Optical Illusions Part IV

I remember lying on the exam table and listening to Karen and the nurse trying to decide what to do. Finally in my horrible speech voice I said, "This is so frustrating! There is nothing wrong with my  brain. I know exactly what you are saying. You are making decisions about my well being and I don't have any input at all." The nurse's face said it all. She looked at Karen, looked back at me and said to me, "YOU MEAN YOU ARE NOT DISABLED!" She thought because of the way my speech sounded that I was mentally retarded. You see, things are not always what they seem. Karen and I were both stunned. It never occurred to either of us that is what she was thinking. In Karen's best mom voice she said, "NO! She is smart and I mean very smart!" That is when things began to change.

The nurse called my doctor. She and Karen were my advocates. They insisted that something be done immediately. They knew that I could not wait until the next week to see a neurologist. Neither one of them would take no for an answer from the doctor. The doctor called a new neurologist who had just recently moved to a town nearby. He told me that he didn't know anything about him but that he would see me at 1:30 if we could get there that fast. Karen and I jumped in the car. We brainstormed a list of questions on the way to the doctor's office. (OF COURSE I HAD A LIST!) The questions took up the front and back of a sheet of paper. I still thought that I was having an allergic reaction to the anti-depressant. But, things are not always what they seem.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5