Over the last week we have struggled with a horrible lung infection that has caused my strength to hit the road and blood to make its presence known stepping out to visit from my lungs. The doctor at Mayo said it was Valley Fever. My internist did the other three detailed tests that they should have done. After a week we found out that yes, I had traces of Valley Fever in my blood but when you got down to the nitty gritty I was not suffering from the disease itself. This has alarmed the doctors even more and over the last week I have been told you really should think of going into the hospital but I promised them if it got to that point I would but I had been through worse and this can wait until Mondays appointment with the lung doctor.
Doctor Timmy has done a fantastic job and has had me on bed rest since I arrived in Albuquerque. He has a very nice bed side manner and will bring me anything I want as long as it is fruit and water! Stay hydrated is our motto at this point!!!! Sometimes I think I could float away with all this water in me!!!!! He could hang on and we could probably go down the Colorado ourselves with me all blown up with water!!!!!! My kidneys are also thanking him profusely!!!!!! They have been doing a little happy dance just for him!
Pretty soon it will be time to leave Tim back in Albuquerque while I make my way home to Phoenix.
I have a very busy few weeks coming up and I have to say I am not looking forward to them as much as I should. Normally I like seeing my doctors. I know they will always help me feel better. Yes, there is some poking and blood involved but that is a minor thing that I don't even bat an eye at it! The physical exams are the worst part. I truly think that doctors see us as pretzels in their waiting room. The look at us, rub there hands together and think to themselves.......oh, I can make her bend backwards if I wanted!!!!! I giggle because the joke is on them.......I can not even bend at my waist at this point!!!!!! Needless to say, they try and you end up hurting. I never feel as if I need to go to the gym afterwards because the workout she gives me lays me up in bed for at least a whole day!
The doctors we are facing this week are what I call the detail doctors. They are looking at one special detail of my disease and that is all. The first one up is the lung doctor on Monday morning. The lung doctor will look into why I developed Asthma as an adult and why I keep getting so sick with upper respiratory infections. There will be a lot of breathing and a lot of poking, pictures will be ran and discussions of possibly biopsies will be approached. It already hurts when I breath so this is not one I am looking forward to. The next day I see the neurologist who will be testing my nerve endings and how they respond to stimulus through shock.....OUCH! Yes, you feel it and it is a very odd sensation! It will take a few hours for the arms and hands and the legs and feet to be done. I will be exhausted after this one and will need a nice long nap! Next will be the Rheumatologist to just check in with all the tests we are having. Finally we will end on a high note at the Ear Nose and Throat doctor! Hopefully she will be able to help address the reasons for suffering from chronic sinusitis. Again she we will be prodding up in boogie land so I actually feel more sorry for her than myself........it can't be pretty up there! Again we will discuss if we need to do a biopsies of the sinuses and how this affects the whole picture of things.
All of these wonderful tests will be done at the Mayo Clinic and again, I am so thankful to have such easy access to best care I could possibly receive. It just takes a toll on you mentally. It takes me back to when I first got sick and how I was passed on and passed on until finally someone started treating me for Lupus. At that point you are so thankful that you have a doctor who keeps you on a great schedule and has discovered how to make you as comfy as possible. At that point a giant ray of light rises around and angels sing out........ok, for me it is sock monkeys, because you have hit the promise land of being diagnosed and having a treatment plan!!!!!! LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No one tells you this is just the beginning!
After you start your treatment plan your body does this silly little thing like adapt to the medication and your body decides that it is to good for all the medicine you have been taking and it is time to shake things up a bit! What????? I don't shake things up.......I am happy being as comfy as one can be in my shoes! Nope, you start shaking it up! Normally you can try other medications BUT if you have a good doctor they look at what is going on and want to know is it the disease itself or something new!!!!!! It's Christmas time for autoimmune diseases!!!!!! Like in candy land.......you are the blue piece and you have just rounded your way back to the very beginning and you have new mountains to climb......I was a sore looser as a kid and I would kick and scream and throw my piece. I wonder what the doctor would say on Monday if I kick and scream and throw something across the room???? I am going to guess she would send me for a psych consult instead of a lung one, hehehehehehehehe!!!!!!
I am not a hat lady and Tim will tell you over and over how he buys me hats to protect my skin from the sun BUT I never wear them. He is right as I hang my head in shame. What he doesn't know is that everyday I do put a hat on. I will put my kindness hat on when I go to the store. I will put my patience hat on when I am driving and I put my maids hat on when I clean up Tim's popcorn crumbs! I have hats for everyday but I am finding it very difficult to find which hat would suite me best for the upcoming visits and tests. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....................
I know the layered look is from the eighties but we have to break it back out! I will start with my positive hat that will help me see the good in the bad. I will add my brave hat on too. You have to be brave when you are seeing someone knew and having test after test ran. I will put on my patience hat. I will want answers right now and this will keep me from throwing myself on the floor and kicking and screening and seeing that psych consult! I will also need to remember my logical hat. There are reasons for these drawn out appointments and continuous tests and I need to remember to understand that. I will top off this layered hat style with my hat from Tim full of love. Tim always tries to get me to wear actual hats because of my sensitive skin. He loves me and wants to protect me and always makes sure I know that we can get through anything. That is the hat I will see on top of all of the other hats. See, Tim, I do listen to you......I wear a hat everyday to protect my sensitive self! You may think I am not listening but I promise I hear every word you say.
So here we go again. A new day a new week and hopefully new possibilities. There will be hurdles along the way and they may trip you up a bit. They key is to not stop and kick and scream just get back up and keep running. Eventually you will see the finish line and you won't need to run anymore. When you stop you will look around and see all of your loved ones and at that moment you will realize they were not waiting for you at the end, they were running with you the entire time.
https://www.wepay.com/donations/danica-s-doctor-delima
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