Well, my mother is doing a little bit better. We've had some ups and downs (and I'm sure there are more to come), but today her color is better and she was opening her eyes and looking at people better than she had been before.
I was happy to be able to walk up and down a few stairs in the hospital. I'm doing pretty well. I'm going to try to exercise for a few minutes at a time tomorrow.
I've been pretty busy--Cleveland Clinic Tuesday (more on that in a minute), all kinds of shopping yesterday (our tax refund came in--time to get the girls a couple of articles of clothing or a pair of shoes, buy a few things for the house, get the kitchen stocked up--go to the dentist, get the brakes tuned up on the van, etc.). Today we went up the the hospital to visit Mom and to the library. Meanwhile I've been trying to keep the housework up in between going places. I've been a bit tired lately--maybe it's just that I'm still recovering from the flu.
The Cleveland Clinic was good--my husband came along to play his ongoing role as the six-foot-two bobble head doll. I say I'm sick and he nods his head up and down. While with my autism and lack of 'normal' expression, I don't think I come across as believable, my husband does. He has credibility. And I think it helps just to have another person agreeing that I'm sick. Maybe it even helps that he's male. Women do get labeled as hypochondriacs more often than men.
So the doctor believed that it's not allergies, and seemed to take me quite seriously. I had a couple of breathing tests, some subcutaneous tests on my arm, a cat scan, and three vials of blood taken. I'm even getting tested to see if the pneumonia vaccine I had a few months ago 'took'.
I almost laughed out loud when the doctor turned to me and informed me, "Your asthma is poorly controlled." I managed to get by with a, "Yes, I know." But he really seemed like a good guy. And he knows more about what's wrong with me than I do--a pleasant change of pace for me. He had a definite reaction to my former specialist having said I was all better. Most doctors don't even know how ridiculous that statement was. But this doctor did say that he can basically 'cure' me, or at least bring the symptoms under control. I'm sorry, but I've heard it before. With each doctor. He gave me a new inhaler. It's this year's new inhaler, so I haven't tried it yet. But maybe I can at least get an accurate diagnosis, and maybe, just maybe, I can get at least a little bit better control of the asthma. As for the immune deficiency, I don't think Tricare even covers the IVIG treatments. That is, if what I have is CVID and not Selective IgA, or something else entirely, or nothing at all.
And I got a card from one of the people I bitched and whined about in my last post. I sent a short email back. I'm just barely stupid enough to think it will do any good. I suppose it's best not to burn bridges, although perhaps some bridges should be burned. Burned, blown up, and the wreckage hacked to bits.
Tomorrow we'll have the second day of homeschooling we've had this week. It's been a bad year for attendance so far, but we've been so good in general that I don't feel too badly about it. One of my homeschooling philosophies is that my children should learn what's really important, and visiting my mother is really important. And getting me on Social Security is really important, too--someday it just might keep a roof over my children's heads. Not to mention taking care of my health might be a good idea. And if it is IgA deficiency, any or all of my children could have it. You can be completely asymptomatic and have this. You can also pass it on to your children. One of my girls has had several serious illnesses and severe asthma attacks over the years. Even my sister and/or niece could have it.
And then this weekend my husband has guard. By then I'm probably going to feel like I can use a bit of a vacation.
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