Our Visit to the Neurologist

We prayed and debated about going to the Neurologist or not...both of us feeling/fearing that we would not be able to get any answers only more "wait and sees." But, Kevin had some very frustrating days this week mentally (not able to retain details recently repeated to him...3 times, losing his place in conversations) and we forgot to cancel it, sooo we went.

The wait was long (1.5 hours!) but the Dr. was nice. Maybe our age. He asked Kevin a series of questions...gave him 3 things to try to remember (red car, blue train, honey bee) and continued to ask him questions...random questions to try to confuse his mind and take his attention off of remembering 'red car, blue train, honey bee'. Kevin was able to answer the questions and was able to retain the 'red-blue-bee' combo with the slight variation of "bumble" instead of "honey" in reference to the bee. The Dr. was pleased.

The Dr. said that every one's body responds differently to surgery and Kevin obviously responds strongly. He described Kevin's symptoms as being similar to "recovering from a concussion." (Hoping the Dr's didn't drop him on his head at some point during the procedure in December...that probably wouldn't make it into the medical log.) :)

We were encouraged to make a point to sleep 7.5 hours every night until he is recovered, avoid caffeinated drinks after 3 PM, and wait it out. They had us go to the lab to give some blood to check his thyroid and B12, B1 levels. Not expecting anything from those tests.

So bottom line, we are feeling more and more confident that Kevin was right on when he self-diagnosed himself a month or so ago...Post Operative Cognitive Dysfunction...time will tell. But we feel that we have been thorough and walked through the doors He has opened to find answers. We will continue to wait and pray for complete restoration and clarity of mind.

Brief update on Kevin

I wanted to give a brief update about Kevin's recovery.

He says his dizziness is gone. The headache-that-would-not-go-away is mostly gone...returns late afternoon.
Cognitively, he is still having some difficulty... still not thinking clearly, but says he feels the best he has felt since his heart procedure. (My optimist. Sigh. But I am really starting to believe him now. )

We go to his heart doctor tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4 for a routine checkup. We are pretty sure the doctor is going to say that he has no idea why Kevin has had the struggle that he has had and that he still does not believe that it is at all related to the heart ablation. To which, we will say, "okay, but he was not suffering from any of these symptoms prior to the procedure. Sooooo, what else can you tell us?" :) We will mention the POCD possibility and also make sure that he hears our "favorite" quote of this entire ordeal that came from one of the nurses in his office following Kevin's ECHO:

"You can go home now, Mr. Williams. If we find anything life-threatening we will call you within 5-7 days."

Yep. Never gonna forget that one.

A Name Might Help...

I thought some of you might be looking for an update...oh, how I wish I could tell you we have made progress...

BUT...this week, Kevin's symptoms have seemed to take it up a notch. His headache (which has lasted...ummm...43 days...straight.) has intensified. His dizziness comes and goes more frequently (the coming is more frequent) Cognitive functions...not improving.
Overall...he just feels lousy.

We do have a flicker of light in this seemingly-unending-tunnel...Kevin was doing some online research and happened upon a possible name for his "condition."

Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD)

It has something to do with what happens to a patient's brain when they are under anesthesia...and how the body recovers from that or something. Honestly, as I tried to read some of the articles I got lost in the medical lingo...but the symptoms match Kevin's...and most of the research (not much) is from heart patients.

Now we are not getting too carried away with our Google version of self-diagnosis...no Doctor has given us this label...but somehow...just being able to call it something (other than mysterious) makes it a little easier to deal with. A few hurdles to jump over is that POCD usually occurs in elderly patients. And that there is no treatment. And that it can last up to 6 months or longer. And...well we will stop there...no need to get all negative about our possible name...

So there you go. A name might help.

Once Again, "Normal."

So, we got the results back for Kevin's MRI...normal. It is interesting, no explanations for his symptoms, but the two biggest or most obvious culprits have been eliminated. How can that seem like a bittersweet thing? Soooo glad that he has a healthy heart and that his brain shows no signs of complications...those are two VERY GOOD things...but we feel discouraged that we still don't have answers.

The Doctor will be talking with a Neurologist friend about Kevin's symptoms. Hoping to get an appointment with him soon. They want to look at his inner-ear which is connected to his nervous system...could be the cause...COULD be the cause. Kevin is beginning to be skeptical that we could continue to run test after test and never get answers.

Please continue to pray for strength, patience and hope.

We feel like we could end up being an episode on one of those Mystery Illness shows or House....Lord, please don't let us end up on House...he is a grump and that hardly ever ends well...no, let's just be HEALED!!