EMG test results~from a layman's perspective

Yesterday was the big day for Amelia to get her EMG/Nerve conduction study. To say that I was worked up over it is an understatement. I hardly slept the night before last and I was a bundle of nervous energy all morning. I much prefer having test done in the morning~gets them over with! But alas, our appointment was at 2:45 p.m. I started to post last night, but I was so emotionally exhausted that I just sat outside and watched the girls play and then it was couch potato time to watch American Idol and DWS Results.

I was able to talk to the nurse in St. Louis to make sure I had the necessary information for the test and she did tell me that there were particular things that Dr. Dobbs would be looking from the test. She also said the test would not change Amelia's treatment plan, it would let them know if she would be more likely to relapse after treatment. Now I was really confused. I couldn't really understand why we waited to start the treatment, but it's too late now. This just goes to show how shocked I was when we got this information in St. Louis. No sense crying over spilled milk, if you will.

Naturally, they requested that we arrive 15 minutes early to "fill out" paperwork. So we arrived 25 minutes early since you never know how expressway traffic is going to be in Cincinnati and on the surface streets are always a crap shoot. Let me start off with saying one of my biggest pet peeves is having to wait around for a doctor. Drives me insane~especially when they tell you that if you are 15 minutes late for your appointment, you will need to reschedule. This is how the timing went:

3:15~called back to room by assistant. Room is very small for two parents and one toddler~big machine in middle of room, extra big bed~not your normal hospital bed (this was in a rehabilitation area so I image that many patients need the extra space on the bed). I can already feel Steve tensing up since he is claustrophobic. Can you see where this is going????

3:30~nurse arrives and starts asking us questions. The best question was, "Are you her legal guardians?" Oooh~I hear all my friends gasping, because you know me~I've got a bit of a "smart" mouth. O.K, I've got more than a smart mouth, I'm downright obnoxious sometimes. You know all those "thought bubbles" most of you have but keep them to yourselves? My thought bubbles EXPLODE and the words just pour out into the room much to every one's surprise ;-). I just stared at her for a few seconds with this look on my face, "are you kidding me?", it was a rather pregnant pause. Then I just answered, "yes". Again with this look on my face~"That was a really STUPID question!"

She was a very kind nurse. She just oohed and aahed over Amelia~"She's so sweet!" All the while I'm gritting my teeth because we've had one of those mornings where nothing has please Amelia and she spent most of it crying. Actually, most of it would be an understatement. By the time I changed her out of her PJs, she had cried so much that her pants were went from the tears and slobber dripping down from her face. She just took an ugly stance yesterday and wanted to be carried everywhere I went. Sorry sister, get those legs moving and build those muscles. Besides, my back is finally feeling great and I don't want to regress any.

3:40~nurse returns with the sedative to help her relax. She tells us she won't be put out, just relaxed. I'm beginning to freak a little bit since Amelia has has about a 20 minute nap. She also states that it takes about 20-30 minutes for the sedative to take effective and then the doctor will be in. Are you doing the math here????? Fortunately, she put a Dora video in for Amelia and she sat in her stroller and watched it. It didn't take long for it to hit her since she was so stinkin' tired to begin with. I didn't take my camera but I had my phone so these shots are from that. Not very good, but good enough.

Hey Mommy, that's Dora and Boots up there on the wall~weeeeeeeeeee!

4:10~doctor arrives WITH a resident doctor. Now there are five of us in the room~it's really really crowded now in this tiny room. We got through a series of questions~blah blah blah. I tell him what the doctor in St. Louis needs to know and he told me that it was stated on the referral, so I can relax over that little tid bit. They ask one of us to hold her during the test, we start to "paper-rock-scissors" for the job. The doctors were just staring at us like we were insane.

What's that guy talking about~electrodes what???

Amelia was great during the beginning of the test. She just sat on my lap and watched what the doctors were doing to her legs. She didn't like them taping the appliances to her feet, it annoyed her. She really didn't like them marking on her with an ink pen. She kept pointing at the spot as if to say, "Hey, get that off of me now!" But she never cried, only touched and jabbered.

These are my feet. I can pull them over my head.

The test took about 45-50 minutes. The sedative started to wear off towards the end of it. Amelia was pretty alert when they were sticking the needles in her legs to test the nerves. She started to whimper a little but kept it together. The only time she cried was when Steve left the room to call home since we were WAY over the time we thought we would be there and our cell phone was ringing incessantly from the sitter and from Tucker.

Finally, they told us that her muscles are in good shape. There isn't any problems there. The test did show that she had some damage to her peroneal nerve in her left leg at some point in the past. The nerve was repairing itself though.

Praise God! She does not have any problems! So now it's just a matter of getting her legs stronger so she can walk. I'll be contacting my friend who is a physical therapist for some advice! Thanks for praying for us! We head to St. Louis in two weeks. Hopefully the casting will start then and we can get those fiberglass casts behind us before the pool opens!

Uhhhhh, I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer