My Dad is seeing a Neurologist

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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And it’s not the least bit romantic.
I’m really badly freaking out about this.
Apparently he’s had some episodes where he’ll be going along and his mind will suddenly go blank and he gets dizzy. He went to his primary doc who referred him to an ear nose throat guy who sent him to an ear specialist. Not an audiologist, a physician specialising in the inner ear mainly, but yeah an Ear Doctor. (Sorry nose and throat, you didn’t make the team this time) Ear Dr referred him to the neurologist.

So yeah, last week we were talking about his right eye(a lifetime of problems with it, it’s going to be removed) and making plans to make his Halloween costume for handing out candy (pirate natcherlee). We went from that to this.

I’m quietly going crazy. Is this it? Has my Dad been having a series of mini-strokes over the last year? He says there’s been six episodes in that span. My dad is in his early 80s, is he gonna die? I’m not ready for this yet. God I feel like I’m still just a kid again. I don’t want to put on the big boy pants and deal with this shit.

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He’s going through the steps to get a diagnosis, and that’s the way forward. I’m not any kind of medical professional, but this doesn’t sound like the progression of specialists you’d expect if they suspected any kind of stroke.

Just as purely anecdotal reassurance, my father-in-law had a fairly rare infection when he was 82. They initially suspected lung cancer with brain metastases, based on a lung scan, and we were freaking out and trying to come to terms with a terminal diagnosis. After a biopsy, they discovered he had a type of strep, and a brain scan showed an abscess. He had brain surgery just after his 83rd birthday, and he recovered fully, living into his 90’s.

It sounds like your dad is getting good medical care, and even a serious illness in old age isn’t necessarily reason to panic. Hang in there, and we’ll all hope for the best.