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| Photo from Public Domain Files |
There is definite cause for celebration - I DO NOT HAVE Parkinson's Disease, but have now been diagnosed Essential Tremors. Unfortunately, Don still has the PD diagnosis, but we'll get through that just like we would have gotten through both of us having the Parkinson's. My next post will contain a brief explanation of Essential Tremors and how it compares to Parkinson's. Stay tuned, if interested.
Wednesday, the day of the DaTscan was a long day. We left the house at 6:00 a.m., picked up our son in law, who took over the driving. Having a 9:00 appointment at the hospital, meant driving straight down with no stops. It took a little bit of driving around before we found the right building to enter. The gal on the phone neglected to give me accurate directions.
I think I explained before that you have to drink a glass of water and take a pill, to prevent the iodine from harming your thyroid. Then after a wait of 1 hour in the waiting room, it was time for the injection of iodine cocktail! I felt nothing from that other than the poke of the needle. Then came a 4 hour wait where we could leave the building. We chose to drive to the nearest Cracker Barrell for lack of knowing where there was any other restaurant. It helped us kill time and we had lunch.
At 2:00 I had to report back to the hospital for the scan. I wanted to include a picture of the machine, but now days with copyright laws, I didn't dare. Let me just say it looks somewhat like a MRI machine - only half as long. In my case they were only scanning my brain (guess I must have some brains then), so a conveyor belt system took me back to that opening. There were two arms on either side of the opening that held two steel panels that must house the camera (so to speak). Those arms moved those large steel panels around in various positions around my face, head, neck, etc. It was a little intimidating when the plates met in the middle blocking my vision from the room, but they slowly moved away and changed positions several times during the 1/2 hour scan.
When the scan was over, I was free to go home - another 2 hour trip north. All in all, it is a very painless test/scan to have and isn't quite as confining as an MRI machine (when you are a larger person in a one-size-fits-all opening). If you ever have to have one, it really isn't anything to worry about or be afraid of.
Yesterday, Thursday, the doctor's office called with the good news. The scan backed up her thoughts - I have Essential Tremors - not Parkinson's. That is happy news as Parkinson's is a crippling disease - ET is not. although in some cases it can lead to Parkinson's. We'll worry about that when and if it happens.
Now what to do with the blog. If I keep it, it will need a new name. I originally started it as a type of reference as to the life of someone with Parkinson's.
1. I could keep it going with news on Don's progression (which is very stable at present).
2. I could delete the entire blog.
3. I suppose I could just make it a personal blog, but our life isn't very newsworthy at this age.
4. I could change the name and write a little on ET, although there won't be as much to write about other than ongoing back issues (which are still present).
Any ideas out there. I'll consider all of them because I really don't know what I want to do with it.
Thanks for sticking with us on this unusual journey. It PAYS TO GET A SECOND OPINION!
Until next week,
Mary
