I Am Not a Quitter

I haven’t exactly been neglecting my health, but I haven’t had it on the forefront. Since the restrictions and protocols have changed at doctors offices, I have tried to stay out as much as possible. Long exposure in a mask causes my blood pressure to spike and I’m a high stroke risk factor. And HIPAA policies went right out the window😟 I go for the kids, but... for me it’s another story.  

So I’d like to start and say... I’ve lost 52 pounds😳 My knees may be saying thank you, but weight loss doesn’t fix everything. Before the virus, I was doing PT for my back and a possible L5-S1 radiculopathy. That hasn’t been happening now for 10 months, even with the exercises at home, I am in some awful pain.  

Obviously, being holistic is a challenge for what I take to alleviate the pain. But, I’m seeing the Neurosurgeon this week! This is the one time that the lesion on my brainstem did something helpful for me😂 normally there’s a wait-like months- the new doctor gave me an appt one week after seeing my MRI🙏  

I love my neurosurgeon Dr. Kaku at BMC, but when I’m hurting or having a flare up, I don’t want to sit in the car 45-90 minutes each way. I feel I am in a great place when it comes to the lesions and I feel comfortable switching to someone more local.  

On another note, going back through my records I saw that I had a positive ANA at some point. I can’t tell you the hundreds of blood tests I have gone through since getting sick 4 years ago, but... the date of the results was before I got sick. That makes no sense.  

How come no one ever saw that? Maybe it has something to do with why my alcoholism effected me so terribly. I’m not blaming anyone but myself, but you see old men walking around drunk as a skunk for decades and at 33 I was paralyzed. I just want answers and hopefully a new holistic regimen for the remaining annoyances.  

I say annoyances because damn, I am pretty pumped how all this turned out. One day a doctor is telling me and my family I’d be in wheelchair possibly forever and here I am living life to it’s fullest-walking and talking- maybe talking too much☺️  

I have a Rheumatology appointment scheduled for next month. A single positive ANA doesn’t always mean something, it’s like a false positive sometimes, but because all repeat studies have come back abnormal again we will see what’s going on!  

William has been having some GI and liver issues and has been undergoing procedures and tests for an accurate diagnosis. He actually has one this week. I will feel awful if I have had something all along that is genetic. I’m praying, that isn’t the case.  

All in all, things could be much worse and I will get through whatever comes about. I have gotten this far and I think it’s safe to say, I’m not a quitter!  

My advice... don’t let your medical “annoyances” or problems go on too long, it may be too late by the time you get the answers. I have a few friends passed because of health concerns they let slide and a couple friends/family who ignored signs and now have serious conditions. Take care of yourself🙏