Road to Where?

The say all roads lead to Rome... Well this road I seem to be on must be the path that winds through Dante's Divine Comedy on it's way to the imperial city. I know what's broken - and as usual it's all in my head. The tumor has decided to make varying amounts of it's usual poison and in doing so it's wreaking havoc with the rest of my body. I am hoping that this is all about it being caught up in "Death Throes" and just trying to make it's final mark as it exits my person forever. However, another part of me is jeering at that piece of optimistic self delusion and giggling madly in the background. Since I don't trust people that laugh manically for no reason - we'll be going with the happy thoughts. I am up and walking again - nothing big or long, but I can pass for normal for the first 50 feet or so. I'm working very hard to get my strength back up so I can make the long overdue motorcycle trip to Pensacola before I die of old age or worse. In order to do that I'm going to need to find an endocrinologist that specialized in pituitary problems and that takes Aetna insurance. I'll need to be followed very very closely in the next few months in order to ensure that I don't end up back in hospital. Sorry for the delays in writing more, but I have been very very tired and I'm starting to believe the doctor when he says that I will need a certain amount of time to rest up. Either he's getting better at estimating downtime or I'm simply not bouncing back as quickly... More to come, but not now... Now I need to sleep - perchance to dream...

Home Again.. Home Again...

I can't express how good it is to be going home finally. I just got visited by Lorris who is the nurse practitioner for Dr. Pernecle (the heart doctor). Looks like I need to check my blood pressure very frequently for the next 3 week and keep a log for the doctor - and they will be working on a follow-up consult with the clinic in Alabama as soon as possible as well to try to get the endocrine adjustments fine tuned. In the mean time, I'm supposed to avoid stress and take it easy for a week or two-so that they can get the baseline stabilized and will have something to work from. They're working on getting me a wheeled walker, and I'll be expected to take it to the mall or Wal-Mart and use it. In addition, they think that my body will be able to self regulate it's temperature in another week or so. So I shouldn't be soaked in sweat when the room temperature is only 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, I will be looking for the consult and appointment information from the clinic in Alabama and hopefully we will finally be getting in :) Overall life is looking good this morning.

YES I AM!

Alrighty Then! Well the news is in and it's better than I had dared hope for. It would seem that my ol' ticker looks to be OK - but that as usual my problems are all in my mind (or my pituitary tumor). Though it is probably much harder to deal with than a simple stint or valve replacement, it shouldn't involve cutting me up to fix. This is that part which I think is the good news. The bad news of course is that means that my wacky endocrine system has tried to kill me yet again. This time was the closest call yet as my Blood Pressure was driven down to 50/30 before medical intervention could recover it. We have been playing a cat and mouse game for the last few days, but I think my wonderful Doctors have it firmly under their paw now and we should be able to stabilize me soon and get me back to the world of the living. The big holdups are the final blood cultures to figure out what lingering infections might be lurking causing the low-grade fevers and the amount of time that it takes for the endocrine tests to come back. At this point - the key question we need to know before I can go home is just how much cortisol is the tumor producing - so that we can adjust the other drugs around it, then if possible, it would be nice to know the direction and rate of any changes in cortisol. For now, I will be subject to much stricter monitoring after I get out and will need closer followup until things get completely stabilized. For now we are going to assume that all of this is going to be, in the long run, a change for the better. So when people ask me if I am ever going to get better - I can say with confidence - "YES I AM!"

You Will Never Guess where I am Blogging From

Ideally, I am thinking that every hospital in the US should offer free High-Speed Internet Service. Without that amenity I am rediscovering the "Joy's of Dial up!". But what pray tell got me here? You would have never guessed that either - as an insulin dependent diabetic who has been laboring furiously to control my blood pressure - it would seem that somehow I had an unexpected success, and for reasons unknown as yet my blood pressure dropped down to 50 something over 30 something This led to me crashing down into a fleshy heap, on brick paving right outside the Catholic church where I had just provided the music for the Charismatic Prayer Service. I remember standing then I was on the bricks and sure I had broken, or at least bruised a rib or two. After some belligerence on my part, I found myself in the Hospital ER - Where the the crowd of Doctors and Nurses roared "Let the Games BEGIN!". Overall, they did a wonderful job of figuring out a way to stabilize me before my ticker tocked. I'll be here until they can keep me stable outside of a hospital setting - hopefully by finding out what secret endocrine process is causing this - or is it really my ticker going out? Check in later for the news as it happens, and as I am capable of dialing in a posting it.