Our Memorial Day
May 29, 2013. Four years ago today we sat in Dr. Brown�s office at Children�s Hospital of Los Angeles waiting for the results of the MRI scan. Our �scanxiety��as they call it�was high. Three weeks prior Sam�s behavior had taken a subtle, but noticeable turn for the worse. His balance was off, his focus was diminished, and there was an increased amount of �glazed eye� episodes�times he just wasn�t paying attention to us. None of these things, of course, were normal for Sam. He had been a healthy, energetic little sparkplug, and a highly attentive, focused and high-achieving learner. All of that came to an abrupt halt starting around May 29, 2013. Dr. Brown came into the room and sat down. I can�t recall exactly who spoke first. It might have been Sam�that would not have been out of character for him at all�but someone asked what the results of the MRI were. I do recall very clearly what Dr. Brown�s response was, and...