I know you have been waiting with baited breath for this blog entry. Okay, well not exactly baited, you probably reserve that for things like babies’ births, new cars, bungee jumping. In that case, we need to come up with something a little less than baited but not all the way down to completely uninterested. Maybe bayed breath? That takes the T out of it and gives it a little less punch and pow. Let’s just say, you may have been waiting for this entry with bayed breath.
Now my fav thing, pre-lyme days, was a super size coke from MickeyDs. For some reason, their cokes are better than any other - there is no comparison. I guess that was even pre-pre-lyme days, because the largest you can get right now is just a regular large. What about those super-sizers out there like me? I have even considered purchasing 2 larges, in a pathetic attempt to get the same amount of delish icey cold cola-ness as before. My treat was to get the supersize coke and 2 apple pies for $1. I decided I needed therapy though when the girl at the drive-thru recognized my voice......hmmm......But I just couldn’t control myself. When I drive past a McDonald’s now there is a magnetic pull. I can almost taste it. I miss those days.
These days my new treat is ....well hold that thought for a minute.
I am traveling - I use that word lightly - back from my 3rd visit to Jemsek. Charles is attempting to drive in downtown DC in rush hour traffic. If you have ever driven in the middle of DC then you know about these bizarre roundabouts. If not - there are no words.
To start the day, I got a little wink from God. My old fav hoodie is wool. Regrettably, I have become allergic to wool. I had been doing some serious reconn to find a new one. Tragically, to no avail. It would appear that no one sells hoodies in Myrtle Beach in the middle of the summer. Go figure. I must be the only one whose temperature gauge has gone cattywampus and is constantly freezing.
Well one of the friends we stay with, Tracy, had let me borrow one of hers last time we were in DC, and over the past month I have grown to L-O-V-E love it. I think if I had to give it back it would be as traumatizing as a child losing her blankie. This morning she told me just to keep it! God was up there with a big old grin on His face as He winked at me and gave me exactly what I needed....for free!
My good friend Karla recently reminded me of the movie 28 Days when Sandra Bullock’s character had to wear a sign around her neck that read, “Confront me if I don’t ask for help” Hmm...that hits pretty close to home. I think I need to borrow her sign. Imagine cutting off your own arm a’la Aron Ralston - times 10 - and you are getting close to understanding how much I dislike asking for help. One of the things that God has been teaching me through this disease is to ask for help when I need it and to not be afraid to ask for what I want.
My previous visit to Jemsek, I was in a comfy recliner while I infused; blankets, pillows, heater - the whole nine.You can imagine my surprise then, as my nurse Christina, led me into what looked like a typical doctors office, stiff crinkly paper on the pleather and metal table, cold white tiles on the floor, the overwhelming lysol smell fills the air, you’ve been there. I knew immediately I wanted the comfy chair room, but I didn’t want to be a bother. I could feel God’s hand on my shoulder, gently prompting me to ask about the other room. I took in a deep breath and blurted the question out. She promised next time she would reserve it for me. After a few minutes I felt the prompting again. Holy cow, God! He and I were duking it out...I’ll give you a guess.....He won. I opened my mouth, to speak, no words. Finally out squeaked this tiny little voice asking if we could switch rooms and apologizing all in the same breath. The room was in use, so I took my lumps, feeling a mixture of satisfaction and relief that at least I had heeded God’s prompts.
This visit was to test run my new antibiotic. No reactions. Yay! No hives, no puking or diarrhea, (phew!) I was more worried about that than the possibility of anaphylactic shock. But none of that either. I did make sure they all had their EPI pens close at hand. I keep imagining that scene from Pulp Fiction when they stab the needle straight into Uma Thurman’s heart. But alas, no such excitement, oh well.
Out of the blue, another wink from God. The comfy room had been freed up! Double yay!! Ok, lesson learned. We walk across the hall into sheer luxury. Imagine if The Ritz had a medical room. Pillows, blankets, soft lighting. It’s still an infusion, but, you may as well be comfy. Right?
Have you ever watched Swamp People? Really great reality show! They are down in backwoods Louisiana hunting gators, way down where they brew their own liquor. They take their boats down through the swampy waters of the bayou hanging dead chickens from the trees, trying to lure a big ole’ gator onto the line. You should really give it a try. It’s even better than it sounds, the show, not gator huntin’. Oops .....there I go again, rabbit trail.....sorry.
Hahaha, finally, this rabbit trail does actually have a point. Most of my meds are clear, they just look like water running through the line. This infusion looked just like that swampy water from the bayou, and I couldn’t help but imagine those chickens hanging from the trees dripping their blood into the water. Take a deep breath Brooke, it’s just a little iron to help with my anemia. I did have a few Herx reactions during my visit, but it was short lived.
A few tweaks here and there with my meds and we were free to go with our “schedule” for the next month. Now imagine, a prescription written out for you by your doctor. Do you see that clearly in your mind? Okay now picture that on an 8X12 piece of paper. This is my “schedule” if you will. Tell me, what percentage would you be able to read? Is there a pre-req in med school called “Illegible Handwriting 101?” It would seem so.
Six hours from the time we walked in, it was finally time to go.
Back to what I was saying about my new fav treat........Charles pushed my wheelchair half a block past the clinic, straight through the doors of heaven. I could smell the coffee wafting through the doors even before he opened them. Ahhhhhh, Starbucks, my new guilty pleasure. I’m sure the calories in the half & half give the sugar calories in my supersize coke a run for their money. I got the new Trenta size, yes I did say Trenta decaf, unsweetened iced coffee w/ lots of half &half. Some have been known to call this size the Starbucket, whatever it is called, it is 31 oz of happiness in a cup. Puts a smile on my face every single time!
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