I Should Be Tarred And Feathered...But I'm Just "Tarred"...

You know, the SOUTHERN way to say "tired"? Tarred... :-)

I have once again fallen prey to my schedule, which has left me with long hours awake and too little sleep. It also leaves me little time or energy to blog troll, blog post, or blog comment...my bad. And some of you are such PROLIFIC POST-ERS, I have a hard time keeping up even during GOOD weeks...because I don't want to miss anything. LOL I apologize in advance for a predicted two more weeks of schedule #E!! on my part...after the next two weeks, all y'all will be begging me to STOP leaving comments on your blogs...trust me (and perhaps you have enjoyed THIS week's reprieve??).

I HAVE managed to survive my first full week back on duty...not without a few bumps and bruises, however (not literally). My office has experienced an unprecedented volume of cases these past few weeks with several staff changes/illnesses, making it all the more imperative I returned to work on full status Monday. I managed to gimp my way through 2 days out in the field and 2 days glued to phones/triage, but not without a price to my physical body. I am having to use my weekend off to catch up on sleep and basically REST my limbs and limbic system (AKA, The Emotional Nervous System )...thank goodness for WEEKENDS, I suppose.

My recovery from relapse symptoms seems to have plateaued somewhat...something I am not pleased about, but also not overly concerned with. My left leg continues to provide its share of discomfort...24/7...rain or shine...and my balance continues to resemble that of a slightly intoxicated sailor...thank goodness for a CANE, I suppose.

I have coined a new term for the worm-like crawling sensation I developed in my left shoulder (which comes and goes in severity--depending on how long I've been upright) along with the other relapse symptoms this go round (although, I HAVE had this sensation off and on over the past few years...just not so constant as now). Since it is only in my left shoulder just over my scapula and down the back of my arm, I am calling it...here goes..."WING WORM"! Argh, Argh...thank goodness for a SENSE OF HUMOR, I suppose.

I will be adding some training sessions to my work schedule next week as well as a couple of appointments crammed in between the lines, followed by having to work two NIGHT shifts on the weekend. If I am still alive after next weekend, I am "allegedly" supposed to get my first restart dose of Tysabri on Tuesday early afternoon, the 8th. I say "allegedly" because, last time I went through the process of coordinating with Dr. She Who Will Not Be Named office, the TOUCH peeps, my specialty pharmacy, and I believe having to receive the Pope's blessing, Dr. SWWNBN STILL did not have my vial of liquid gold on time...THIS time around, I'm making threats. LOL And, so far it seems to be working. **bats eyes innocently** I'm taking people's names down and obtaining direct line numbers to their extensions saying, "Now. You are assuring me the medication will be at my doctor's office no later than the 7th? So, if it is NOT there on the 7th, what is the name of your supervisor? And how will I reach YOU directly on the 7th so you can personally straighten this out for me?!?" I've stopped short of demanding their home addresses, the names of their children, or saying things like, "I know where you work and I know where you live!"...thank goodness for the INCOMPETENCE of others to make the rest of us look good, I suppose.

Dr. SWWNBN seems to hold high hopes the Tysabri will water down the smoldering flames in my brain...she HAS to say that even if there's any chance she doesn't believe it...it's the LAST big gun I have left in the arsenal. I'll just say "if" Tysabri isn't effective, I guess I'm off to the jungles of South America to try injecting the urine of piranha's that I have caught in my teeth by apple bobbing the muddy waters of the Amazon...or some other equally as scientific "cure"...LOL But seriously, I'm 50/50 on the fence here about whether or not I will even be able to tolerate Tysabri again...there WAS that little issue of a reaction last time?!? And, I won't know until I try it...and after that..."we" won't know if it's effective until I'm ON it for a bit...thank goodness for BENADRYL/SOLUMEDROL/EPINEPHRINE (drugs given to me last time to reverse the "anaphylactoid reaction"), I suppose.

Oh, and before I wind this post down, a big "shout out" to my blogger buddy, STEVE from http://www.stevebjj.com/ ...he was the only taker in CHEESE CHAT this morning and we had a most excellent time chatting about something BESIDES Multiple Sclerosis (Steve doesn't have MS, but his wife is pregnant so...he might be having PMS! Pregnant Mommy Syndrome). Any takers for Wednesday the 2nd at 10:00AM PST?...thank goodness for HAVING NO SOCIAL LIFE, I suppose...