Home | Forward | Contact Info JANUARY, 1987
SCOTT IS TUTORED AT HOME Soon
we were back in New York after New Years, 1987 and we had to decide
what to do about Scott's education. The Dalton School suggested that temporarily, rather than
worry about transportation of Scott back and forth to school, we
should get a tutor for him which we did.
Debby turned out to be a perfect match for Scott.
She was very bright and seemed to work well with him. She would challenge him to do his best while at the same time
she was kind and understanding. Soon
Scott was inspired and was churning out short stories on his Radio
Shack Model III Computer. Also
we had Jim Kerr, a physical therapist, come over to the house
regularly to work with Scott. They
got along real well and it was important to do everything possible to
assist Scott to attempt to walk again although it was uncertain
whether it would ever happen. In
late January, 1987, Scott was seen by a doctor, specializing in
rehabilitation medicine and was outfitted with custom made plastic
braces to assist him to walk. On January 29, 1987, we even took Scott to dinner at "Windows On The World" at the top of the World Trade Center. It was Rena's birthday and we wanted the evening to be special. Scott didn't even have to wear a coat since the trip from the garage in our own cooperative apartment building to the garage at the World Trade Center never required him to be exposed to the icy cold and snow of that late January night. FEBRUARY, 1987
SCOTT GOES TO FLORIDA AGAIN
After
Rena's birthday, we talked about the fact that Scott was so pleased
with his walks in the heated pool in Miami in December and January.
He actually insisted that we take him back which we did in
February, 1987. Again it
was an easy trip and we all had a marvelous time.
Scott went shopping,26
to the movies, to restaurants and of course, spent a great deal of
time in the heated pool. Scott was especially optimistic in early February, 1987 about his future, notwithstanding his various recent hospitalizations and surgeries. Being able to walk in the heated pool by himself without assistance gave him a tremendous uplift. SCOTT'S
THIRD SPINAL SURGERY
[SCOTT'S
FIFTH HOSPITAL ADMISSION]
This
trip, we noticed however, that Scott was experiencing lower back pain
at night. This led to a
doctor's visit upon our return to New York and Scott was readmitted to
NI ICU on February 22, 1987. Another
myelogram on February 23, 1987 revealed a complete spinal block again
at the level of T11. This
was an ominous sign because it suggested possibly the rapid regrowth
of additional tumor tissue. Dr.
Carmel performed spinal surgery on Scott again on February 24, 1987 at
the Neurological Institute and discovered that the block was caused
not by rapid regrowth of tumor tissue but by post-operative
complications [a blood clot]. As
Scott was being transferred back into his hospital room at Babies
Hospital on February 25, 1987, after the surgery, the telephone rang
and when I answered it, was surprised to find Alan Alda on the line,
calling to speak to his buddy Scott and wish him well.
Scott at first was shy about taking the telephone but shortly
took it and had a nice conversation with his "hero."
After recuperation, he was discharged from the hospital on
March 6, 1987. Scott
was home during the period March 6, 1987 - March 17, 1987, during
which his tutoring and physical therapy continued.
Scott continued to walk with the aid of his walker.
I don't recall whether or not his ability to walk had worsened
after the second spinal surgery in February but I'm reasonably certain
that with the additional surgery, it had not improved.
In any case, Scott's walking was not sufficiently different
after the second spinal surgery to cause us, as his parents, to give
up the hope that one day he would be able to walk normally again. An
interesting thing happened shortly after Scott's discharge from the
hospital on March 6, 1987. On
Sunday morning, March 8, 1987, I had severe discomfort, causing me to
be taken to the hospital myself for several days. It later was diagnosed as a gall stone attack.
Scott was distraught and wouldn't eat the whole time I was
away. When I came home,
he cried with joy and was very glad to see me. He told me that he had felt guilty that my preoccupation with
his illness had caused me to become sick and of course he was worried
that I might not come back. Such
caring and love from a child. I'll
never forget it. |