Second Opinion?

After Hailey was diagnosed with Chiari (CM) and Syringomyelia (SM) in September 2009 I knew we would need a second opinion. I asked the Neurologist to refer us to a Pediatric Neurosurgeon. He said “no”. Even though he had very little experience dealing with this condition he felt like he had the best information to give us. (He did not give us much) I then called the Pediatricians office and they said that they would make one for me. They said that they had made the appointment which I later discovered was not with a Neurosurgeon. We decided to keep the appointment in hopes that this Dr. would have some information and that he could refer us to a NS.

Yesterday we took off to Vanderbilt for her appointment. Hailey was in good spirits and was very excited about the coloring sheets they had in they waiting room. the nursing staff, and the staff at the front desk were very nice. They brought us back to a room and we were seen by what they called a student Doctor. He was so good with Hailey and was very thorough in the many, many questions he asked. He was so thorough that I got excited. I thought someone was finally seeing the whole picture. He went out and said that the Dr. would be in, in a few moments.

When the Dr. came in it was not the Dr. the appointment was made with. They said that they felt like this Dr. would be the best one to answer our questions. He asked about Hailey's headaches (Hailey has been having headaches sense she was 4. She has more recently been having them everyday) He told us that he thought Hailey was having migraines. He was going to send the recommendations for treatment to our Peds. office. Then he asked if I had a copy of her scans. That's right he did not look at her scans before hand and he diagnosed her headaches before looking. He took a short look and said that this condition was nothing to be concerned about. He did not feel that the headaches were related. (Headaches are one of the main symptoms of CM) I tried to ask a few other questions and he blew those off. I asked him about getting Christopher scanned and he said that the likely hood of a sibling having the same condition was slim to none. (NOT TRUE!) At that point I shut down.
I should have known that this would be a waste of time. I knew from research that I should only see a pediatric Neurosurgeon that specializes in CM and SM. We are praying that God would show us who we need to see. If your child was just diagnosed don't make this same disappointing mistake. Find the right person!

On a lighter note we went to the Science Museum while we were down that way. It was so much fun.