the update

The update. Hmmm what is the update.  It’s funny. I hear everyone explaining it, calling people, making doctors appointments, trying to get in touch with home health, ordering meds, picking up prescriptions, making food, taking care of my kiddos, washing my clothes, cleaning my kitchen; all while I am stashed away in my bedroom. I feel like the world is swirling by around me and I am missing all the action.

Don’t get me wrong here, someone cooking for me, cleaning for me, washing clothes and watching the kids is absolutely remarkable! But it is my job. It is what I love to do – well, except for the whole cooking thing – but for the most part, it is where I feel alive, it is my nitch, my job, my joy. 

So the update. Hmmm. Okay,the trip went well. At the airport, girls in the bathroom laughed at me because they thought I was drunk. I cried, until I realized that I do look pretty drunk when I try to walk. So I may as well laugh! J No seizure on the plane, WooHoo!!! Huge answered prayer. Yay for every little victory!

I loved getting to see our friends Klon and Tracy, who graciously let us stay in their house. I love my nurse Christina, who hugged me when I cried and made sure I was as comfy as possible. I loved meeting Dr. Jemsek, although he definitely isn’t warm and fuzzy, he is direct and to the point, he has made a plan designed just for me; he cares that I get better and he is going to do all he can to make sure that happens. I’d rather have that trait in a doctor than warm and fuzzy any day.

I had a test run with the first antibiotic I will be taking and I had no allergic reactions – Yay! Yay! Yay! That was the first big hurdle. My only reaction was to curl up with a pillow and a blanket and fall asleep. Yummy, yummy, yummy sleep.

It was encouraging for me to learn from Dr. Jemsek that my “episodes” or “muscle spasms” are actually one of the most common seizures. They are called Limbic Seizures, and obviously originate in my brain. They are actually much scarier for the person watching me, than for me. I cognitively feel fine, at the same time I look like…hmm….well, Robyn says I look like a peacock. Not sure if that is an accurate description, but I guess it looks pretty kooky.

It was grody to the max to learn that the lyme spirochetes have taken over my entire brain and body and they are just slithering away in there, drilling through vessels and organs, having a big blow out PAR-TAY! You know the type – the parents are out of town, and the entire Spirochete High School has been invited over. Someone was able to get their hands on a couple of kegs, the music is shaking not only the whole house, but the neighbors' houses as well! Spirochetes are jumping off the roof into the pool, and one of the poor dorky spirochetes is puking in the toilet. Fun times at Spirochete High!

Apparently, The Immune System Police Department is this tiny little police department down in Brooketown, USA. They are understaffed and overwhelmed. They have one police car and two policemen. (Think Andy Griffith and Barney Fife) They can’t keep up with the spirochetes vandalizing the neighborhood convenience store or the ones spraying graffiti on the windows of the brand new Cinema up town; much less stop this party in midtown.

It’s time to send in the cavalry. Martial law will be in effect. Now, the spirochetes are obviously not going to be very happy about this, in fact it is likely to cause quite an uprising, maybe even a coup. It’s not going to be a pretty battle. Things will get a lot worse before they get better. So that means more outrageous parties, more vandalism, more graffiti and gunfights in the streets. But here’s the deal, in the end, the cavalry WILL win. It may take 4 months, it may take 8 months, it may even be a year.  But there will be a new sheriff in town. The Immune System Police Department in Brooketown will be big and brand new.  Well staffed and able to handle any little spirochete that might try and hang around. And Brooke will be Brooke again. Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! We will win! And God will never let go of my hand, not one single step of the way. And that, my friends, is the update.