My Morning in Venice

So this morning I arrived at the hospital for my MRI (after babysitter arrived 37 mins late, with no excuse!).  I change into the robe and get briefed on the whole procedure.  They lay me down on the table, assure me it won't hurt, cover me with a warm blanket, and screw this cage over my face.  The cage is actually quite nice as it has strategically positioned mirrors so I can see out the tube and into the window where the docs are looking at all their computers (I'm totally thinking about Meredith and McDreamy sitting there making plans for a weekend in Sonoma Valley or something).  They give me headphones (playing the Three Tenors greatest hits!!!) to drown out the whirring of the machine and we get started.  I must admit, with two active little ones at home this was shaping up to be the most relaxing half hour of my month.  To make sure I didn't get nervous or antsy, I imagine myself floating down the river streets in Venice, Italy while Lucciano and the boys serenade me.  I was definitely thinking I would recommend this to all stressed moms, as it's much easier to get insurance to cover this than time at the spa.  

After about a half hour they pulled me out and told me something I couldn't hear over the boys' gorgeous bellowing, so I nodded and asked if we were done.  The nurse said yes, but then began sticking a very large needle into me explaining that they needed to visualize something (slight language barrier).  That was fine, because we were done and I did great.  Then she capped off my vein with a long tube and pushed me back in the machine. "Wait!  I thought we were done!?" "Oh yes," she tells me, "but we need to visualize your body." Whatever that means.  I ask how long it takes, and she tells me 15 minutes!  Starting to get uncomfortable, and blind-sided by the extra time, I let loose one little tear.  I returned to Italy and this time had to focus on the music to stay calm and started counted songs until it seemed like 15 minutes should be over.  It was.  They came back, retrieved me, let me change, removed the tube, and ushered me to the waiting room in expectation of the doctor.

A minute later he came out and told me the tests were all clear.  I'm normal!  No stroke, tumor, no brain swelling, nothing!  So the doctor settled on "complicated migraines" as my chosen diagnosis.  He gave me an over-the-counter-ish medication to take in the event of another attack, and we were off.  We need to return tomorrow for the results of my last blood work, but we anticipate everything should be fine.  We have a few questions for him, and hopefully that will be it.  Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers.  We really appreciate it!  Elliott was so scared, and took great comfort in knowing there were thousands of people praying for us.

Another Update

Sorry the previous was so long, this should be much shorter.

This morning I spent another few hours in the hospital, a different one this time for another view point.  I talked at length with a neurologist and had another five vials of blood taken.  I guess last time I had a CT scan, so tomorrow they are doing an MRI because they are more detailed. Currently this doc thinks they are "complicated migraines".  Apparently these are pretty serious, cause all the symptoms I had, and can even cause strokes!  After the tests tomorrow and more time with the neuro we should have a better idea.  If after that, I still have issues and can't get this under control we will proceed with a spinal tap and possibly more tests.

Thanks for all your continued prayers, and I will update again soon. 

Health Update

I know many of you have heard bits and pieces over the last few days, but I thought I'd give you the full-ish story so you can be filled in.

Wednesday morn Ell was out doing missions stuff and I was home with the kids.  About 10:45 I started feeling really strange and called Elliott to ask him to come home.  I was having a great deal of trouble speaking and all I could say was, "home...now...something...wrong...now."  Ell called our friends Sue and Jarvis to rush over to our house immediately, as they were closer to home than he was.  When they arrived in a few minutes and Sue took me to her car to get to the hospital just as Ell arrived home in the cab.  

By the time we got to the nearest clinic all I could say was, "no" and "now".  When asked questions I always came up blank - my birthday, the month, where I lived - all met with blank stares. I was able to understand a lot of what was going on, but only in English.  I couldn't read or write either, in any language.  I was trying to communicate through a few signs, but I was so confused even that was hard to understand.  I could remember my name, but not Elliott's, the kids', or anything else.  I would often know roughly what I wanted to say, but could not get any words to come out.  Sue told me her name several times, but each time I forgot.  Soon the clinic suggested I'd had a stroke or a brain tumor (luckily I was unaware of this).  Elliott made the decision to transfer me to a more upscale hospital since we were apparently talking about something pretty serious.

By the time we made it over 30 min away to the other clinic I was screaming in pain for the exploding headache (way worse than childbirth).  I was also very weak and could hardly walk by myself.  After a few hours in the ER, MRIs, multiple blood tests, and a lot of pain meds they said the tests were clear, meaning no tumor/stroke.  Their next guess was viral encephalitis, a virus that causes swelling on the brain, which leads to all my symptoms.  By this time, about 5 hours later, I was given a room to be comfortable while we did some more tests. This included three more blood tests, three urine tests, and a chest x-ray, all of which were clear (and a not-so-happy nurse trying to bathe me).  The current theory was still encephalitis, since the virus travels throughout the body and may not always show up even though it's present.  

But by the next morning I was doing great.  Still very weak, I could talk and read a little bit, and write, even though my hand was quite shaky.  I was getting so much better so quickly that the dr.s said it couldn't be encephalitis, because that lasts up to a week or two.  I had recently started taking some dr. prescribed herbs to clear up some eczema, and the docs thought that could be a possible culprit. Then finally a neurologist decided I had a bladder infection and discharged me. (yes, I know!) Baffled, we headed home hoping it would never happen again. By now it was about 4 pm on Thursday.

Friday I start the day out resting, but at about 10:30 am I had another "attack", just like the first, only not as severe.  This time I had only a partial loss of language, and slightly less confusion, but the headache was still the same as was the debilitating weakness, and did I mention personality change?  Yea, after a few minutes of pain I turned into this Cruella DeVille type woman. So this hospital trip began with waiting about 45 minutes for the original neurologist to return to her office to help me.  This time she gave a diagnosis of migraines, had a few words with Elliott who then requested we transfer back to ER to get someone else's help. 

After eight full hours in ER with more blood tests, a visit from another neurologist, internal medicine dr. and a physch evaluation, roads seemed to point to the herbs causing some sort of reaction, but still not sure.  Since the herbs are from China they are not testable to see exactly what compounds are in them and if they could be causing these problems.  So this time I was sent home with some fast-acting pills to take in case this should happen again.  And mainly to wait.  To wait and make sure w don't have a repeat.  The doc thinks the herbs should all be out of my system by Sunday night, so if it occurs after that we will know to return to the hospital to look for another answer.

Blessedly, we have had several church people rushing over to take care of the kids and bring us meals.  Not sure what the kids were fed (probably way too much sugar), but they are fine and had a great time playing.  Although Micaiah is noticeably a little nervous and does not want me out of his sight.  Shaylee gave me the biggest smile when I got home and nursed her after my three day sequestering.  I think Ell is the worst off.  He has held up so well, but he is exhausted.  He really thought we'd be on our way back to the States by now seeking specialized help.  He has had a very emotional week and can't seem to catch up on enough sleep. All week we will have people here helping everyday, since it looks like this recovery is going to be a while.  

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns, and I hope I never report something like this again!