“Where’s x-ray?” I asked.
“When you leave this room, take a left and continue down the hall until you reach the next main corridor. At the next hallway, make a right and you’ll run right into it. There’s a big sign hanging on the wall that’ll say X-ray on it.”
Nevaeh toted behind me as we headed to x-ray. While we were walking, she began to ask about the x-ray and how it worked.
“How does this test work?” she asked.
“It’s not like the other one. There’s no noise at all, and you can stand up while they do it. They’ll place individual boards behind you and take pictures of you with a camera that you’ll actually be able to see.”
“Good, I didn’t like being in that weird machine back there. Are they going to put me inside another thing?”
I laughed, “Oh, no, baby. You’ll just stand in an open room.”
Once we reached x-ray, I checked in with the receptionist to let them know we were here. We took a seat in the waiting room until a short, round woman called us back.
“Oh, I see you’re already sporting one of our gowns, huh?” the lady joked with Nevaeh.
“Yeah, they made me put it on for my other test.”
“Okay, now I’ll just need you to stand right here and hold still. When I’m ready to take your picture, I’ll need you to take a deep breath and hold it until I say you can breathe. It’ll only be a few seconds. Can you do that?”
I admired how friendly she was with my daughter. She kind of reminded me of my friend Lorraine. Suddenly, I wished I would’ve asked her to come with us. It would’ve been nice to have someone tag along for support. Dale was busy, off buying another commercial property in East St. Louis, Illinois.
After the woman had taken x-rays of Nevaeh’s spine, she had her sit on the table so she could take x-rays of her hands, elbows, knees, ankles and feet. Poor Nevaeh was bored as she had to hold still for picture after picture. When they were finally finished, the kind woman helped her off the table and offered her a drink.
“Would you like some Sprite or apple juice?” the redheaded woman asked as she slid her glasses back up her nose.
“Sprite!” Nevaeh exclaimed.
“Nevaeh, where are your manners? Say please.”
“Please,” she added.
The woman smiled as she made her way to the mini fridge behind the receptionist desk. As she returned with the soda, she told her that she could put her clothes back on since they were finished with their testing. It would be another two weeks until we would know the results of the images, but I was okay with that. At the moment, Nevaeh was healthy and going strong. Her medicine was still working, which I was grateful for.
Just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, I once again traded days off and pulled Nevaeh out of class to see the specialist. This time, Dale accompanied us to the appointment. The assistant called us back, this time placing us in a colorful green room. Dr. Newton was quite busy that day, which caused us to wait at least a half hour before he made it into the room.
“Hello Nevaeh and Miss Harris,” he shook my hand. “Good afternoon,” he spoke to Dale. “Okay, let’s take a look at the test results.”
He scanned over the analysis of the diagnostic test results for a few moments. After reviewing them, he removed them from the chart to allow me to read them as he explained them.
“According to the MRI, Nevaeh has a great deal of inflammation surrounding her joints. This would explain all of the pain and swelling that she’s experienced. It’s especially dangerous in her lower extremities, which caused the stiffening in her legs, feet, and hands. Her sacroiliac joint has the greatest amount of inflammation, but this is common in those who suffer from AS.”
We nodded, indicating we were following the doctor as we read the analysis from the report. “What is her sacroiliac joint?” I asked.
“The sacroiliac joint is the joint where the pelvis and spine join. This would cause all of the lower back pain that she complained about previously.”
“Now, with her x-ray, she has a noticeable amount of fusing around her vertebrae. This is a concern because it has caused some damage to her spine. When the vertebrae fuse together, it robs the spine of mobility and leaves her vulnerable to fractures. If this continues, it can gradually lead to her spine curving forward. It’s imperative that we keep her inflammation under control; if ignored, she may develop calcium deposits in the cushions between the spinal vertebrae.”
“But none of that has happened yet, is that what you’re saying?”