Update On Rebecca's MRI

Well, the good news is, Rebecca's MRI results came back fine. No tumors or anything that is causing her vision loss. The bad news is, we still don't know what is causing her problem.

I guess I'm relieved that she doesn't have some kind of tumor in her brain, but I'm still worried. Now, she has to go see a neurologist, which we will do April 23rd. From what I understand, she may have to have a spinal tap to determine if she has this Papillodema thing or not.

The nurse at the hospital wouldn't let me go in with her for the MRI, which made me mad, but she did fine. I'm hoping they will let me go in with her for the spinal tap if she has to have one. I don't know if they allow that or not, but I want to be with her so she's not so scared. She's a brave girl, but I'll admit, a spinal tap scares me to death! I don't let her know that, though.

When I know more, I'll be sure to post it here.

MRI

Rebecca went for an MRI on Friday to determine if there's anything in her head causing the problems with her eyes. In case you need a recap, see the post about it here.

We should get the results of her test this week sometime. In the meantime, we're just trying to keep her from bouncing around too much, like the doctor told us, so in case there is anything, she doesn't cause more damage. I'll post the results as soon as I get them.

We were told that if everything comes back OK with the MRI, she'll probably have to go for a spinal tap to determine if she has Papillodema, or swelling of the optical nerve associated with a pseudotumor (a fake tumor - your body acts as if there's a tumor in your brain, but there's not). The good news about this diagnosis is that it can be treated with medication and weight control. Rebecca isn't overweight, but she is much taller and bigger than most kids her age.

Now, it's just wait and see.....

Ahhh...Drama. How Boring Would Life Be Without It?

It seems there's never a dull moment around here. If it's not one kid, it's another. This time, it's two children at the same time with their own little "mini dramas" going on.

We took Rebecca in to have her eyes checked last week, and lo and behold, she's possibly going blind! It's not just your normal, "I need glasses to see better" type of thing.

Something is funky with the optical nerves in both eyes. They aren't right. She's been to a vision therapist, an opthamologist surgeon, and tomorrow she'll have an MRI done on her head to make sure there aren't any tumors or other nasty things going on in there. Her right eye is much worse than her left eye, but it apparently is affecting both eyes.

She got a pair of glasses yesterday. These will help her in school, but they aren't a cure. She was pretty happy with them though. I have to admit, they are pretty damned cute!

If all turns out okay with the MRI, she may have to have a spinal tap to determine if she has a thing called Papillodema. The doc said something about Pseudotumors too, where the body acts like there's a tumor but there's not.

Whatever the case, it scares the hell out of me. So far, they aren't able to say for sure what it is or if it's going to get any worse. The thought of my ten year old daughter losing her eyesight makes me sick to my stomach. Thankfully, the docs have said that my disability has nothing to do with what she's experiencing right now. My eye disease is not hereditary.

Will keep you all posted.

Now, we come to the oldest, Tristan. We made him an eye appointment for the end of this month. He wants contacts, we said no. Our insurance doesn't cover both, and it only covers one box of contact a year. Everything after that one box, we have to pay for. He's not happy, I don't care.

I told him that when he gets his job this summer, he can buy his own contacts, but I will pay for the glasses. He's still not happy. I don't care.

He forgets that he's not the only child in this family sometimes, and thinks he should get everything he wants, when he wants. I may sound harsh, but I'm sure he'll get over it. Sometimes that's just the way t hings have to be.