A Thankful Thursday

Yes, it is especially thankful, as we made it home from the adventure that was The "Diving" Accident.

We were very fortunate to have been given an appointment at the McMaster Children's Hospital, where we saw a pediatric neurosurgeon. After looking at the x-ray, he was able to arrange for us a very quick CT-Scan of the cervical vertebrae. There was a space in between the C-6 and C-7 vertebrae of my son's neck, on the front of his spinal cord, which didn't seem to jive with his accident, where the back of his neck was injured. The doctor did a neurological exam, and determined that it was normal, but still wanted to have a look at the vertebrae. We returned after the CT-Scan and he told my son to remove the neck brace and go home. The doctor attributed the space to the disc perhaps being affected by the injury, but he is not concerned any longer. He is under orders to refrain from any heavy physical activity for the next three weeks, and to return if pain returns and gets worse. In three weeks' time, we will have our family doctor do some x-rays to check things out.

It was a long wait; almost an hour and a half to see the neurosurgeon, since we'd be "squeezed" in, but once we saw him, it was pretty smooth sailing. I was glad. The waiting room had no windows, and that always makes me feel claustrophobic. Poor Garrett was pretty tired, and the neck brace was more uncomfortable than the injury. The doctor's first name was "Thorstein." Cool name; Dr. Thor. He was a very kind and personable doctor.

We were very thankful to have the matter cleared up. Glad to be home, too. It's convenient to be close to a good hospital like that, but always nice to get home.

Thanks for your prayers. I felt very calm, amazingly enough.