Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Lizzie sat and listened as Dr. Bruener and Richie spoke as if she weren't even there. They had decided she needed a cat scan. She needed it now. so she sat in a dressing gown and waited silently while they discussed..... whatever they were discussing, terms Lizzie didn't understand. Tumors? Cysts? No signs of cancer in any of the blood work. That was good, wasn't it? So why a cat scan? 

She just sighed resigned to the fact that her husband would take no shit from her right now. She had tried to tell them both that getting in that damn machine was not gonna help but they didn't listen. She was not allowed to argue at all so she had just shut up and tried to make sense of what they were saying. 

The nurse helped her onto the sliding bed looking thing with a plastic covered pillow for her head and Richie leaned over and kissed her "ok Baby just relax. I'll be right in there ok.. see..." He pointed to a room with one wall a window where Lizzie could see many different machines and computers. She just nodded and gave him a weak smile. 

Richie stood and watched the images on the screen. They looked like nothing more than ink blot tests to him but obviously the doctors made sense of them. It didn't sound good the way they were murmuring and pointing. The only positive thing he heard and understood was 'benign' 

No cancer... she didn't have cancer thank god! 

He breathed a sigh of relief. He startled a bit when he realized the Doctor was speaking to him. 

"Mr Sambora, what we seem to be dealing with here is Arachnoid Cysts...... now .. Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid-filled sacs that are located between the brain or spinal cord and the arachnoid membrane, one of the three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Primary arachnoid cysts are present at birth and are the result of developmental abnormalities in the brain and spinal cord ........" 

"Whoa Whoa Whoa .. slow down doc please... I ... I don't understand anything your saying......" Richie interupted with a very confused look. 

"I'm sorry sir... ok look" Dr Bruener pointed at the print outs of the scans hanging on the lit wall. here see...." He laughed into a detailed yet understandable explanation of his wife's condition.

"And see they aren't like a typical tumor or mass.... they are spider.. or spider web like.. see here..." He pointed to what was obviously a mass of some sort in the back of Lizzie's head down low nearer her spinal cord. According to the Dr. it was something she'd had since birth but hadn't had symptoms of til now?

 He didn't understand how that was possible but Dr. Bruener assured him that if a person with these cysts were going to develop and symptoms they always developed them before age 20 and Lizzie was only 17 so it was perfectly normal. 

"I... so... she'll be ok though? you can treat it?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean you said it's benign and no sign of cancer in any of her bloodwork so it's ok right? Just needs treatment?" 

The Dr. paused before speaking and Richie felt his gut tighten.

"Well yes.... there is treatment and we will begin at once. As you can see these cysts... or tumors are quite large but because of being "arachnoid" or in other words spidered thru the membranes they are inoperable." 

"i..in.. inoperable.... so.... so the treatment you start will.. will shrink them right?" 

"well... yes .. at least temporarily." 

"temporarily.... ok... so.. what exactly does that mean?" 

Dr. Bruener took a deep breath before he answered "It means Mr. Sambora, that .. eventually.... they will cease to shrink and once again start to grown. When this happens and at what rate we have no way of knowing. But when it does then all the symptoms she just touched the surface of right now the pain, confusion, forgetfulness, numbness, tingling, paralysis will ... well the pressure on her brain will......eventually..." 

Richie shook his head "No... don't even say it... you have to be wrong." 

"I really wish I was.......but" 

"No....." he peered thru the glass and watched Lizzie as she sat up and moved a lock of hair out of her eyes then glanced up and flashed him a small smile. He weakly smiled back as he tried to reign in his fear of what he was hearing. "How.. How long... will the treatment... work?" 

"It's hard to say .. we can hope it will work for years, however it may not work at all, or it may work for a few months a hopefully prognosis... 4 years....... a worse case scenario.... 6-8 months..." 

Richie's breath hissed out of his mouth as he quickly found a chair mumbling under his breath his mind whirling as it tried to digest the news that someday, and someday sooner than he ever thought... he was going to lose the most important thing he had in his life.