Welcome to our...well my (Jenn) Blog...Jeff will catch on soon:)

Ok so most of you know how freaked out I have been over the past week...I wasn't up for chatting. Call me a cry baby...I was crying non stop. I figured this would be a good medium to keep you all informed...despite my inability to type or spell....let me start at the beginning: I took Zac for his 2 year "Well Baby" Check on the third week of April. His pediatrician Dr. Harsha physically felt a difference between the left side and right side of his back..left side feels thicker. She mentioned scoliosis and told me she would refer him to X-Ray and to the Ortho clinic. It took 2 weeks to get him into X-Ray. I pretended to fly around the X-Ray room like a helicopter to get him to stay still for his images...oops TMI:) Fast forward a week and I left for predeploymnet training in NJ. When I got home last week...Jeff had only returned from his deployment days earlier..we took Zac in to see the pediatric orthopedic specialist who told us there were concerns with the X-Ray and he wanted a better image. At that point I was only a week away from deploying and Jeff 4 weeks away from PCSing! We let him know this situation and he made it clear I should delay my deployment. THIS PUT ME ON HIGH ALERT!!!! The doc ordered an MRI. When we called the MRI clinic they offerred us an appointment in late JULY.....needless to say I fell apart. We called the doc back and he had us into MRI in 3 days. Our first weekend spent together as a family in a LONG TIME and it was very difficult. On to the MRI...as I left Zac with the anesthesiologists :( they told me it would be "about an hour"...2 hours later I was a mess...they did what they needed to do by telling us everything was alright but I KNEW at that point it wasn't. Zac fought like a tiger coming off of the gas but recovered well. He was asleep in my arms when we waled up to the ortho clinic to ask the doc how long it would take to get answers on the images. The doc walked by us in the waiting area and invited us back to his office where he accessed the images. With his two residents present, he explained to us what the dark spots on the spinal cord were.."masses". I broke down after counting 5 "masses". The doc was so "typical", poker faced. His young resident was very quick to point out that not all masses are cancerous. I so appreciated his compassion and information at t hat moment. Jeff was so good...he stayed focused and asked all the questions we needed to know to prep ourselves for the future. Ultimately we got a referral to Seattle Children's Hospital. Fast forward 3 days...lots of phone calls to our hospital and Seattle Children's, lots of paperwork to fill out and several trips back to our hospital to get copies of all the images and radiologists notes. Yesterday we got a phone call from the ortho doc who told me that although his two colleagues (tumor specialists) confirmed the spots on the image are tumors, he also consulted with a pediatric neurologist who disagrees...he things it's pulsating or circulating spinal fluid and that is what is causing pressure on Zac's spine and in turn causing the curvature (scoliosis). Not knowing what this REALLY means, I want to assume this theory is better....doesn't it just SOUND better? I JUST WANT TO GET TO CHILDREN's so an EXPERT can confirm what is wrong with my baby! This is where our journey is at...the official request from our hospital through our insurance company to Children's has been sent. HOPEFULLY I will get confirmation by Monday that they received our case. Unfortunately it will take 3 days to process...for the neuro nurse to review the case and consult the doctors....then determine the urgency of our case. Right now Zac is the PICTURE of good health...my man is wild (THANK GOD). So far he has no impairment of any gross motor skills nor slurred speech..he says "NO" and "Spider Man movie now Mom" as articulate as the Queen of England...with an American boy attitude of course:) So THIS is a blessing and also is an indication of the urgency Children's will place on our case...the intake staff told me there are other children who are experiencing severe symptoms and pain...SO SAD! Either way I just want Zac to be seen SOON so he doesn't get to that point! SO...between now and the time Children's schedules us to be seen, the Army neuro ped's doc is going to conduct tests on Zac and he also is ordering another MRI (Grrrrrrr...frustrating, more anesthesia and radiation) BUT its to identify any potential masses in the brain. PLEASE SAY A PRAYER FOR US....please say a prayer for us! As soon as I get our appointment to Children's I'll post it and any further info from the neurologist will be posted too. Before I log out of my first entry I want to THANK all those who have called to check on me, make a meal or express concern. This is the beginning of a long journey...I will NEED your help in the near future for sure. Love, Jenn & crew