The Daily Hailey

The last time I spoke about this subject, you were all SO encouraging and understanding. You don’t understand the clout that carries to me, and I deeply appreciate your support during a situation where we feel pretty hopeless and alone. It is truly incredible to know I could reach out and I would receive help. I know not everyone has that luxury, so for that – for you – I am grateful.

I believe the last time I shared about Brady’s health on here, we had left off around Dr. Guselle saying she wanted to bypass a consult with a specialist altogether and just get the man an MRI. There was SUCH relief having our doctor so strongly on our side, advocating for us!

I won’t lie, though. Its been a total mess since then. 

A very short recap would tell you that Brady saw a physio once in October who specialized in back stuff that may or may not require surgery. He decided that Brady had a herniated disc and just needed healing time. Fine. Thats what most people believed at that time. The physio he saw there called him again about a month later to check in. Brady said nothing had improved, but because it wasn’t worsening quickly at that time, the physio told him it was fine. Then he told him their business was closing down, thanks to covid, and he was being called away to work elsewhere. He said if anything changed for Brady, he should contact his family doctor and get a referral to the orthopaedic surgeon who worked at the same establishment. Fine. 

Except not fine.

Dr. Guselle contacted the orthopaedic surgeon regarding Brady, and his response to her was that he stood by the physiotherapists report from October, and that Brady just needed healing time. Based on this ONLY, having NEVER seen Brady himself, he completely refused to see him. Not for treatment. Not for a consult. And absolutely not for any imaging. 

Guys. Infuriating. 

Thankfully, Dr. Guselle is just as pissed as we are. 

She sent a message to Brady through her admin staff saying to book an in-house appointment with her so they could redo all of the sensitivity tests and see if there was any clear new information that she could use, basically as ammo, to get him an MRI. She said, in her own words, “I WILL get you an MRI or CT, one way or another.” I could’ve cried. The next available booking was a couple of weeks away with one of her associates, which was not ideal, but we booked it. Thankfully, her admin staff is aware of our situation, and informed Dr. Guselle how far away the spot was. So rather that February 6th with a different doctor, she herself squeezed him in just days later.

Brady saw Dr. Guselle in person on January 19th. I only wish I could’ve been part of that appointment. But, again, thanks for nothing, Covid. 

They went over everything. Brady said they literally just talked and caught up on ALL the info for a solid 40 minutes. Then there were tests. Sensitivity tests. Standing on tip toes. Standing on heels. Balance. Strength. Everything. The entire time, she would say “interesting!!!” Brady said she seemed completely perplexed for the bulk of the appointment. She said she had suspicions of some things, but nothing she had actually seen in person. He brought her aaaaall the way back to medical school! She was VERY intrigued, and VERY concerned. 

Are you ready for your lesson in medicine today? 

She talked about a disorder called Brown-Sequard Syndrome. Its defined as “a rare neurological condition characterized by a lesion in the spinal cord which results in weakness or paralysis on one side of the body and a loss of sensation on the other side.” Without saying this IS the answer, because it sounds kind of scary, there could not be a clearer description of exactly how he feels. If you remember, about four years ago, Brady had a big injury at work, when a set of stairs fell out from under him while he was holding a mitre saw, and landed chest first onto it. It REALLY hurt him, and screwed his ribs up big time. She suspected that, maybe, he had a build up of scar tissue from that fall those years ago, and it was sitting right on that nerve that causes those problems, and possibly, Brown-Sequard. 

To be VERY clear, this is VERY rare and while it doesn’t seem likely, its something we looked at, because the description sounds SO CORRECT. 

Dr. Guselle then abandoned Brady and their appointment completely (Lol!) and told him not to leave until they had a plan. She said he needed an MRI in the next day or two, and she needed to do a bunch of calling with him still there. The surgeon she needed to speak to, however, had JUST gone into a surgery, so she could not get an answer right away, and unfortunately Brady did have to leave without a concrete plan. But not before Dr. Guselle chatted with him about some other health stuff going on in our home, and covering a bunch of bases, sending some messages home to me and giving us a few requisitions. She covered it all. She is SO thorough. And she has that beautiful quality that leaves you feeling informed, yet totally reassured. Its incredible. I want to be like that. 

Brady heard back from her later that day. The neurosurgeon call had come with good and bad. 

Firstly, the surgeon did not discount the possibility of Brown-Sequard, but he doesn’t believe there is merit to his injury four years ago playing a role. 

However, he does agree that Brady’s case is urgent and requires an MRI. 

However however, he doesn’t believe its emergent. Urgent. Not emergent. 

So saying ALL of that, the MRI is not going to happen as soon as we all really want it to. But it should happen before the end of January. 

Brady went for a prelim X-ray already, to make sure there are no residual shards of metal in his eyes from his welding days, before he goes into a gigantic magnetic tube. Hopefully he’ll get the all-clear! If not, I’m not really sure what happens next, but we have to start somewhere!

There is more that this to share, but its already a long post, so I’m going to cut it here. I will share more shortly. Brady has a phone appointment booked with a very important doctor on Monday. PLEASE pray for guidance for our doctors and wisdom for us. Peace in our hearts would go a LONG way, as well.