That rabbit trail has ended!

Yesterday I received the authorization for a neurosurgeon to give his opinion on the anomalies in Natalie's MRI.  I called the office this morning to schedule an appointment, my calendar in hand to find a Thursday (when I have a babysitter) somewhere out in the next two or three months.

The receptionist asked if Natalie could come this afternoon because the neurosurgeon was going on vacation.  Wow, when does that ever happen?  (That you get a same-day appointment, not that a neurosurgeon goes on vacation).  ;)

So I trekked to a new doctor's office with four children.  Everyone did great, until the doctor told Lukas and Konrad to go to his conference room and pick out brand new toys to take home (leftover from a Christmas toy drive, I think).  New toys were introduced to the situation; new toys that couldn't be opened by children (lots of wires to untie, etc).  But that didn't stop Lukas and Konrad from trying!  Suffice it to say that the it was a little more crazy after that (because I was late in realizing that they were NEW toys and that they were going to take them home).  Did I mention they picked the toys with the most pieces?  Anyway.  You can't plan for every eventuality, but I'll try to remember to warn them of acting like it's Christmas morning the next time we go to a new doctor (I'm sure Lukas will ask me if the next new doctor will give out toys).

But the result of the visit was that the neurosurgeon said the pineal mass was small and not a problem.  Likewise, he said if he physically looked in Natalie's spinal column, the cord syrinx is too small for him to even find.  He said Natalie should have another MRI in a year (ordered by our pediatrician, not him!) and perhaps another one annually for a few years.  He's expecting the pineal mass not to grow. 

His final words, "Your daughter does not need a neurosurgeon."  Music to my ears!