Recurring Episode

It occurred in the same place and at almost the same time of night as it had just five months ago.

Kristine was having a tough weekend. Saturday she started to have pain in her right arm and neck which continued through Sunday. We believe it is likely a symptom of the tumor in her shoulder that seems to have increased in size and may now be putting pressure on the nerves and muscles in the area.

The pain she was experiencing remained constant throughout the day. I was in and out of the house for the majority of the day leaving Kristine with just bad TV shows to watch and time for her mind to race as she dealt with her throbbing right extremity. Frustration over the pain she was forced to endure, loneliness from not having a companion with whom to commiserate, and disappointment over coming to terms with the idea that the herbal protocol we have both put our faith in may not be working left her dejected and sullen.

To help Kristine get her mind off of the pain and generally ease her mood, I got her into bed early that evening and started her massage. It seemed to work. She began to doze off at around 8:30pm. But it wasn't long after that she opened her eyes and said, with a slight panic in her tone, that her left arm had stiffened and her left hand had clenched into a tight fist on its own. This turned out to be an indicator of what was to come. Within seconds she began to seize. Like before (almost five months to the day) the left side of her body convulsed rhythmically. Her face, arm and leg jumped as the muscles contracted and released involuntarily. Fortunately, I was by her side while it happened and I grabbed hold of her from behind in an effort to comfort her until the episode passed.

When it was all over Kristine seemed to be left in a daze. She lost movement in her left side as before but regained it more quickly this time. About ten minutes later she asked if she had really had a seizure or if she had just dreamed it, indicating her lack of awareness during the incident.

The doctor told us after the last seizure that another could occur. They are most often triggered by physical stress like a fever or even the cabin pressure of an airplane. The trigger for this episode is unclear though. It could have been caused by the stress of Kristine's increased pain. However, we are nervous that there could be new developments in her brain.

We will see the herbalist on Tuesday, but due to our growing concern that his treatments are not having a sufficient impact we will also be exploring conventional options more aggressively. Kristine has said that she would be open to radiation on or resection of the shoulder lymph node(s) as long as the methods used are less general and more targeted.