I've succeeded in scheduling an appointment for Emily to see a pediatric neurologist next Thursday. It took literally dozens of calls : to the insurance company, to the endocrinologist, to the neurologist's office ... but it's done. Our insurance only has one pediatric neurologist within fifty miles of us contracted into their network, and he's stopped practicing, so we have to see an out-of-network one. Who charges $450 up front for a consult. I've asked the endo. to write a letter to the insurance company explaining the need for the consult, so with any luck they'll reimburse us some portion of that at some stage.

I'm glad we don't have to wait too long for the appointment. I'm trying not to be nervous about it, but every now and then I get panicky. I have not let any of that show to Emily though : her only concern is that she'll have to miss another couple of hours of school. Better not to worry her at this stage, when it could very well turn out to be nothing at all. The MRI report refers to a "possible tiny cyst, or adenoma." Apparently a cyst is generally nothing to worry about, but an adenoma is a type of tumour. Sometimes these are also not a worry; other times they can - even if they're benign - be life-threatening because they can grow and impinge on other areas of the brain, like the optic nerve ... But I'm trying not to dwell on any of this till we see the neuro. Just at the moment, there's nothing further I can do - no calls to to make, no health-care professionals to chase up - so I need to relax, let go, and focus on everyday life this next week.

Tomorrow Emmy has a school field trip to Universal - should be fun for her. She has a boyfriend again, and he'll be in her group for the trip. (The class gets divided into groups of four for the trip). Oddly enough, however, it seems that having a boyfriend doesn't necessarily entail spending any time with him. I asked (with some trepidation) if they would like to go to movies or something together, and she said "Mom, we're taking it slowly. Maybe sometime in the future, when we're older." When asked what "going out" actually consists of, she said, "Well, sometimes we wave to one another."

I think I might take Sophs on a homeschool trip to Epcot tomorrow. She's interested in stars and planets currently, so we can ride Mission Space and pretend it's educational. Poor old Stephen will be rather short-changed tomorrow, slogging away at school ... but he has his own field trip next week, to Islands of Adventure, so that should console him.