Yesterday, when I got to OU Medical and finally found the right building for neurology (dang Siri, she loves to lead me astray with her directions!) I found out that my MRI film had not been sent by my neurologist as his office promised. I've decided I'm just never going to associate with that place ever again. I have never had so much trouble with a doctor! However, the neurosurgeon was kind enough to see me regardless, and the nurse was so nice to me that I immediately felt at ease- she treated me as if I were one of her grandchildren. Even though we did not have my entire MRI to look at, I did have the photo on my phone that I took of the MRI when I saw it back in January. I had the general physical exam, and then I went into great detail breaking down my medical history and all of my symptoms with the neurosurgeon. He sat, laid back and intentive, while I told him everything. He asked me all of the questions I was expecting (how long have I had symptoms, what brings them on, what makes them better/worse, etc) and truly listened to my answers. He was friendly and easygoing, telling me a little bit about his life all over the US, which I found interesting and helped me to open up a little easier.
When it got down to talking about treatment, he agreed with what his amazing nurse had already said: I will definitely be getting another MRI, this time of my entire spine to check for syringomeylia and to look at csf flow in depth. He talked to me extensively about my options, and I flat-out told him that I believe surgery could help me. I've been through every other method with zero relief. He told me all about how dozens of patients come in with very few symptoms begging for surgery, and that he refuses them because they haven't tried anything else. I understand that. He then told me that he does not believe I am one of those people-- he agrees that with my case, surgery could actually help. He explained all of the risks and broke down the entire process simply for me (ha, as if I haven't spent every waking second finding out every bit of info I can!) which was a nice gesture regardless.
He told me we would have to wait until after the second MRI to make a definite decision, but that my symptoms and age make me a good candidate for positive results from surgery. Soooooo, a date has not been set (only vaguely discussed as after I graduate in a few weeks) but it looks like my prayer have been answered: I will have the surgery, and I WILL get better!
