Are You Waiting?

If you are waiting for those pictures, I am sorry, you shall have to wait another day - I am simply not up to it today.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

Today I went to the new Dr and had another CAT scan and more blood work.  It was a very emotional day. I am exhausted from the 1 week of constant pain, emotional because I am so done with it and apprehensive because I am sick of going to Drs, paying ooodles of bucks and not finding answers.  Today was around S$1000.00 and I am waiting on the results.  The money comes out of our pockets, then I have to figure out the rest - we have no insurance here in Singapore.  We have to pay, file and hope we get some reimbursement.  It hasn't happened yet from the insurance company...

The day started off bad, I 'lost' my phone, my green card was in the back pack from my Malacca trip and I had no phone numbers to call anyone.  I am so helpless without my phone - I had no idea how to contact Steve in case of emergency and that un-nerved me, especially when I found out they had to do a contrast IV.  I finally resigned myself to the fact I could not come half way back across the island just to hear my husband's voice, grit my teeth and went on with the task.

Finally, I had a bad IV experience on top of it all and it just made me a train wreck...  the lady inserted the IV, but apparently even though it was in the vein it was also leaking out into my hand.  My hand swelled with a huge knot the size of a golf ball, but they used it anyway to get the dye in.  It was more than a little uncomfortable, and once it was done, they realized it should have been restarted as they tried to 'squish' the swelling down around it and asked if I felt anything go into my veins.  Ha.  Yeah, not a good experience.  One of the technicians came in and asked why they used the vein.  After 30 minutes, they decided I was not going to croak and let me go.  I could not even use my hand earlier.  4 hours of ice bag and a drained sleep and it is much better now.  When I walked in the door, my phone was laying on the corner of the table - so now I know who I am again and I can call Steve and my friends again.  I won't be doing loosing my phone again.  I sure wished I had brought someone with me today.  Famous last words to my sister is "I can do this on my own, I am a big girl now."  I did - but I must admit, I wanted someone.

I go back for the results of the tests tomorrow at 3:30.  This part should be easy.  They could not call me today if they had to; I did not have my phone numbers to give them, though I did call and leave it on an answering machine when I reached home.  I believe they were leaving for the day when they were finished with me.  At the very least, they went to lunch.

The Dr experiences here are so much different than in the states.  There is not a room full of patients.  It is often just you, the Dr and the receptionist.  When they order blood work, they call the lab, who sends someone up, and they draw blood right in the waiting room.  The Drs do not hurry you out - I was in his office easily an hour and he was only with me and with me the entire hour except for the blood draw.  I am confident he will find the problem.  He is very concerned with the auto immune problems in our family.  Our mother died of complications for Addison's Disease and dad died of Microbacterium Intracellular Avium - also a very rare disease.  He did run blood work to rule out some of the more common autoimmune diseases like lupus.  I do not think any of those are my cause for pain, though.

The best part of it all is that it is over.  I hope to get results tomorrow, though again, I am apprehensive they will not find anything.  However, I still feel like they should be able to find whatever is wrong blindfolded.  I can't see how something will not jump out at them with flashing lights.  I also can now say, I would not have been a bit surprised if they had kept me today, but obviously I am not as ill as I feel like I am.  Come to think of it, they did not take my temp or blood pressure today though... hmmm...

In the midst of all of this, we got an e-mail this morning that the appraisal on the house went through - we are due for closing in the states in 2 weeks.  All of our 'stuff' has to be out and in storage by then.  Yay.  Or not.  lol... very mixed about this, but it does need to get done.  I have no time to be this ill.

I hope tomorrow I will feel more like telling you about our trip to Malaysia.  What a great experience.  

Good night friends.  I can't tell you how much it means to have such a wonderful network of friends on both sides of the world.  Thank you for being there.