[scenes from our backyard]

Before we got 4 inches of snow overnight, our backyard farmer had begun the long, slow process of prepping his fields.

Like the stereotypical American I am, still in awe of the quiet beauty of the Korean countryside, I waited until his back was turned…heading back to his house…before taking pictures.

Here he’s carrying off the over-grown brambles & dead branches he cleared out.

But the picture I missed was the image of the farmer heading back with Cynthia, my next-door neighbor, racing out into her backyard with still wet hair & her camera – snapping away trying to capture his iconic image as well….How funny would that’ve been?

But I thought I’d share these images while I get back to the business at hand.

Tomorrow Eric & I drive back up to Seoul to see the Army Neurologist stationed at the 121 Brian Allgood hospital at Yongsan.

[If you're just now tuning in, you can catch up here.]

 I’ve tried to compile my own list of questions to ask, to have a better understanding what’s going on, but I can’t seem to get past these few:

• What is it? (Ok, no brainer – but he most likely won’t know right away & will send me off for more tests.)
• Is there a way to tell how long these lesions have been in my head? Years? Months? Weeks?
• Will the military medical system here in Korea be able to treat / manage whatever this is?
• Or would I be better off if we requested a compassionate reassignment so I could get treatment in the states?
• Are these lesions permanent? What will be their long-term impact?
• What areas of the brain are these lesions impacting? Memory? Coordination? etc.

I get to about that point & have to stop…it just becomes too overwhelming.

But I need to make sure I ask everything I can while I’m there.

So if you were me, what would you ask?

I’m also working on setting my intentions & realistic expectations for the appointment so that I don’t leave frustrated or upset.

Things like, he probably won’t know off the bat. And even if he has a pretty good guess, he’ll still have to test to confirm it.

That I need to make sure to listen to everything he says, to not jump in & cut him off when a question immediately pops in my head.

I want this to be a good meeting – I want to develop a good relationship with this doctor.

I want to leave the office feeling like I’m finally on the right path with someone who will care, not just rack me up as another number.

Side Note: Before marrying into the military I had one doctor. One.

One who has known & treated me since I was in elementary school. One who treated my mother, my father, my sister & brother.

And after marrying into the military I realized how rare that is & how fortunate I was to have that kind of relationship. I’ve not seen the same doctor twice in over 4 years, if that tells you anything.

But it also means I tend to be a little more stand-off-ish with new docs.

So yeah, while it may sound funny…I want to feel confident in this doctor.

But what would you ask?