Tuesday, August 26, 2008

the twists and turns of life

Life sure is full of twists and turns.I was busy pressure washing my house the other day, doing the final prep work before hauling out the paint cans and my brushes, when I decided I was done for the day. The rest could wait. I was soaking wet, covered with various-sized moles of the paint that was peeling off my siding in huge chunks, and freezing cold due to a brisk Utah wind. Good time to call a halt and go warm up in a steaming hot shower, right?On the way through the kitchen I noticed my older daughter had called from Idaho. So I grabbed the phone and returned her call while I hunted for something warm and dry to wear.She answered in tears.She was at her doctor's office, grounded from driving because she's been having blackout spells followed by intense headaches. Would I come be her chauffeur and moral support while she got this problem sorted out? I left home about forty-five minutes later. And I'm still in Idaho - not having the faintest idea when I'll be free to go back home.In the meantime she's seen a neurologist and had an MRI. We're waiting for the results from that before the next test - a spinal tap.It appears that this might be one of two things. Either she's building up an excess of cerebral/spinal fluid and it's affecting her optic nerves (these 'blackouts' only affect her vision, not her hearing or ability to talk, walk, etc.) or there is the possibility of MS.The MRI should indicate if MS might be present. If it shows spots on her brain, the fluid collected from the spinal tap will be sent to a lab for further testing and confirmation of MS.The spinal tap, by itself, will indicate if her cerebral/spinal fluid is not being drained and absorbed as it's supposed to be.And in the meantime I'm her wheels.I'll probably go home once she's recovered from the spinal tap. Her friends and church members can help her get to where she needs to go after that. But I had to be here while the testing was being done. She needs me and I need to know what's happening to my daughter.So the house will wait. It may get painted this fall and, then again, it may not. Oh well.My garden will wait. I called Steve and told him to go raid my corn patch because I know full well Rick, Larry and Lili won't get around to canning or freezing it and they can't eat it all. (Oh, yes, Lili came back home a couple weeks ago.)And my life, while spiraling in unexpected circles, seems pretty much on hold, too.Seems pretty normal to me.

2 comments:

Anna Dutson said...

Hope your daughter feels better soon.

Cathy said...

Karen, I'm so sorry to hear that your daughter is ill. I hope that it all gets resolved as quickly as possible. Stuff like this is so scary. I'm glad at least that you can be there for her. My mom is a whole other country away. Not that she wouldn't come in a heartbeat if I needed her, it's just a big long drive away (and she'd have to leave a really cranky farmer behind to fend for himself). I'll keep you in my prayers.