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I really had a good appointment yesterday...

I had my 2nd of 3 Comp & Pen appointments yesterday; this one was an appointment for my general health. There were 11 areas that he needed to assess...and he actually did ask the questions (Shocker!!!). I was afforded the opportunity to explain a little more fully my daily struggles. I was able to state that the problems I have are intermittent, not continuous. For instance, the headaches I suffer are not constant, but they come and go depending on how tired I am, how stressed I am, etc. But, they are definitely stroke related because they are actual tightening of muscles that were involved in my decompressive craniotomy. I was also able to tell the Dr. that I don't have tremors all the time, but they are relatively spotty in nature; for instance, when I hold a cup of coffee in my left had, it shakes quite a bit, or when I yawn my left arm tremors and when I go to tie my shoe on my left side, my left foot shakes. But, they are not constant. He explained that, much like a seizure, the tremors are caused by a misfire of a nerve or a fault reception of a signal given by a nerve. The bottom line is this: I felt infinitely more at ease after that appointment because he actually seemed to be concerned with my deficits, even if they are sporadic and not given me a blanket "you don't have those deficits all the time, so you must be ok..." I hope this makes sense, but I really do feel more at ease. Now we will just see what the Decision Review Officer thinks; he is the one who will make the actual determination of my disability. Please pray that everything goes well.

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