Sunday

We just finished speaking with Heather's new Neurologist, Dr. Scalabrin. We learned a lot from her and feel like everything is much clearer. First, let me say that transferring to University of Utah was the absolute best thing we could have done. They see dissections similar to this on a weekly basis, and understand the course of the condition very well.

Here's what we now know. The dissection was and is the cause of Heather's agonizing pain that began just over two weeks ago and continues today. It was most likely a spontaneous dissection which may happen to certain unlucky individuals who may have a susceptibility due to genetic conditions, etc. Heather's chiropractor had suspected this when he ordered the MRA scan a week ago, but unfortunately, it was undetected by the radiologist. The doctors here at the U of U took another look at it and found the dissection in the orginal scan. They said that it is easy to miss because it is not common. The dissection was quite small at first, but increased in size greatly when Heather's neck was manipulated on Wednesday.

We are grateful to understand the cause of Heather's pain, and are so glad to be getting such great care here. The dissection will heal on its own, but will take some time. Heather will need constant attention for the next month at least, and has to limit her activities until she's able to handle more. She may be able to come home within the next few days. Her doctor told her that she will be very fatigued for a while and will require naps and will battle pain for a while. The best news is that she should fully recover from this with little to no lasting effects.

I'll be sure to add more tonight, but I need to go now. We have visitors!