My Defective Brain HELPED Me

For once I am totally GRATEFUL for my not so healthy brain.

Ok, I was totally terrified when I was diagnosed with PTC back in 1998, the thought of having to see a neurologist for the rest of my life scared me to death, and the opthalmologist scared me even more since I saw all the blind people on my first visit, and to be honest, I quit going at least twice.

Then I learned all I could because being sick stunk, I got my shunt put in and I went into a shunt induced remission, HEAVEN, Til it failed and I was right back where I started, staring at all those charts of brains and eyeballs made my head spin, I knew them inside out. Those models in the offices could not possibly be parts of my body.

Or could they? Hmm...I wanted to go into nursing til my nerve decided it was going to quit working PERIOD.
SO I decided Medical Assisting, I could be up and down and it gives me my medical environment. It still required Anatomy and Physiology (or a generic equivalent) I chose to take the AP class in case I wanted more later....Ahh, that first test was MURDER Muscles and bones, bones werent bad, but muscles and the skull were just too much...
this time
THE Brain, Ear, and Eye, Hey, I know this stuff. Mine does not work quite right, or at least some of it has been fixed, lets see the optic nerve is here, the cerebellum is here Oh look thats where those cereberllar tonsills are SUPPOSED TO BE (Chiari malformation) Look, Thats where all that extra spinal fluid is made (the choroid plexus) Identifying the ventricle was actually fun to me, It all made sense. It actually scared me a little how much I understood because I could explain it to my classmates medically to help them understand it but hey, I understood it and when it came to the lab practical, I got an 88, which for someone who does not test well is really good, I did not do as well on the lecture, but I was within 10% of my classmates which made me happy.

And for my fellow PTC patients Guess what we discussed in class today, the blood and of all things Carbonic Anhydrase, and what are Diamox and Topamax, but Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors, so I am actually going to learn how our meds work and what they are supposed to do...I say supposed to do since my pressure has not gone down, my headaches are still horrid, the diamox NEVER worked and the 200mgs daily of topamax is just helping with the nerve pain in my leg it has not touched the pressure, I can feel it daily and my eyes and ears water to tell me its high, so we shall see when I get my tap, it wont be too long now. My docs are finally helping me.
Now that I finally have a doc that is much better, I did some homework on him the other day, I have a friend that may know him from residency rotation too, Dr. Turner graduated from University of Maryland Medical School in 2002 and Josh graduated from Wayne State University Medical School in 2002, so they would have both been on staff doing residency at Childrens at the same time because I know Josh did a Pediatric Neurology rotation... Hmmm Maybe thats why my brain hurts, I think too much, anyhow my new neurologist is my age, and maybe thats why he cares more, its easier to see a patient who is significanly different in age as just someone else, but when its closer to home it brings it more to life, it could happen to your family, thats why younger docs tend to be more compassionate as of late....just my observation.