The timeline for the SEEG, anyway… I know it’s been a long time since I posted anything here, but most times when I felt like writing something, it was just to vent, to express my aggravation at how slow things seemed to be moving and how many hoops seemed to be appearing that I needed to jump through.
“You should get a call sometime next week.” And then I called for an update at the end of the following week for an update and got no new information.
“You need to see your primary physician.” That seemed like a ridiculous waste of time, given that I looked at my records and I hadn’t seen him in over two years, so I’d need to update him on all of this new information and we’d talk about the potential clotting issue… why? Well, I discovered when I got there that the appointment wasn’t a consult—it ended up being my annual physical. Plus I updated him on all of the new information, we talked about the potential clotting issue, etc. (Sadly, I’m supposed to get another physical within a month before surgery… the surgery that involves putting the sensors into place inside my head… so after not getting an annual physical for a few years, I’m getting a second one a few months later.)
“We need to talk about your blood thinners.” I’m still confused as to why this keeps coming up and why I have to keep explaining the cause and the fact that blood clots are not an ongoing issue for me. The last time I was in the hospital for EEG testing, it lasted a week and a half and I got to walk maybe 15 feet to the bathroom and back a few times a day. That was pretty much the extent of my getting up and moving around to get the blood flowing in my legs. Thus, when they did an ultrasound of my lower legs a few weeks later, finding a bunch of blood clots… not that surprising. As a result, I was prescribed a blood thinner for three months. That was it. I’m not still taking it, so I don’t need to not take it anymore a certain number of days before surgery.
Dr. White’s office called me a while ago and set a tentative date of June 17th to start testing, it just needed to be confirmed by the neurosurgeon. Maybe two weeks later, I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize and the caller ID was a random name I’d never seen before. Under different circumstances, I might have just let the call go to voicemail—this time, I’m glad I answered because it was someone from Dr. Nelson’s office. June 17th wasn’t going to work. So it’s scheduled to start on July 8th instead. SEEG testing confirmed!
There are still a few hoops to jump through: the neurosurgeon wants me to get another MRI of my head so he’ll know where to aim the sensors inside my skull (no idea how many I’ve had done in the past, but the fact that I know my rate of falling asleep inside an MRI tube is slightly below 50%… that should give you an idea…), I need to have that pre-surgery physical… but I’m much more comfortable with hoops when I know I won’t jump through one, then have to wait three weeks just to find out about new hoops that’ll take even more time.
Having a date that’s official and won’t change (as long as I jump through the rest of the necessary hoops) is a relief. Will I be nervous as we get closer to July? Possibly. I don’t have a percentage of how often I’ve been nervous before this kind of testing before. That said, I’ll be sure to provide more updates in the future, good news or bad. (I promise not to wait until I have good news to share before writing the next entry…)