Goodness me

Blogger has changed yet again.  One way to get a bit of web experience I guess.

Anyway, it's been an interesting week.  Recently I was called in to the doctor's office to get some test results.  We have been working toward eliminating my pain centres.

We changed my medications - Panadol Osteo for the arthritis, Indocid for the back.  Coincidently the Panadol helped the back.  But it didn't help the achilles tendon, which worsened when the back went out.

Turns out I have some degeneration of where the tendon joins the bone, due to wear and tear.  Favouring the back has put more strain on the ankle.  And my iron levels are low again.  Sigh.

I left there armed with a note for an X-ray and ultrasound, with added steroid injection for my ankle, and a referral to a specialist for my iron levels.  Both in the same building.

But with my interstate visit, I deferred it to this week.  It's been a week of stuff going on.  First, Dobby lost her retainer, so on Tuesday I had to leave work early and take her down to the dentist to do another mould on her teeth.  Wednesday I worked back an hour, and Thursday I had to go to a meeting for the Family and Friends Caravan and Camping Club.  That's right, no more SAPI.  Sad, but exciting all the same.  It was also pouring down rain!  Amazing the amount of rain we had.

Thursday morning was also ankle day.  I was unable to get both the appointments for the same day, so it was just the ankle.  I had the X-ray, then the ultrasound, then the radiologist grabbed a medico and they gave me the steroid injection.  I have had a permanent limp for about nine months or more now.  Very painful.  I remember one rally where I could barely walk, I felt like a cripple.

So imagine my surprise when I get to the take away shop Thursday night, and walk limp-free down to the grocer and back.  It was amazing.  I am now pain free for the first time in months.  Well, in the ankle anyway.  That was way quicker than anyone expected.  I was told it could take at least 5 days.

Then, Friday morning was the specialist visit.  I parked the car a couple of blocks away, and as I alighted the car, I noted the sky was black.  Very black.  I popped the boot and as I was removing the umbrella from my bag, it started to rain.

I closed the boot, locked the car and while crossing the road opened the umbrella.  By the time I got it all the way open it was pouring!  And windy to boot!  I got to the crossing lights, and the rain had turned to small hail.  It was pouring, wet and windy.  The umbrella got blown inside out and I had to walk very fast (I simply do not run) to get to the shelter of the hospital.

I made it with time to spare but was soaked all down one side.  Never mind.  That aside, the visit went well.

I found out that my tiredness and blonde moments were typical to low iron (I already knew that) but I also found out that my restless leg symptoms are a direct manifest of the condition as well.  That made so much sense.  I have been suffering for some time with achy, tingly, jumpy legs.  Feels horrible.  I can't get comfortable and they don't seem to relax.  Jiggling them is the only way to feel any type of relief.  What an amazing thing to find the conditions are related.

Anyway, when I told him that's what I was experiencing, he changed his plan of attack.

First we are going to have an endoscopy with a colonoscopy.  Nice.  Not.  That is just to rule out any pathological reason for the low iron levels.  Once I go back for the results for that, we will make a date for a drip feed.  I could go on supplements again, but he said that for the restless leg symptoms, he would like to kick start my treatment with a direct infusion via IV, which takes about 3 hours, and has a faster effect.  The pills will take a couple of months but the IV will take a few days to a week.  I like that idea.

I was feeling a bit crap so now that I have my laptop, I was able to pack up a bag of work and head home early.  I also had to take Dobby back to the dentist to pick up her plate.  Poor lamb, though.  Her teeth have shifted and the once-straight front teeth have shifted and one now slightly overlaps the other. She is sooo not happy.

In other news, Dobby has a boyfriend.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  When we were young it wasn't done.  At all.  And add to that, she is 15, he is 17.  They don't see each other, she goes to a girls school and he lives in a small town outside Adelaide.  But they are in regular contact.

Apparently he has been pushing her to meet us, so we arranged for him to come to lunch Saturday.  They were both nervous.  Ain't that sweet?

So he comes over around ten Saturday morning.  He's very tall (around 6').  Has a stretcher and snake bites, glasses, short hair, and is quite imposing.  No, that's not the right word.  He's a presence.  Loud.  Dobby introduces him and Fluffy invites him to sit at the table where we are.  I ask Fluffy to make coffee but he doesn't move, so I make it.

Conversation is awkward.  He's not a great communicator, and I think the poor bloke was nervous.  Dobby was.  She was also doing the 40 hour famine, so she's not eaten either.

I send them off to the shop for cheesecake ingredients, which keeps them occupied for a while.  When they get back they disappear to Dobby's room (she at the desk, he on the bed, don't worry we checked!) while Fluffy and I go about our business.  I cooked Fettuchini Bolognese for lunch with a salad.  

There is a lot of laughing and chatting coming from down there.  That's nice.  He makes her laugh and she him.  Sweet.

At lunch he tells us he wants to be a body piercer.  No problem with that.  He is doing a type of bridging course equivalent to year twelve so hopefully he can get good enough grades to get into TAFE for his apprenticeship.  I hope he finds something he can do which he enjoys.

They again retreat to the room for a bit, eventually deciding to go for a walk.  They are gone 3 hours before Dobby comes back, but she was on FB so I asked what they were doing and she said they walked to Castle Plaza where she saw him off on the bus.  They both enjoyed their day and she had a great distraction from her hunger.

She came home, briefly spoke to us, then put herself into bed to watch TV.  When Fluffy checked on her later she was sound asleep.  We sat and watched Karate Kid together before heading off ourselves.  What a day.

Sunday sees the end of the famine at 12.00.  At 12.01 Dobby is at the kitchen table munching on leftover pasta.  Happy kid.  I am very proud of the job she did.

I brought work home on Friday afternoon so I had better do a little of that today.  Otherwise, think I'll just sit quiet.  Yes, think that's just what I'll do...