Who's a Turkey?

We found a neurosurgeon and I'm scheduled for LOTS of tests next week. We reconvene with the surgeon the following week when we'll discuss the results of the tests, which should pinpoint what part of the shunt is malfunctioning, if it is indeed malfunctioning. Hmmm. That will be the pivoting point in determining my hair fashion (or lack of it) for the next six months. But my Mom comes to the recue...yay!...after that she's going to drive me into New York (I'm grounded from air travel due to my elevated intracranial pressure) for some slice and dice by Dr. Chainsaw, which is way overdue and, needless to say, been problematic. So, I'll be squeezing a New York road trip in there somewhere, but New York with my Mom ain't so bad! Speaking of which, I'm headed out there for Turkey. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Autumn's Chainsaw

I'm not sure who painted this mornings picture, but who ever did it, she is a very gifted artist!. It appears that autumn is finally here as the strong light of the early morning sun pointed all attention to emerging colors of orange and red amongst the rolling hills of green trees. This is the sight that this morning's artist treated me to as I rode to the airport, on my way once again for a day in New York for a little crunch and grind with Dr. Chainsaw. The bone infection has been debilitating since I got back from my last treatment two weeks ago. I won't go into details, but its really gross! In the meantime, my body's overall inflammation level has skyrocketed. At the risk of sounding like a kvetch, the first wakeful sensation of yesterday was pain in my fingers, accompanied by stiffness. Neuropathic type of pain plagued me throughout the day with hits along my arms and legs, as well atomic strikes on my hands and feet. By nightfall, I was back to the feeling of battery acid pouring down my arms, similar to what I felt a year ago before I received some relief through nerve blocking procedures. I'm sure anxiety over the possibility that the nerve blocks wore off didn't help. Nerve blocking is not usually a permanent solution to inflammatory problems of spinal nerve roots such as mine. Oy. I'm back on some serious non-steroidal anti-inflammatories which I have permission to use for a maximum of three days, after which I will start to increase my risk of stroking dramatically. Jeeze. Give me a break already! In the past, when the bone infection has become very active, it sometimes triggers my body into an inflammatory state. I'm hoping that this is the situation and today's crunch and grind will help to wash away the 'battery acid'. Otherwise, I have to go on the hunt for a doctor to perform new nerve blocks. While I'm very happy to have moved to this new state and have access to a wonderful new pool of medical professionals, not to mention a whole bunch of nice people, its difficult to be in critical need of a skilled doctor and not have one already in place, not to mention not having the slightest idea of where to begin to search! In light of the fact that it's hard to start all over with new doctors when you're sick and in pain, I'm going to root for the bone infection's driving the body's inflammation hypothesis and settle for fixing this problem when I get off this plane in half an hour. Regardless of today's crunch and grind outcome, I will be relying on just enough local anesthetic to allow me enough sanity to direct the driver to my favorite bakery (that's why I don't like to do this on Mondays, this bakery is owned and run by an Italian family and is traditionally closed on Mondays) to pick up a dozen of the world's finest prune hamentashen before catching my flight back home. With God's help, I'll be back on my bike within a few days! Thanks for keeping up with me and for all the e-mails and, well, not so many lately, guestbook messages! Later!

Stepfather Part I

I know that the term "stepfather" has a negative connotation to it and we're supposed to use better sounding words such as "bonus father", but my mother's husband has truly stepped in as my father. I have no problem referring to him as my stepfather because that is exactly who he is to me. I thank God that I have him and, right now, I feel as if I am the luckiest person in the world. I know that I'm super sick and suffering and miserable and everything, but at least I have a wonderful stepfather to help me through it! Earlier this month, my husband and daughter and I picked up our lives and moved to a new state for: 1) better career opportunities for my husband, 2) better educational opportunities for my daughter, and 3) better medical opportunities for me. Part of that move left us in closer proximity to NY, with even the possibility of getting there by car. In the middle of all this craziness with settling in a new world, the osteomyelites kicked in big time. I have had pain running down the entire side of my body and my vision has deteriorated horribly. I have needed to get to NY for medical attention from my oral surgeon there but had a very difficult time getting anyone to help me, as it seemed all family members (not that there are many to begin with) were overrun with responsibilities and responsible medical aids were not available due to ridiculous reasons such as hurricanes. I hate not being able bodied enough to travel independently! Upon overhearing my desperation, my stepfather got in his car and drove half a day to my home and then spent another day driving me to New York. At this moment, I am safely tucked away in the hotel that my mother had arranged for us and I know I'm going to be o.k. throughout the procedures this week because my stepfather is here with me. While I wish I was independent enough to face this week on my own, I'm glad to have my stepfather here with me. He can't possibly make the pain go away, but he sure does make me feel like smiling!

Visiting Dr. Chainsaw Part I

I'm in New York and despite Dr. Chainsaw's handy work at oral surgery on me today, I had a lot of fun on Time Square tonight with my companion. We ate at the Hard Rock cafe and the break from stresses of medical meltdowns and preparations for moving when I get back made me feel like a million bucks! Chainsaw and I discussed the Vitamin D hypothesis and he said that he has considered this as a role in osteomyelites in his past work. I look forward to starting with that supplementation regime after I have my blood baseline levels assessed. I'm in lots of pain tonight and miss my family, but I'm happy to be alive and look forward to the big 'family move' next week.