Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Neurology Appointment

The kids stayed home and worked on some school. Michael and I headed in to Portland. Our 25 min drive took 40 min on the way in and 1.5 hours on the way home.  We were blessing Uncle Olie (Walt)  as we parked the beast. We also reconfirmed our desire NOT to live in a big city.

Michael did an internship here 26 years ago. Life came full-circle as we entered an out-building for his neurology consult. The bottom line is Michael still has Parkinson's Disease.  HOWEVER, the two we saw yesterday were great. Dr. C is going to fight for Michael to get the drugs he currently takes. His mother has PD and he told us he is invested in making sure his patients get current and thorough care. He added another drug to the daily mix. He also gave Michael referrals to physical and speech therapy. He encouraged early intervention to teach skills which will help Michael be steady on his feet and improve his voice volume.  They are also checking some swallowing issues. We aren't sure how the referrals will work with our traveling, but we'll get on it while we are  in C City helping Mom G. 

By the time we got back to the Caboose the kids had already had dinner. We headed out to REGAL 9....yes. The kids had Regal cards and we've not been where there are Regal theaters. We watched Secret Lives of Pets. 

This little break was nice. We were doing what we envisioned doing when we moved into the Caboose. We explored a new area, played games, watched movies, sat in  hot tubs.....this is not a complaint - just a reality  - we're usually too tired to do much family connecting lately. LOL 

Our next appointment with the neurologist is in February.  We are sad to leave Dr. Duffy, but feel like this doctor is as close as we could come in the VA system.  He's an answer to prayer.