Mope...

I haven't posted in a few weeks. Not much has been going on. We've had some terrible weather here...bad storms, tornado warnings, etc. My friend in Ohio told me that they sounded the tornado sirens and she had to get her dogs into the basement. They had funnel clouds, but they never touched down.

My health situation is somewhat worse. My knee dislocated itself...I have tendinitis in my Achilles tendons, my thumb is dislocated again and this morning, I woke up to find my ankle is swollen. It feels kind of hot, but it doesn't really hurt unless I'm driving. Icing isn't doing anything. Dad keeps pointing out my "horrible cankle" like I'm a low budget freak from a Z-movie.

Dad wants me to go to the doctor, but I'm fed up with dealing with them right now. I'm tired of spending $25 at my GP for them to send me to a specialist to spent $50 for them to tell me I need to take some anti-inflammatories, ice it and go back to PT, which costs me $50 2 to 3 times a week.

No.

I've had a few negative doctor appointments lately. My hand/wrist doctor doesn't know how to fix my problem and he's suggested that I get a second opinion. He doesn't want to do surgery and cause more problems and he's not as familiar with EDS as he'd like. I'd rather he admit that he's not comfortable with fixing it instead of paying for a surgery and having it worse off than it is.

My knee doctor kind of rubbed me the wrong way. First, he has this yes-man come in and chat. He's a fellowship guy or intern or something. He sounded fake, but I don't have to hang out with him. He pokes, prods, twists & bends my knee around and runs to get the regular doctor. He does the same thing only now it hurts more since it's super irritated. "Oh, it's dislocated." Did he pop it back in? No. Just wrote me a freaking script for more PT. "I can't really afford that now. Can I do exercises at home?" "No, you really need to be in PT so they can keep an eye on you." My other doctor told me that my meniscus was almost gone, too. I asked about that and he claimed there was nothing wrong with it. He fixed it a few years ago and it was fine for a while.

The only plus of this visit was they left my file open on the computer. Almost every EDS peep I know complains that they feel their doctors think they're making it up. I feel the same way, so I went through my records. All of my specialists work for the same group, so everything was there. I read through and there is no mention of me being crazy and making stuff up. What I did see was the same thing over and over, "Too young to have these problems." "The problems she's experiencing are disturbing."

One one hand, I'm glad they don't think I'm a hypochondriac, but now I'm depressed. I'm tired of dealing with doctors that "don't know what to do with me" and I'm sick of hearing "you're too young for these problems." No kidding!

Now I have this funky ankle problem. I didn't sprain it. I don't have any sort of insect bite. I want it to just stop. I don't need another problem like this now. I just don't want to deal with it.
While watching the Pirates game, dad noticed it was still puffy and started poking it. The back of it is bruised. "I thought you said it didn't hurt?" Well, it bothered me a little when driving, but it didn't feel bruised then. He informs me that if it's not better by Monday, I will be going to the doctor, whether I want to or not.

We're going to a Pirates game on Sunday, so maybe that will distract me from my problems for a few hours. Dad got the padded seats behind the dugout. They have more comfortable seats, but we're not paying $140 for a ticket. The only problem is we'll probably end up on camera. I'm a messy eater and they tend to have the camera in my direction while I'm cramming a pierogi in my mouth. Hello single men of Pittsburgh! Ha!

Going from bad to worse...

I woke up Monday in the worst pain I've had in a while, then had a nasty fall when getting up because my knee gave out with my ankle. I thought taking a shower and meds might help, but never made it into work. I was in tears. My boss was concerned that I might be more injured than I was letting on, so she had HR call to check on me and it resulted in me being taken to the emergency room to be checked out.

HR gave me two options, she could call an ambulance or pick me up, but I had to go. I opted for her to take me to avoid the ambulance fees.

I have been keeping the EDS quiet at work. It's no one's business and I worry about people holding it against me. I did end up fessing up to HR lady on the phone since they seemed so worried. It was a misguided attempt to get them to stop worrying, but it backfired and made them more concerned.

ER doctor seems to light up when I tell him about my condition. He calls my doctor at home and decides to stick me in the MRI. I bumped my head and figured I'd have X-rays and probably a CT scan. Maybe he was trying to make more money, but they did find something. I have a Chiari malformation.

Before knowing the results, I was stewing a bit thinking he was going to turn me into a guinea pig or money machine. It turns out that he was fascinated by the condition. Great...guinea pig...

At least I know what's causing some of my problems, but now I get to see another specialist.

They discharged me. The injuries...knee sprain, hip sprain, knot on the forehead & Chiari Malformation (not really an injury). I was given a large dose of pain meds. HR lady decided to have me stay at her house so I have someone around just in case. I think it's a bit odd, but she explains that they are responsible for my safety while I'm there and it's no problem for me to stay in her guest room. I still think it's very generous to invite a stranger to stay in one's home for an undetermined amount of time. We picked up my stuff from the hotel and I've been here for a week. I've slept through most of it and tried to work on some book reviews. I also finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Friday & Saturday I was feeling a lot better and Elle picked me up so I could get out for a bit. We went to the bookstore and mall. After one store at the mall, I was finished. I knew I wouldn't be able to do much, but that was disappointing.

My follow up with the doctor is Wednesday. I'm also waiting for my regular doctor to call me back. I may be going home. HR lady did tell me that the company apartment is vacant now and I get to stay there. It will be nice to stay in an apartment as opposed to the hotel, but it will all depend on what my doctors say. Things are up in the air right now.