How Life Goes

So the trophy wife has been having headaches recently. Bad ones. At first, we thought it was period-related. But these headaches seem to be happening every day, all day, for three weeks now. Not good. The medicine she's been prescribed does not seem to have much effect.

In two days she goes for a CAT scan (is this how it's represented?), and then by Monday we should get a sense of the results. I have no idea what to expect. Both the wife and I are generally optimistic and calm. We are of course aware of some of the scary possibilities, but we just think they are unlikely. What I mean is that we have no basis for assessing whether - based on probabilities - we should fear the worst or not. Therefore, we choose not to worry.

But then I'm writing this, aren't I? I'm trying to wrap my mind around what I need to do if bad news hits. I need to be able to respond correctly and do what I can to establish a positive and stable environment, or at least not make things worse by undue emotion.

Only a few things will happen. The result will come back negative/clean, which means that the problem is not within the brain but is perhaps related to some infection or other external agent. Or the result could come back positive, meaning that there's something in the brain that shouldn't be, maybe a chemical imbalance or an inflamed blood vessel or a tumor. In any of these scenarios, there would be additional levels of specificity we'd need to reach. I guess I rule out the bad, bad scenario because there have been no seizures or other events to suggest that some pressure on the brain was coming from within.

A third possible result is that the scan is inconclusive. The doctors cannot tell what they see or if they see anything. This of course would be very distressing. I'm not sure how we'd proceed in this case, other than in anger.

So, we wait and we worry and we reason and plan and try to deal as best we can with reality. God has nothing to do with this. We don't need prayers, good thoughts, or crossed fingers. What we need is information, positivity, and support.

UPDATE: "It's not a tumor!" The wife called to say that the scan looks pretty good. The doctors think it may be Lyme disease. It's no picnic, but I think it's treatable.