they're in there

I'm once again playing the role of chauffeur for my folks, so I'm sitting in the van, at the top of the Prosperity Medical Center parking deck, while Dr. Benson looks Mom over and asks her and Dad some questions. We arrived around 2:40PM, giving Dad plenty of time to sign in.

I can't imagine that today's session will be all that revelatory since the exam is mainly about the clinical (read: external or easily observable) aspects of Mom's condition. For me, October 30 is the day to worry about, since we'll be talking over the results of the previous day's MRI.

Today, I suspect the doc will do the standard neuro checks, asking Mom her name, who the current president is, etc. The checks will likely include some exercises, such as "squeeze my fingers and pull my hands toward you" and "touch your finger to your nose" and "follow my pen with just your eyes." In the end, the doc's probably going to say, "She's holding up pretty well. Come see me again in two months." And that'll be that.

Later this evening, the parents will be heading over to the Harding residence for dinner. I won't be joining them, and for the same reason I'm not in Dr. Benson's office right now: I'm sick. Instead, I plan to go shopping for the components of Sean's birthday dinner at one of the local Wegmans. Wearing my face mask in public is an interesting experience, as I learned yesterday when a little girl stared at me while I waited at CVS to be called into the minute clinic. I felt as if I were back in Korea, where the adults stare unabashedly at foreigners.


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