First official visit with Dr. R

November 9th my world comes to a crashing halt. I had a morning appointment with Dr. R, who is a neurologist. He is supposed to do an EMG on me to determine if I have carpel tunnel. I was also told before hand that Dr. T, who is the orthopedic surgeon that ordered the MRI would be giving me the results of that on Friday November 13. Dr R was just going to do the EMG. So we go through this test, which by the way is very uncomfortable! Especially when you are being stuck with pins! I find that he is a very nice guy and I'm comfortable with him as he talks my ear off while trying to keep my mind of the pain :) He also does all of these reflex tests on me. Hitting me with a hammer all over my body. The worst part was when he stuck needles in the back of my neck (I had a lump and bruise there for two weeks) He then tells me that my lower reflexes are "Terrible!!" OK, so the test is done and he looks at me and says that in his opinion I don't have carpel tunnel, but will have a few more things to look at. Then he just looks at me and says "OK, this is what you have. We found a cyst called a cervical syrinx inside your spinal cord in your neck. You won't be paralyzed (a fact he changed later) or die. At this point I'm starting to hear "blah, blah, blah" because I'm in such shock and panic!! He tells me that I will now be his patient and we need to make an appointment to make it official with my insurance co. and how then I will have an MRI on my brain and the whole upper spine. Also a test called Evoked Potentials. Surgery is only done as a last resort because the spinal cord is very unforgiving and I would have some type of paralysis. So I made my appointment for November 30th and walked to my car like a zombie. Got inside and cried my eyes out. It was John's lunch break, so I called him in hysterics. He comforted me best he could and said he wished he was there to hug me. I then called my parents who were also devastated. I decided to go grocery shopping as planned to keep busy and it just so happened my parents were also on their way there too. So we got to talk while there. The next 3 weeks are a blur. I do know one thing having my Christian faith and having friends (a small army of friends) praying for me took away my pain. Overnight my symptoms disapeared by 90 %. I also visited my new primary Dr who prescribed me the generic form of Klonopin in case of anxiety and to sleep. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I do take it to sleep every night. I know I would lay awake freaking out if I didn't and I think the good sleep I'm getting is helping me to stay stable.
John was off of work the whole week of Thanksgiving which was nice. We had Thanksgiving here and it was probably the most prepared we were and everything tasted great! Just our parents and Kevin for dinner. Then all of a sudden it's Monday and John has a vacation day in order to go to my appointment. Dr. R comes in and tells me that what I have is VERY serious. He has to keep a very close eye on me. He is a spinal cord expert. First the tests on my brain and spinal cord and then an MRI every 3 months. He checks all of my reflexes again and says this time they are normal. Then he is done and says goodbye and leaves the room. All I remember is putting my head down into my hands and crying so hard I can't breath. John hugs me and we both cry. I kept saying "this is not supposed to happen to me?" "Why me!!!"
More later on my week of testing that I just went through and what my first strategy will be.