Sept. 2 - Dr. Bhansali

We met with Dr. Bhansali today and he was very thorough with his questions and assessments. After gettng a medical run-down he put some "glasses" on Mom and looked through them into her eyes. Then, he had her close her eyes and he twisted her head back and forth about a dozen times and then he peered back into Mom's eyes to see what was happening. His initial assessment is that the problem is on the left side not the right side. He also had his audiologist assess Mom's hearing. She has some hearing loss, particularly of the high tones but nothing to be concerned with at this time. He also looked into her ears and her mouth.

He has asked that we get the CT Scan results to him and the other ENT test results to him. On Sept. 10th he is going to re-run the ENT tests that Mom had previously to see what his assessment is. He wants to know if Mom has had an MRI in the last three years and I will call Cantwell tomorrow and see if she's had such a thing. I know for certain that she hasn't had one since she had the pacemaker... can't do MRI's with pacemakers. So, if she did have one it would have had to be in 2007 or early 2008. Anyhow, if she's had an MRI then he wants to see that as well.

Mom and I are going to postpone the Boniva shot until the week following the hematologist appt. We can cancel it if necessary but as I said earlier....better not to impede anything the H man needs with an added dose of something.

BTW Mom's INR for coumadin has gone back down to 2.8. For the past two weeks it has been at 3.1 which is a bit thin although nothing to be alarmed about. I'm glad it is back between 2 and 3 which is where it is supposed to be.

Sept. 1 - blood results

Went to see Dr. Cantwell on or about August 25 regarding the call from Dr. Waldrop and Mom's elevated blood count. Dr. Cantwell wanted to run all the tests again to check out Mom. He ran more Blood tests, took an X-ray and did her urine. Today, we had a call regarding the results.

Sharon, Dr. Cantwell's nurse called to say that Mom's white blood count was still elevated but not quite as high as previously. It was at 16 something with some cells that need further identification. That being the case Sharon had their office set an appointment with a hematologist, Dr. McClune, for Sept. 15...couldn't be sooner for a new patient.

I contacted Mark Cohen for a referal on an ENT at the recommendation of Dr. Waldrop and reiterated by Dr. Cantwell. I also asked if he knew a hematologist in case we didn't like the one provided by Wellstar (Cantwell's system). He gave me the name of his own ENT, Dr. Sanjay Bhansali, over near St. Joseph Hosp. He said that a 2 week wait for a new patient was what to expect no matter who the hematologist was so we are going along with Dr. McCune for the moment.

I got an appointment with Dr. Bhansali on Sept. 2, and re-organized Mom's eye appointment for next Tuesday along with her blood work for the Boniva shot. I am thinking that the blood work just received from Dr. Cantwell should work just fine for Dr. Meyerson. I'll check on that tomorrow. Boniva is scheduled for Sept. 15 so I need to see if it conflicts with Dr. McClune. Actually, I think I will reschedule the Boniva...until we've met with Dr. McCune..

August 26, 2010 - Blood results

Dr. Waldrop's office called to say that Mom's sodium is low. There were some other figures she gave me but she had already sent them over to Ryan Cantwell as well as called him. Most concerning is her white count which is elevated to 17.2. The upper normal is 10. So I have already called Cantwell to find out what to do next. They could simply call in a prescription for an antibiotic or they could make an appointment. All the other doctor reports from this week and the previous week will be in Cantwell's office by Tuesday latest. Tuesday we are meeting with Waldrop (neurologist) to get a summary of Mom's head and carotids.

Aug. 24 - no breast cancer

We had the fancy mammogram on Mom's left breast today and Mom does not have breast cancer. She has small benign calcium formations.

August 23rd, 2010 - CT Scan etc.

Today we went to have Mom's head CT scanned, an ultra-sound of carotids and an electro-something on her ears to determine the cause of her "light-headedness". We won't know the outcomes of the CT or the ultra until next Tuesday. The audiologist, who did the electro thing said that Mom has a problem with her right ear. It could be viral or it could be having to do with her circulation....we should know next Tues. I hope when we visit with Dr. Waldrop the neurologist.

August 7th, 2010

Mom said her head feels "other wordly" and thinks an appointment with the brain doctor would be a good idea. I'll call Dr. Waldrop on Monday (he's the neurologist) and make an appointment for diagnosis.

July 24 - Face swollen again - Droopy returns

Mom's face swelled up again like Droopy. She had gone to lunch with the Sunday School group and had eggs benedict. I called the place to find out what was in the eggs and there was nothing with MSG or out of the ordinary. She had birdseye veg/pasta combo for dinner, I checked the contents of that but there was nothing that sounded MSGish or otherwise. So this is the third iteration. The first we thought was dental, the second we though was chinese food, and now this. She always swells up the same way. Lower face and lips.