Harrison is just getting back to normal (such as it is) since returning home from his most recent hospital stay. I didn’t take any pictures this time – in part because the whole thing is too exhausting and in part because the novelty is gone. In toggling through the photos I have (hmmm…when I was a kid we had to thumb through pictures, now we toggle…) I felt profoundly depressed when I realized that I was unable to discern one stay from the other, one hospital from the other. This has officially overstayed it’s welcome.
Since June, Harrison has had three “episodes” and five hospital stays. He has made the rounds at three hospitals, been examined by countless doctors and has been radiated to within an inch of glowing. He has been a trouper, shown calm in a scary situation, been patient (pun intended) and, yes, milked it (but just a little)(one overpriced video game)(okay, and Oakley sunglasses)(Rich bought those) (Maybe someday I can get Oakley’s, too). And here we are, still knowing a lot about what it isn’t and far less about what it is.
There is no big scary anything is his brain, heart or lungs. His MRIs, MRAs, CT Scans, XRays and blood tests are all “within normal range”. His symptoms have the most brilliant minds in medicine scratching their heads trying to figure it out, give it a name and make it go away. We’ve seen folks in Thoracics, Cardiology and Neurology. All agree that there is something wrong, yet none can determine just what it is. It isn’t for lack of trying, either. I know a lot of docs (both professionally – unfortunately – and personally) and one thing that is consistent among them is their drive to be the one to successfully put together a million little pieces and come up with the answer. So far, not one has succeeded.
For now, today, this afternoon (as this can change on a dime), Harrison is feeling pretty well. He is back on IM, Facebook and iTunes. He is bitching about homework (um, he hasn’t done any all week) and catching up with friends. He has made it clear that he doesn’t want to endure this exercise again but knows that there are other tests and appointments awaiting him. As of now, his sense of humor and his patience are intact. Wish I could say the same for his mother.
