Part III: The Rabbit Hole

Mandy’s first symptom, a numb arm happened in the summer of 2003. It was now sometime around October and the only answer we had to date was a definitive “I don’t know, but it’s not MS.” We wanted a second opinion, having by now begun to question this neurologist. My father suggested that I take Mandy to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. I agreed and so we approached our family physician with the request that he do whatever he could do to get us an appointment there. He too, was dumbfounded and not a little incredulous at the neurologist’s findings. As luck would have it, he was successful and soon we found ourselves driving over the mountains into Baltimore and to a world-class medical facility.

It felt different there. First of all, it was busy. Lots and lots of people, most with a whole host of ailments... many that appeared far worse than ours. Another round of paperwork... less this time since they were smart enough to have sent a packet for Mandy to fill out and return well before her appointment date... and after the customary wait, we were escorted into the lead neurologist’s office.

The doctor’s assistant, herself a well-respected neurologist, joined us immediately so that she would perform the first patient/doctor interview. She was very nice, very professional, and -- we could sense -- very good at what she does. When she finished, the lead neurologist came in, introduced himself, read through his assistant’s notes, and began to question Mandy a bit more.

When he finished, he began to perform some of the same neurological tests that the other doctors had done. He watched Mandy carefully, noting the way she walked, checked her reflexes, even used a tuning fork to determine the extent of nerve damage or lack of nerve response. Finally, it was time to view the MRIs with the doctor. The same MRIs, I might add, that Mandy’s other neurologist looked at when he decided that she positively did NOT have MS.

As before, but in a much more professional manner, the doctor and his assistant lined up a few of the MRI films on a lighted backboard. Then they asked us to come over and view the films with them. I’ll never forget how he looked at the films, then looked at Mandy and I, and then asked quizzically, “Did you ever see these?” Of course, we said, and told him about our previous experience, as well as the diagnosis.

He listened, then pointed to some white spots on the film... white spots that are in Mandy’s brain. “Do you see these white spots here... and here,” he asked. Of course we did. Then came the words that we knew we would someday hear  -- “This is MS.”

[continued next post]