The year-long investigation that was initiated since we relocated from Canada to Hong Kong is getting closer to an end....Or put it this way, there would be no more invasive investigation like MRIs or lumbar puncture to be done. The neurologist Dr. Fung suspected earlier that Jason may have iron deposits in the brain and requested another MRI to zoom in the suspicious area. If there is, he would be one of ten cases in the world. Thankfully, the latest report says NO iron deposit is found. I consider this a relief because that means Jason does not need to go on drug trial and be a guinea pig of any kind. However, it was confirmed that both the cerebral and the cerebellar are shrinking suggesting Jason's disability is a progressive case......Not the most beautiful picture...but he is still doing fine as of now! Other than his droopy head that refuses to come up, he is an alert young man...giggling when we talked about his "girlfriend" in the school bus. We are also enjoying our daily piano "practice" and Jason would be banging on the piano joining me as a duet. His "bangs" used to be weak in the beginning, but now they are strong and purposeful. Talk about improvement!
Since the investigations in Hong Kong have brought us back to square one, with no formal diagnosis for Jason, Dr. Fung suggested we get in contact with Dr. William Dobyns in U of Chicago again (whom we've corresponded a few years back) and see if he has any new information from his research.
I have since then written Dr. Dobyns an email and hopefully will get a reply soon.
Meanwhile....there are more "imminent" things to deal with. Jason's pimples!
Puberty has arrived and today I had to buy a cleansing gel for his pimples....have yet to perform a "facial treatment" on my son. Would be fun.
Oh....if you want to know more about cerebral atrophy...here is what I got from the NIND website.
What is Cerebral Atrophy?
Cerebral atrophy is a common feature of many of the diseases that affect the brain. Atrophy of any tissue means loss of cells. In brain tissue, atrophy describes a loss of neurons and the connections between them. Atrophy can be generalized, which means that all of the brain has shrunk; or it can be focal, affecting only a limited area of the brain and resulting in a decrease of the functions that area of the brain controls. If the cerebral hemispheres (the two lobes of the brain that form the cerebrum) are affected, conscious thought and voluntary processes may be impaired.
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