A Day in Philadelphia

We spent a long day in Philadelphia today at the Jefferson Headache Center. Though it was exhausting, we are so grateful for a good day. We don't have any answers yet, but we have options and ideas. I met with several different medical professionals today who each did an evaluation, and combined their results. That produced a list of ideas from the neurologist on possible causes and treatment ideas. We'll start working at those immediately, and see what happens. We have been warned (and we already knew!) that headache medicine is often trial and error. We could still have a long road ahead of us, but we are energized by the possibilities. We heard a few statements today that really increased our belief that we might get somewhere. The first one was that this headache center has a very high success rate, and nearly all their patients find relief from headaches. The second one was that they commit to working with a patient until something can be found. They do not refer patients on when they can't find the answer because this is pretty much the end of the road, the best that there is. We got no sense of "one shot and you're done." They talked in the language of extended periods of time, like this is going to take awhile. We are grateful for the commitment that they seem to have to finding a solution. It's refreshing and encouraging.

The appointments lasted about 5 1/2 hours, so it was nearly 3:00 before we got out of there. We headed out in search of an Olive Garden that we knew was somewhere nearby. After a bit of searching, we found it. I suppose we could have settled for something else, but their famous soup, salad, and breadsticks is somewhat of a tradition for me when I have medical appointments away from home. It was a great lunch, even if it was a bit late.

No pictures to post today, since I forgot the camera in the car. :)