Wow! This is not what I was expecting to write to you about today! I was expecting to be telling you how difficult it was to go through an airport in a halo and how I was adjusting to life with four screws in my head! But as you know from the title, I AM NOT IN A HALO! Praise the Lord! We should have known to expect the unexpected, because that is the story of my life! I will try to give you a brief summary of what happened in the past four days in Bethesda, MD!
Sunday, June 14
We arrived in Baltimore at about 1 pm. We drove straight to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore for lunch before heading to the hotel! After we settled in we decided it would be a good idea to find Dr. Henderson’s office, as we would not want to get lost and arrive late to our first appointment. The office was less than five minutes from the hotel! We explored the surrounding area for a little while and then headed back to the hotel for the rest of the night!
Monday, June 15
My appointment with Dr. Henderson was scheduled for noon, but we really expected to wait in his office for a long time. We didn’t wait more that 15 minutes after we had filled out the paperwork! A nurse in the office put us in a room and the doctor came in shortly after. We filled him in on my medical history, which he already knew for the most part, because we sent him a 70 page file of my records!
MACKENZIE ASKED ME (LISA) TO FINISH THIS, AS SHE IS GETTING TIRED.
Dr. Henderson listened intently and spoke compassionately directly to Mackenzie. He did a thorough physical examination and then took us into his office to go over Mackenzie’s radiological studies.
He pulled them up on his computer and explained what he saw in detail, confirming her cranial settling and instability. He spent about two hours with us and sent us on our way with instructions to return to his office after a new CT and visits with two specialists were completed.
At this point, he had still not made a final decision about the best course of treatment or whether to use the halo.
He exchanged phone numbers with Mackenzie and told her to call him if she had any questions and to find out when to return to his office. If you have been to many doctors, you know this is not the usual way of doing things. We are very thankful for his kindness.
Mackenzie then had an appointment with the neuro-otologist in Dr. Henderson’s practice. He took a brief history from us and then suggested some extensive testing be done on our return visit to assess the nature of Mackenzie’s dizziness.
After our appointment, we went back to the hotel for a while; Mackenzie took a nap while I caught up on some phone calls. Dr. Francomano met us for dinner later and we had a wonderful time catching up with her. What a blessing!
Tuesday, June 16
This day was a little less hectic. Mackenzie had her CT done at 4:00 p.m, and then we went out in search for an early dinner.
Mackenzie and Dr. Henderson spoke by telephone several times and it was decided we would go to his office Wednesday after lunch.
Wednesday, June 17
Our day started early with an 8:00 a.m. appointment with a neuro-ophthalmologist down the hall from Dr. Henderson’s office. We had some time to kill after this so we explored the town a little before we returned to Dr. Henderson’s office after lunch.
Here is where things get interesting! As we were sitting in the lobby, a medical equipment rep came in the door pushing a cart upon which was a halo system. I must say our hearts sunk—we knew it was for Mackenzie, as there was no one else waiting to be seen. Dr. Henderson must have made the decision to use the halo based on the new info on the CT and the reports from the two specialists. Mackenzie was ready to submit to this mode of treatment, but this was not going to be easy.
A few minutes later, Dr. Henderson came to get us from the lobby. In his office, he asked Mackenzie how she felt about the halo idea; she told him she was ready but still had some concerns. He listened to every one of them and began sharing with us the options he felt were best: do nothing and treat symptoms with medication, keep doing physical therapy and see where things go, or try the halo for a month. Of course, the first two options have already been tried—the halo was the only logical choice.
As we were discussing these things, an amazing thing happened . . . the secretary opened the door, apologized for interrupting, and told Dr. Henderson that Dr. Francomano was on the telephone. He took the call and put her on the speaker. She had not known we would be in his office at this time. She was calling about another patient she wanted to refer. The Lord arranged this phone call—it was not late, it was not early, it was right on time!
So, the two doctors along with Mackenzie discussed everything—Dr. Francomano talked to Dr. Henderson as if Mackenzie were her daughter. And, based on the evidence gathered previously and Mackenzie’s current symptoms, it was decided that the best first course of action would be to release her tethered cord and then give a trial of the halo while she is in the hospital recovering from the surgery. At that point, the determination would be made as to whether to proceed with the cervical fusion surgery to stabilize her head.
This was an unexpected but very welcome turn of events!
We had prayed, and we know you all were praying, for God to guide this new physician to the best treatment. He heard and He answered.
Now we are home, safe and sound. I received an e-mail this morning from Dr. Henderson’s assistant telling me to expect a phone call some time today giving us the particulars of her upcoming surgery. We will, of course, let you all know as soon as we hear.
Thank you for praying. I hope you can see God’s hand as clearly as we do.
We love you all,
Lisa & Mackenzie
Sunday, June 14
We arrived in Baltimore at about 1 pm. We drove straight to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore for lunch before heading to the hotel! After we settled in we decided it would be a good idea to find Dr. Henderson’s office, as we would not want to get lost and arrive late to our first appointment. The office was less than five minutes from the hotel! We explored the surrounding area for a little while and then headed back to the hotel for the rest of the night!
Monday, June 15
My appointment with Dr. Henderson was scheduled for noon, but we really expected to wait in his office for a long time. We didn’t wait more that 15 minutes after we had filled out the paperwork! A nurse in the office put us in a room and the doctor came in shortly after. We filled him in on my medical history, which he already knew for the most part, because we sent him a 70 page file of my records!
MACKENZIE ASKED ME (LISA) TO FINISH THIS, AS SHE IS GETTING TIRED.
Dr. Henderson listened intently and spoke compassionately directly to Mackenzie. He did a thorough physical examination and then took us into his office to go over Mackenzie’s radiological studies.
He pulled them up on his computer and explained what he saw in detail, confirming her cranial settling and instability. He spent about two hours with us and sent us on our way with instructions to return to his office after a new CT and visits with two specialists were completed.
At this point, he had still not made a final decision about the best course of treatment or whether to use the halo.
He exchanged phone numbers with Mackenzie and told her to call him if she had any questions and to find out when to return to his office. If you have been to many doctors, you know this is not the usual way of doing things. We are very thankful for his kindness.
Mackenzie then had an appointment with the neuro-otologist in Dr. Henderson’s practice. He took a brief history from us and then suggested some extensive testing be done on our return visit to assess the nature of Mackenzie’s dizziness.
After our appointment, we went back to the hotel for a while; Mackenzie took a nap while I caught up on some phone calls. Dr. Francomano met us for dinner later and we had a wonderful time catching up with her. What a blessing!
Tuesday, June 16
This day was a little less hectic. Mackenzie had her CT done at 4:00 p.m, and then we went out in search for an early dinner.
Mackenzie and Dr. Henderson spoke by telephone several times and it was decided we would go to his office Wednesday after lunch.
Wednesday, June 17
Our day started early with an 8:00 a.m. appointment with a neuro-ophthalmologist down the hall from Dr. Henderson’s office. We had some time to kill after this so we explored the town a little before we returned to Dr. Henderson’s office after lunch.
Here is where things get interesting! As we were sitting in the lobby, a medical equipment rep came in the door pushing a cart upon which was a halo system. I must say our hearts sunk—we knew it was for Mackenzie, as there was no one else waiting to be seen. Dr. Henderson must have made the decision to use the halo based on the new info on the CT and the reports from the two specialists. Mackenzie was ready to submit to this mode of treatment, but this was not going to be easy.
A few minutes later, Dr. Henderson came to get us from the lobby. In his office, he asked Mackenzie how she felt about the halo idea; she told him she was ready but still had some concerns. He listened to every one of them and began sharing with us the options he felt were best: do nothing and treat symptoms with medication, keep doing physical therapy and see where things go, or try the halo for a month. Of course, the first two options have already been tried—the halo was the only logical choice.
As we were discussing these things, an amazing thing happened . . . the secretary opened the door, apologized for interrupting, and told Dr. Henderson that Dr. Francomano was on the telephone. He took the call and put her on the speaker. She had not known we would be in his office at this time. She was calling about another patient she wanted to refer. The Lord arranged this phone call—it was not late, it was not early, it was right on time!
So, the two doctors along with Mackenzie discussed everything—Dr. Francomano talked to Dr. Henderson as if Mackenzie were her daughter. And, based on the evidence gathered previously and Mackenzie’s current symptoms, it was decided that the best first course of action would be to release her tethered cord and then give a trial of the halo while she is in the hospital recovering from the surgery. At that point, the determination would be made as to whether to proceed with the cervical fusion surgery to stabilize her head.
This was an unexpected but very welcome turn of events!
We had prayed, and we know you all were praying, for God to guide this new physician to the best treatment. He heard and He answered.
Now we are home, safe and sound. I received an e-mail this morning from Dr. Henderson’s assistant telling me to expect a phone call some time today giving us the particulars of her upcoming surgery. We will, of course, let you all know as soon as we hear.
Thank you for praying. I hope you can see God’s hand as clearly as we do.
We love you all,
Lisa & Mackenzie
2 comments:
That is wonderfully amazing!! I love how God shows up "just in time!"
I'm so glad that Dr. Francomano was able to help arrange the proper treatment for Mackenzie! It sounds like a perfect plan!
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