| > <<< Note 1072.2 by LEDZEP::TERNULLO >>>
> -< My thoughts are with you and your family >-
> Bob,
>
> First your daughter and now your niece, with different things.
> My thoughts are with you and your family that they both recover
> nicely and soon from these things.
Some Christmas. My poor parents, like they've never had enough to worry
about.
In my daughter's case, I believe (perhaps that's hope)
that her condition is relatively benign and will just disappear
with no treatment (aspirin/tylenol for pain when necessary). We will have
to monitor her kidney's for renal involvement, blood in her urine,
which will indicate that her kidneys are under attack and then
we would have to suppress her immune system with some form of steroid.
But the last two days she's been bouncing around feeling great.
For my niece, my sister is taking it a LOT harder than my niece.
Although her oldest if off to college, this is the first real medical
problem they have had to deal with and they are quite thrown
for a loop. My niece just wants to ignore it.
The real hard part is that it appears she will need surgery, possibly
soon. They are reviewing the MRI results with the doctors today.
She has mid-terms in 3 weeks (she's in 10th grade) and (and this
is important) she has been invited to a big school dance by her first
boy friend just after mid-terms. My sister is hoping they can delay
the surgery until Feb. but I really doubt it. Also, delaying it
may mean 'full body brace' and that might slow things down at the dance.
Her spine is 'unstable' at this point and I doubt the doctors
will want her walking around a whole lot. What they are shocked at is
that she's able to walk at all. They say that if that amount of
slippage had occured in an adult we'ld be writhing on the floor in agony.
No one knows if my niece has just gotten used to the pain and is now
ignoring it or if kids just dont feel pain like adults do. but the
doctors cant believe she's mobile.
She and her girl friends are supposed to go to New York this weekend
and she's determined to go!
We've got an appointment with the Western Mass Kidney Center today and
my sister is going over the MRI results. So we'll all know more soon.
Merry Christmas...and Happy New Year.
bob
|
| Bob,
I am not a doctor, nor do I know anything about your niece's
situation. I can assure you, however, that spine surgery today
is nothing like it was even 5 years ago. Especially when the
patient is young, recovery can be almost miraculous.
My husband had an entire vertebrae replaced with plastic and
went from being immobile to walking out of the hospital within
seven days.
Of course every case is different. Best of luck to you and your
neice.
Diana
|