And the Answer is... Maybe

I had not paid much attention to the medical report that followed my MRI’s in July after my doctor told me there was no sign of anything to worry about. But yesterday I found myself paying $155 while a physiatrist read the report and looked at the images on the disk I had obtained.

He was the doctor who had suggested CP in utero and said I could find out definitively with an MRI. I had chosen not to go through with expensive testing at that time, asking myself what I would do differently if I found out I had had CP.

But this was different. The MRI was done for another reason and now I had the chance to find out, or so I thought.

I have to say the rotating image of my perfect carotid arteries is really interesting to watch. There were other views of my brain and neck that didn’t tell me a lot as a lay person.

The doctor read in the findings: “Mild hyperintense T2 signal is seen in the left parietal periventricular white matter.” This is the area of the brain that controls the right leg, where my problem resides.

I suppose I was expecting to find some sort of flashing CP trail that was conclusive. Instead I have a mild hyperintense T2 signal that might indicate something, or might not.

So the best evidence to date is still my peculiar gait, which has an element of spasticity similar to that of a person with diagnosed CP.

My husband suggested at dinner that there must be some specialist who could say something with greater certainty. After all, whatever evidence there might be must be on that scan. Would this person be a neurologist or some other specialist? Is there a person who is an expert in adult CP?

Maybe I’m not destined to get an answer to this health issue which has been with me since birth.

Meanwhile I started PT this week and I constantly remind myself that the pain associated with being stretched and rotated is necessary to produce the increased flexibility that I need.