Pins and Needles

The parents and I left town on Thursday to go to Duke University to see a neurosurgeon about ATGIAK (if you don't know what that acronym means, see previous post titled "Ya Vo, Motherfucker, Ya Vo"). I'll admit, I was a bit worried about the trip. What will the doctor say? Will they admit dad right away? Is the alignment on the car gonna screw up? (Don't ask, I can't tell you why I worry about that obsessively on all road trips.) Will dad be ok if I smoke in the car on the way down there? Ok, so the last worry is a bit self-centered, but it's a 4 and a half hour drive, and I'm being honest here.

I was hoping that the doctor would just tell us that ATGIAK disappeared. That would have been the best case scenario, but of course I knew that wasn't going to happen. Still, it can't hurt to hope. Anyway, I don't think that anyone with realistic expectations would be able to think that our trip could have gone any better than it actually did. We saw the doctor Friday. He and his nurse practitioner were both amazing. He will be removing ATGIAK in early September (the 4th, but that date isn't set in stone yet). It will be a long surgery, and risky, but the surgeon seemed confident that he could remove all of ATGIAK without major complications. I trust him. He made eye contact with us. That means a lot in the medical world.

So now we wait. Again. But I have to admit, it feels a lot better now that we actually know what we are waiting for. It's scary, but it feels good to finally have a game plan. Not to mention the fact that I feel like dad's brain is in great hands with the doctor at Duke.

During the exam, the nurse practitioner poked dad (gently, everything this woman does is done gently) all over his left side with a safety pin. She wanted to know if he could tell, with his eyes closed, whether she was poking him with the sharp end or the rounded end. I took that safety pin when we left. I intend to wear it until dad can pass that test. When that day arrives, I'm going to poke the hell out him with it out of sheer happiness. :) I know. It's weird, but I just felt compelled to keep the safety pin for some reason. I'm not really gonna stab him with it, but I do feel that it's a bit symbolic of the problem, and will also be symbolic in knowing when the problem is resolved. Doctors want MRIs and Arteriograms, but I cant read that crap. The safety pin test tells me more, while we wait for the docs to tell us what their fancier tests say.

I'll keep you posted if anything new pops up. Otherwise, thank you to everyone for all the well-wishes and prayers, and keep 'em comin'. :) You guys have no idea how helpful it really is.

Sidenote: Before Thursday I hadn't been out of town with my parents in at least 15 years. Also, I think I have picked up some kind of illness involving lots of snot and tiredness. When I am feeling more energetic I will post more about the actual trip itself, which was interesting and entertaining despite our cause for going on the trip in the first place.