A Deep Brain Stimulation Appointment

I have a deep brain stimulation appointment at Vanderbilt set for June 30 at 10am. I got a call from Patricia at the Vanderbilt DBS clinic. She's my coordinator now. She said she'll be with me every step of the way and I can call her if I have any questions. She explained what was going to happen. June 30 is just a consultation with a neurologist. She said I'll get to know him and he'll get to know me. He'll evaluate my symptoms and he'll be the one to see if I'm eligible to go forward with DBS. IF (and that's a big if right now) he thinks I meet the criteria to have DBS, I'll have what they call a pre-op evaluation. Patricia said that this consists of two appointments that can normally be done in one day. One is a motor skills evaluation and the other is a neuro-psychological evaluation. IF (another big if!) those appointments pan out and the doctors doing the evaluations think that I'm a candidate for DBS, the next step is for my neurologist to bring my case before the rest of the neurologists in the clinic. They meet every month on the 1st to discuss their patients and see who actually qualifies for the surgery. If they all agree that I am the "perfect" candidate for the surgery, then the surgery date is set.

Back to Patricia for a minute. At the end of our call, she said, "I see you have a birthday next Friday - happy birthday!" She mentioned that her birthday was on June 8 and that we are the same age. I wished her a happy birthday too. I found it funny though because she said that technically she's a few days older than me. I said I didn't mind because I'm the oldest in my family. She said she was the baby in her family. So we got to swap roles for a minute. :) She seems really sweet and I'll get to meet her on June 30.

I have to say that I am SO HAPPY that I made it through the first hoop - getting an appointment at the clinic. But, it's going to be a long ride. I'm kind of nervous about the whole thing, because I have a feeling it's going to be like I'm in school again. I have to "pass the test" every time and I'm a horrible test taker. But, one step at a time...if I get through the initial consultation and the neurologist feels like I'm a good candidate, then I'll worry about the next step. Who know? I might not make it through the consultation. He may say I don't qualify. So there is no need to worry about something that may not even happen.

I'm excited about the future and what it may hold. I'm trying to be realistic though and not get my hopes up too high. I do know who holds my future in His hands, so I'll rest in that. Whatever may come, I know the Lord will fight for me. He always has my best interests in mind.