Whirlwind

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 46 degrees, high 52 degrees, cloudy, windy - cold day!

The rain that came through yesterday was timely, since I had put out some weed and feed fertilizer on the yard. This afternoon, I noticed that some of the weeds were already looking a little limp and sick. Maybe what I did will give the grass a fighting chance against the weeds.

Since I am going into the hospital next Tuesday to have a pacemaker installed, Carolyn sprang into action this morning, acting as though we had company coming to visit. She made like a whirlwind through the house, cleaning places I hadn't even thought about. I helped where I could, mainly by hanging on and trying not to get blown away by the whirlwind. Eventually, I found an excuse to go to town to get some dog repellent to keep neighborhood dogs out of the flower beds.

In addition to the cleaning, Carolyn finished another piece of furniture. She did an outstanding job, and the pieces she has finished so far look like store bought pieces.

When I first found out about my disease, the information I found gave few options for treatment. John, my son-in-law, has a sister who works in the research department at Georgia Tech. John told her about my disease, and asked if she knew about any research being performed on the issue. She was familiar with the disease, and pulled up information on 122 research items going on at this time. That information is going to be made available, and anything new that comes up will be passed on. I feel blessed that I have people trying to help me, as well as keeping me in their thoughts and prayers. Once I get over the installation of the pacemaker, we will evaluate where I am as far as feeling better. As soon as I can handle it, we will be getting a second opinion on what my options are beyond the pacemaker.

I have given much thought as to whether I should announce my disease on the blog, beyond saying what I have so far. I've come to the conclusion that since the disease is usually so difficult to detect that it would be doing a disservice to someone else reading the blog that might be having the same issues that I have been, yet the doctors couldn't find the problem. Having said all this, the name of my disease is amyloidosis. Rather than try to explain what it is or means, I will leave it to the individual reader to find the information on the Internet.

I will say that if anyone is having problems getting a problem diagnosed, don't be shy about getting other doctors involved. I shudder to think what might have happened if we hadn't found the doctor here who diagnosed me. I had several wrong diagnoses prior to coming here. I'm not angry about the missed opportunities to diagnose the disease sooner, but am disappointed. I trusted the doctors to help me, and they didn't. If the disease had been diagnosed sooner, I might have had more options.

I hope this post wasn't too much of a downer, but if I can help someone else with the same problem, then it will have been worth it.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Binghamton, New York: The Parlor City

Not all who wander are lost.