Throughout it all Adam never complained or cried about what was happening. He could no longer play with 95% of his toys. About the only thing he could do was weakly move his Hot Wheels cars around on a table in front of him. He kept one or two cars in his hands almost all the time, wherever he went, seemingly ay.
About this time, near the end of July, Adam's oncologist referred us to a respected physiatrist at Children's Hospital in Detroit. He examined Adam and did an EMG test the same day. This test consists of electrically stimulating one part of an arm or leg and measuring how long it takes for the impulse to reach a measured distance down the limb. It would tell us if the nerves were damaged. A second part of the test involved inserting fine needles, like acupuncture needles, into the legs to "listen" (both audibly and with an oscilloscope) to the firing of the neurons. We really like this doctor. He is patient and easy to talk with, as well as being very knowledgeable. The tests indicated the nerves in Adam's legs were dying but there was still a lot of function left with potential for recovery. The doctor described it as both good news and bad.
Everything was much more difficult and time consuming now. We were back to using diapers. Adam needed to be fed. Baths required two people, one to hold him and the other to bathe him. We were doing a series of stretching exercises with Adam's feet, legs, and arms to maintain muscle tone. Three times a day with the exercises was our goal but it was difficult to always get three sessions in. There were seemingly constant trips to the oncologist, physiatrist, neurologist, and labs for lab work. We also had twice weekly visits at home by a nurse, physical therapist, and occupational therapist. It was impossible for even one of us to keep working full time. There were just not enough hours in the day.
This is the last picture I have of Adam before becoming paralyzed.
Adam's cousin, Emily, is with us.
It was taken during our weekend in Mackinac City at the end of June.
Two weeks later he was fighting for his life as the paralysis
advanced through his body. It is hard to believe we will probably
never see him walk like this again.
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