Singin’ the Blues

Dear friends,

Well, we be a little more on the down side than the up side today, but we¹re plugging along. We had a consultation with the neurologist today, and the most you can say is, well, we’ve finished this chapter of the journey.

Dave is diagnosed as having had a series of tiny strokes, called pin strokes, which have caused some brain damage. It accounts for his memory loss, and the slowness in bringing a word to mind, mullti- tasking, and problem solving. He can still do everything he always could, only not as fast.

Plus, he has a slipped disc, vertebrae 6-7, resulting in a pinched nerve that goes down his arm to his pointer finger.

Both of these problems are more common in older people, of course, so the doctor can’t say with certainty that the accident caused them, although he did agree that if Dave had the conditions before the accident, the severe concussion obviously would have made them worse. The vascular damage in his brain is seen often when the brain has been shaken severely.

It is hard to say whether he will have more of these tiny little infarcts. They are so small he doesn’t know when they happen. Maybe he will never have another one. It is the cumulative effect of many of these little bursts that causes the symptoms, so we’re hoping this is the worst of it and he won’t have any more. We will have to do follow ups, of course, now that we have a baseline.

Anyway, we are through with the testing and have turned it all over to the attorney. They are in the process of gathering up all the medical records and figuring a settlement amount. We feel sure we can reach some sort of agreement without going to court, but it probably won’t be next month. We work with a paralegal who scares us just a little bit. She’s tall and angular and has electric red hair, honest, she looks like Bill the Cat, her hair is about 5″ long all over and sticks straight out from her head. The first impression is memorable. But she is definitely on our side and seems to know what she’s doing. The firm has nine offices and a couple of stately old gents on the letterhead, so we figure they’ll take care of us.

The doctor was quick to tell Davey that he does NOT have Alzheimer’s, but he has started him on one of the new drugs that Alzheimer’s patients use. He describes it as a brain stimulant and results are mixed, so we’ll see. A listed side effect is loss of appetite, so I’m hoping he gets enough for both of us. A brain stimulant that takes off 20 lbs. … that’s my kind of drug!

Thanks for your notes of concern and encouragement. We know we’ll be fine. I’m having a low day today, but the guy with the problems came home from the doctor and fixed the leaky toilet! And actually, I think he was just as fast as ever!

We are headed to Savannah on the 12th. We have been enjoying 80 degree weather the past few days and feeling fairly glad we aren’t in central Georgia right now. Tornadoes are probably the scariest thing we have come close to down here, and it’s even scarier when they blow through out of season.

Love to all,