Today’s visit with Dr. T, who is a former violin student of mine, was good. He let Nannie talk, checked her limbs—reflexes, strength, mobility and flexibility, and scheduled a new MRI. The last MRI is almost a year old, which is obsolete in neurological years. He is specifically looking for all the troublemakers in her spine, although the pain indicates that her spinal cord is not involved. The pain in her leg and also in her spine indicates that the problem is below the area of the spinal cord. Dr. T did not subscribed 100% to the idea that the L2 nerve is the sole culprit in producing pain. Rather, he wants the new MRI to look at all the evidence.
Dr. T’s position is that her spine is old and worn out. Not a very nice thing to say, but something that happens to most of us, because the alternative is, well, not being alive, if you know what I mean. So he used a model and explained vertebrae, discs, the cord and nerves, fluids, etc. He had studied her previous MRI’s and x-rays and was thoroughly informed through her records and visits with Dr. Will and Dr. M, who administered the injections that gave her some temporary relief. I was impressed. He was kind and respectful and totally changed the subject when she began to complain about two previous doctors, one of them a neurosurgeon. When she persisted he politely shut her queries off by saying that it was not in his job description to know another doctor’s reasons for his decisions. He made no offer of surgery, but on the contrary, suggested that depending on his discoveries in studying the MRI, an implanted nerve stimulator could be a good option. Dr. M would do a procedure that would allow her to "test drive" it. Dr. T would do the surgery to implant.
The MRI is scheduled at 7 a.m. Thursday. The follow-up visit with Dr. T is Election Day. The MRI is exactly where Nannie wanted to go and does not interfere with her shampoo and set appointment. YES!
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