Friday April 9th
This will be a hard email to write and read... and it will not be the last I'm sure.
As some of you know Charlotte has had some trouble walking lately, it started about two weeks ago. Her right leg was all wonky, her knee locking and she kept falling over. It got worse to the point where one night she just sat down and crawled; it seemed to get better and then worse and then better. We had her in to the doctor who thought it looked odd as there was nothing that looked wrong. So we were referred to a paediatrician... but that was booked for the end of the month. Other than that she has been completely healthy and happy, and not in any pain.
This will be a hard email to write and read... and it will not be the last I'm sure.
As some of you know Charlotte has had some trouble walking lately, it started about two weeks ago. Her right leg was all wonky, her knee locking and she kept falling over. It got worse to the point where one night she just sat down and crawled; it seemed to get better and then worse and then better. We had her in to the doctor who thought it looked odd as there was nothing that looked wrong. So we were referred to a paediatrician... but that was booked for the end of the month. Other than that she has been completely healthy and happy, and not in any pain.
A few days ago we noticed she was not using her right hand well either. So I got her in to see the Doctor again (Today) with this new development it was more obvious that something was wrong-worse than growing pains. By the end of our check-up he referred us right up to emergency to see the paediatrician who was on call. Charlotte was a great little patient, making everyone laugh at her antics.
To get a better idea of what could be going on they gave her a cat-scan. The anaesthetic wore off before the scan was finished and our little redhead started taking all the monitoring equipment off and waving it around "somebody looking for this?" A second dose kept her groggy for a bit. We were put in a room while the anaesthetic wore off. Then the tone of our appointment changed. The Doctors came in very sombre and told us that Charlotte has a tumour on her brain. They were very surprised at how happy she has been because for a head that little it is quite a big one. The pressure from the tumour is what has been causing her limbs the trouble.
What now? In the morning will be on our way up to the Childrens Hospital in Calgary. There will be a neurosurgeon waiting to see us. They will do an MRI scan to see what else they can learn. Then there will have to be a tissue sample taken. The doctors here warned us that "it will be a long hard road."
We would really appreciate all your prayers, for safe travels on the roads, for quick diagnostics, and for the strength to make it through these next couple of weeks, and months. We are especially praying that they will find this tumour to be benign and not malignant.
I guess my first step will be just to pack for tomorrow... and take this road one step at a time.
Allison and Rob
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