Riley Trip ~ Vascular Lesion Clinic

Once we were sure Gavin was waking up, we decided to leave the hospital for a while.  Gavin was a hungry boy and he ate a lot!  We went to a mexican restaurant, On the Border, for lunch and then hung out at the Castleton mall for a bit.  We visited a Disney and Lego store.  We also let Gavin play for a while.  He met a friend and they giggled and giggled as they chased each other around.

Our last thing of the day was the clinic.  We requested the appointment to go over the MRI results.  This was our 4th visit with them.  I was seriously a nervous wreck!  There were 10 medical people (doctors, etc) and us in a tiny room.  Here is what we found out:

• The MRI found that he does have a main vein from his foot all of the way through his hip, butt, and to the center of his back.  It appears to be superficial, meaning it is not a main part of his blood supply.
• Dr. Marshalleck suggested doing a procedure to block off the vein.  Before doing it, he will double check it isn’t a primary vein.  There are many different methods to block it off (foam, coils, lasers), but he won’t decide until he is in there.
• There are no guarantees with this procedure, but the hope is that it will help with future leg length discrepancy, pain, and the need for his compression sock will be less.
• He also said it was no rush and that we could schedule it in June when I am out of school.  It will include at least one overnight stay.
• We brought up the findings from the scope and that’s where things got really tricky.  They didn’t see what Dr. C saw from her print outs.  We told them Dr. C would consult with them, but it was very frustrating because they said it wasn’t the cause of the GI bleeding and brought up the area on his scrotum.  I honestly started getting so overwhelmed and we weren’t solving anything, so the appointment kind of ended.  We left feeling more frustrated and confused then ever. 

When we came out to Annie and Grandma, I didn’t say a lot because I was started to shut down.  On the way home, I completely crashed and didn’t want to talk.  It is just so overwhelming. 

Two things are difficult for me: 1) Up until now, everything has been diagnostic.  Now, we have to start treating things and I’m terrified we will make the wrong choice or make something worse that it is now. 2) I was so looking forward to Dr. Marshalleck treating Gavin.  However, it’s like meeting a celebrity you idolize and finding out they are a jerk.  He just seemed so gruff and I felt disappointed.  That in no way means he isn’t great at his job.