Good News, Bad News, Non-News...

A quick update...

Good News: I may not have to have that angiogram after all. Since the surgery, very little has been happening in my petri dishes down in microbiology, which is leading the neuro and ENT folks to believe that the unwelcome guest in my sphenoid sinus was much more mucocele than infection. If that's the case, this is good news on two fronts. First, if things continue on this path of non-growth, there is a high likelihood that I will be able to stop the antifugal meds that are adding insult to injury to my poor kidneys. This is key, because all other tests and such are on hold until my kidneys bounce back.

Second, the left carotid artery that seemed so weakened on the MRI may have just been shoved aside and cramped by the sinus pressure, not actually damaged, and could have bounced back to its perky, pumping self by now. Therefore, the neurology folks are going to do an MRA instead of the angiogram to check out that artery. I'll still need contrast for that test, but it's basically just an MRI-on-steroids rather than a cardiac catheter, so I'm much more comfortable with that for diagnostic purposes. They still may find out that they have to go back and do the angiogram to block off the artery, but at least they won't be doing that until and unless they know they have to.

Other good news: I had a long chat with one of my nurses this morning about pain management for my headaches. I didn't even realize I felt this way, but I almost got teary when she said, "You don't need to feel self-conscious about being in pain." I had been waiting way too long to call for medicine, and it's much easier to stay ahead of pain than play catch up. I knew all this, but I guess I was just self-conscious that either a) I was being a big wimp or b) I was turning into a narc. But after Margo (the nurse I was talking to, who is absolutely wonderful) said that, she also explained that being in chronic pain can take a toll on you physically and emotionally and actually impede your healing - evidenced by my recent high blood pressure. We talked through the pattern of how my pain flares up and we worked out a "pain management plan" to basically keep me from being in pain, rather than have it keep coming back and treating it, coming back and treating it.

Bad News: Despite the fact that I've been drinking Gatorade almost exclusively, and constantly, my kidneys are still not ready to pull their weight. My creatinine level was back up to 1.6 this morning, and my electrolytes were evidently low enough to require IVs of potassium and magnesium. I've been told that although it's frustrating from a, "we-can't-do-anything-until-your-kidneys-shape-up" standpoint, the fact that my numbers are more or less stable means that really, my kidneys are doing the best they can given the heavy hitting medicines I was on, and the one of the more hardcore antifungal IVs that I now am on. But again, I should hopefully be off of those soon, so there's hope yet.

Non-News: the paternal g-rents are coming up for a visit this afternoon, which should be interesting. I'm not real huge on the whole visits-to-the-hospital thing, which I don't think is "odd" at all, despite what my dad thinks - I don't know too many people who would love entertaining people hooked up to machines, in pajamas, with prednisone fatface and horrible bruises that should have far more interesting stories. But I also understand that I'm not the only one who gets worried and scared and generally has thoughts and feelings about my being sick...although I do tend to think that the thoughts and feelings of she-who-is-in-the-process-of-healing should generally have as much or more weight as those of the-people-around-she-who-is. I also recognize that I am likely biased in this regard, and so I'm trying to be an "adult" about it and just suck it up and put on a happy face for a few hours. At the end of the day, I know it's great to have people that love me so much; it's just hard to keep that in mind sometimes when all I want to do is curl up in a ball and wait for time to pass. Hopefully, the hospital gods will have mercy on my sorry soul and keep all consulting doctors far, far away for the few hours they are here, lest an opportunity for my grandmother to ask questions be presented.

In other non-news, the hospital has closed the Wendy's since I was last admitted. I was initially distraught over this fact, especially since it was replaced by a random and nondescript fried chicken, etc joint. Not that I was particularly loyal to Wendy's, either, but at least I could count on a cheeseburger and frosty if the meal-o-the-day was less than edible. However. Any former disappointment with Wendy's closure has been completely erased by my all-encompassing love of the chicken joint's milkshakes. They are huge. They are actual chocolate milkshakes, as in made with chocolate ice cream and chocolate milk. And they come with straws the diameter of a nickel so you can still drink them when they're thick and ice-creamy, instead of waiting for them to melt to a drinkable consistency. I had already decided that until I get out of this place (or get sick of them, whichever comes first) lunch = milkshake, but then the doctors came back and told me they were switching around some of my drugs and one of them is best tolerated with "food, preferably a relatively fatty meal." Is that not the ultimate justification for a milkshake lunch or what?

And lastly, I finally found Bravo on the hospital channels. It's one you have to type in, it doesn't automatically scroll up to it, but I'm happy to have my guilty-pleasure channel back.

Well kids, that "pain management plan" has begun, and I have reached the point where thinking is becoming difficult, let alone typing, so that's all for now. Hope this answers some questions about my living "House" episode. I swear, I think I should contact the writers for the show and say, "Here are my medical files. Give me 300,000 and you have a season's worth of material."