As some of you know, we have had a trying fall. This is a picture of Graham playing in leaves on the morning of October 21, 2006 -- Chuck's 41st birthday. We had a nice morning with special doughnuts and presents for Daddy. But by noon, Chuck was in such distress (dizziness, nausea, confusion and pain) that he called the doctor and was instructed to go to the hospital. He spent a very upsetting afternoon at the emergency room, where some strange diagnoses were suggested, and finally was told he was being transferred by ambulance to Lahey Clinic for a neurology consultation. He was summarily discharged by the neurologist on Sunday morning, and sent home, not feeling much better.
We followed up with his primary care doctor. He reccommended two things: stop taking all medication, and then scheduled him for a consultation with a local neurologist, who suggested that he might have something called BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo), a condition of the inner ear caused by debris floating in that shell-like shape and referred him to an audiologist. The audiologist says its not BPPV, but that he has permanent damage to his vestibular nerve causing the dizziness and nausea. She has recommended three months of physical therapy to learn how to compensate for the deficit. There has been no reason given for the nerve damage. It can be caused by inflammation in the inner ear damaging the nerve, such as from a virus or infection.
His joint pain has lessened to a degree, but is still present. He is not taking any arthritis medications anymore, just Advil and Tylenol. We've been fighting with the insurance company to get the necessary equipment for Chuck's sleep apnea. He got it yesterday, and we will see if that relieves his fatigue.
