Memories, Scars and Survival: High School Years

Chapter 20 - Einar

I was so angry at myself for bring up Coach Francis. Why did I have to ruin everyone's day? Eirik left for school and I went back to sleep. It was nice feeling his hand on my heart last night. I felt safer than I have in a while.

Mom woke me up sometime later, and I got ready for my appointment. Mom let me drive. I was on edge the entire time. I kept worrying someone would crash into us and I would end up in the hospital again. Either that, or I would get dizzy and crash into someone.

We arrived, and I felt a tremendous amount of relief. Mom and I sat out in the waiting room for over an hour before they brought me back. We sat together in my room until the doctor came in. It was frustrating how long it was taking.

Finally, he came in. "Sorry for taking so long, Einar. I've been reading your reports from your hospital visits and have already spoken to your doctors."

He gave me physical first. We went thorough all the scans they took of me. He pointed out the healed rib fractures and some damage to my nose. He wanted me to see an eye specialist, a neurologist, and an ear, nose, and throat doctor.

"There is a neurologist who has an office at the hospital and we've already been in communication with her and suggest you set up an appointment there. But of course that's up to you. It could take several weeks before you can get in, so in the meantime, I will hook you up to two devices to monitor your brain and heart for these dizzy spells you told the hospital about. We could give you an EEG but you said it isnt every day or even every week."

He pulled out two cases and opened the first. "I need you to take off your shirt."

I shivered as he placed a pad on the center of my chest, over my heart. He snapped a thin device onto it. It looked to be four inches long and maybe an inch and a half wide. Below that, he put another sticker or pad. There was one arrow on it at the top that pointed up to the device, while another arrow was pointing to the left.

"This is an event monitor. There is a small button on the device and there is an application we will download on your phone. If you have an episode, I want you to press the button. It will record your heart activity and send it through your phone and to us."

It didn't look too bad. Pulling my shirt back on, he had me feel around the device to make sure I knew where the button was. "When you need to shower, you can pull it off. Make sure to record in the app when you pull it off and put it back on. Ill help you download the app once I place the ambulatory EEG on your head."

He opened the other case and pulled out a large device. He also pulled out a black cap. There were small circular holes all over the top of the cap.

He pulled it over my head. It had a chin strap that held it on tight. I found it to be quite uncomfortable.

I felt him snap on more wires all over the top of the cap. Then he showed me a small device that would rest on the back of my head. Once it was all on, he told me how it would work. It was similar to the heart device, but this one records in loops.

"It records only about fifteen minutes. When you have an event, it's important to open the second app when it ends and press the transmit button. It will send all the information from before and a few minutes after you press. So, with the heart monitor, press the button before. For the brain monitor, press the button on the app after. You can also pull this off when you shower, but make sure to record it. No swimming or baths, only showers."

"I'll need a letter then for swim class," I said. I was dreading going to school with this thing on my head. At least the heart monitor was hidden by my shirt. "How long do I have to wear these?"

"At least two weeks. Both devices have brand new batteries and can last much longer than that. We want to record several events. Both devices can self trigger for some events, but it's still important to hit the buttons so we know exactly what you are referring to when it happens," my doctor said.