signs that would have caused this to be a concern. It is a syringomyelia thoracic - a tubular cavity which contains fluid within the spinal cord. His is between T4 and T10, and the doctor wants to repeat the spinal MRI in about four months to make sure that it hasn't increased in size. Sooner, if he develops symptoms like an inability to control his bowels/bladder, loss of sensation or weakness in the lower part of his body, or back pain; we'll go back sooner. And he just had to leave me with: "if we see symptoms or an increase in size, we'll consult with a neurosurgeon."

In the meantime, Jimmy is doing REALLY GREAT! He is still very sore, especially in his feet and ankles, but he's active and busy and happy, happy, happy! We're winding down the school year and looking forward to planning a celebration for having kicked Ataxia squarely in the butt. You'll all be invited, I'm thinking Skateworld, with proceeds going to the school that never once made either of us feel like a burden or even a particularly significant challenge. It was just Jimmy at school, and I'm not sure they will ever know how important that was for us.

More to come, still. When I can get to it. Those memories aren't going anywhere :)

Thanks for all your love and support!