Mayo Follow Up…Answers?

On Monday November 6 at 5:15pm we had our video ‘appointment’ with Dr Renaud as a follow-up to our visit out at Mayo.  We did our trial video appointment a few days prior to make sure everything was working properly so when this day came we would seamlessly slid right into our virtual appointment.  Craig and I situated ourselves in front of the computer while the kids played downstairs with their nanny.  A tech person came over the computer screen to ensure everything was working properly prior to placing us in a virtual ‘waiting room’ to wait for Dr. Renaud.  We were eager to hear what she had to say about Camden’s lab work that they sent out from blood and urine samples they took during his MRI while we were out there.  Would we find the answers we were looking for?

Truth is, I had been watching his lab work come in via the Mayo portal that I signed up for a month prior.  Most of what I was seeing pour in on a daily basis through the portal was similar to reading a foreign language; I had to ‘google’ most of the tests to see what they were.

I had shown a few Doctors these tests and they didn’t know what some of them were either….this is why I LOVE Mayo.  They test for things that others had not to this point.  As we sat in the ‘waiting room’ waiting for Dr. Renaud, Craig and I discussed what we may or may not find out in this appointment.  We both felt that no matter what we heard, we were extremely satisfied with our trip out there just from the knowledge we gained and explanation we were provided from each provider we encountered.

Before we knew it Dr. Renaud popped up on the screen.  She asked how Camden was doing and got right into the results of Camden’s lab work. She explained why she ran each lab and what they would rule in or out based on the findings.    As she ran through all of the results we kept hearing a similar result….normal.  Over and over again, to the very end…normal.  She explained that in many of these cases it was great news that we were hearing ‘normal’; some of what she tested for were degenerative conditions, meaning he would eventually lose milestones.  None of this really came as a surprise since I had been feverishly checking the portal and searching every test as they came through.  We wrapped up the conversation with Dr. Renaud with her expressing her genuine interest in trying to get to the bottom of what was causing Camden’s delays. She explained that we learn more every day in the world of genetics and neurology and she would like to see us back in a year.  We agreed to a return visit.

Did we find what we originally set out to find?  No, but we walked away feeling more empowered and knowledgable than we ever thought possible.  We didn’t have a ‘diagnosis’ but we FINALLY had the assurance we were looking for.  At this point absolutely every boulder, rock, pebble and grain of sand had been turned over and in the end that is all that we every wanted…..we wanted a medical professional to fight for Camden as they would fight for their own child.  Was this the end of the road in our search for answers?  If you know me, the answer is no, and what happened from here…well you will just have to WAIT to hear. 😉

Until Next Time,

3 C’s and a K