2020 Life Logs, Day 161: MRI Report
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 73, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Plans for today changed. I thought I was going to be taking the Goldpebbles to the beach or have them here for a kayaking this afternoon, but there was a march in Woods Hole of scientists and researchers in support of racial equality in the early afternoon, so the Goldstones headed there. As I was deciding what to do with my afternoon, the problem was solved for me by my primary care physician. One of his nurses called and asked if I could get on a Zoom call with him to discuss my MRI results. She went over the results with me and I was shocked that a report had been written and sent so quickly. The report verified exactly what my chiropractor has been telling me. I have severe stenosis in the lower lumbar region which I already knew, but I also have two bulging discs. One of them has a central extrusion. I don’t know exactly what that means but will soon find out. As I talked to Dr. Ahmed on Zoom, he got on the phone to a neurosurgeon that promised to review my MRI report within the hour. Dr. Ahmed said he would get back to me before the end of the afternoon with the next steps. I was literally shocked at the speed at which all of this happened. But I really have a lot of confidence in Dr. Ahmed. He is the doctor that met with Mark and I for the first time a month before Mark’s death. After examining Mark, he came in to talk to me and said what no doctor to that point had said. He even said at the time, “I know that Mark’s oncologist has probably not addressed this issue with you, but your husband has a very short time to live and you need to get ready for that.” I was jolted, but his actions that day made the last month of Mark’s life so much easier. He immediately ordered home nursing, had me sign all the forms needed to get Hospice involved when the time came, and much more. The point being, Dr. Ahmed is a man of action and I really appreciate that. He did call me back later this afternoon and said that the neurosurgeon had read my MRI report and wanted me take another round of Prednisone to calm down the inflammation. That doctor will meet with me via Zoom on Monday and discuss next steps. In the meantime, Dr. Ahmed said to stop the physical therapy but to continue to see my chiropractor that had insisted that I ask for the MRI to confirm his diagnosis. I feel very lucky to have such a good medical team. I will also contact the Spine Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital where I had my upper spine issues diagnosed in 2014. At that time a young neurosurgeon there told me to keep seeing my chiropractor (the same one I have now) and to not come back until I can’t walk. Dr. Ahmed thinks I should get a second opinion from him if that is possible at this time. Basically, all of this took most of my afternoon, but I did head to the Goldstones around 3:30 pm to go do a little gardening. I solicited help from Sam and Jonah while Ollie had his Wednesday violin lesson. After his lesson, Ollie helped me finish the planting job. The boys have two more weeks of “school”, but I think we are going to start our summer plan next week. It sounds like this summer Camp Oma will be an afternoon affair, with the boys staying at home in the morning to slowly get their day started and to read and relax before an afternoon of activity. It is going to be a different summer, for sure, but I think the current plan sounds like one that will work.
