browser life

Uhhh, let's see how much info I can squeeze into a single post. First and foremost, I will be gone starting tomorrow until late on the 13th. I have no idea when I'll be up to posting after I get back.

I'm going to Lakeland, Florida for a week. Dan's grandfather is having a 90th birthday party on Sunday. I think pretty much all of his family is going to be there.

We're flying with Dan's parents and his aunt. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from here to there; we have to go from Sioux Falls to Denver to Tampa and then drive to Lakeland, which is going to take us pretty much all day. Coming back, it's Lakeland to Tampa to Washington DC to Denver to Sioux Falls; I'm really hoping we don't miss a connection because I'm gonna be wiped out as it is.

One thing that doesn't help is that I have bronchitis AGAIN, third time in a year. A week ago, I went to lunch with the ladies in my aquacise class. Unfortunately, Sioux Falls still allows smoking in its restaurants, and the place they chose to eat didn't seem to have any ventilation system.

I didn't see anyone actually smoking, but I could smell cigaretts as soon as I walked in. Within five minutes, I was coughing and my eyes were burning. By the time we left, it felt as if my entire airway was on fire.

Over the weekend, that feeling persisted, and by Monday, I had a bacterial infection. The primary care doc was able to squeeze me in and get me on anti-biotics. So the infection is probably gone now, but I'm still coughing, have a particularly nasty sinus headache, and am a bit more wobbly than usual.

The doc told me that the cigarette smoke probably didn't cause the problem (I may have already had a minor infection and didn't know it), but it certainly made it a lot worse. She said that my throat and sinuses were quite inflamed and that the culprit was worsening dryness due to Sjogren's. She said I'll have to stay away from major irritants like smoke from now on if I want to avoid chronic bronchitis.

So yet another limitation on my already hermit-like lifestyle. Grumble. I have no idea if Florida allows smoking in its restaurants.

In other news, I have an appointment with the Mayo Clinic now. It's going to be on December 3rd. It was originally going to be sometime in January, but my primary rheumatologist in Denver said whatever magic words rheumatologists say, and voila! they bumped me up.

I am attempting to get authorization from my medical insurance, but I was told it is unlikely they will apply in-network benefits as they prefer I go to the Sioux Falls rheumatologists (been there, done that, no dice). If by some miracle they do cover it in-network, they will pay 80 percent. If they decide it is out of network, they only pay 60 percent, and it is entirely possible that they could decline to cover it at all if they deem it not medically necessary (I do have the number of a financial counselor handy once I know what scenario I'll be facing).

The appointment packet I was sent says I can expect to be at the clinic from three to six business days. This could be problematic as Dan will be missing work unpaid to take me to Rochester, Minnesota. So I may send him back to Sioux Falls to work a few days and come back out to pick me up when I'm done.

My initial appointment is in the rheumatology department. They may send me to other departments for additional testing as they deem necessary. I expect I'll also end up in neurology at the very least.

Speaking of neurology, can't remember if I mentioned it previously, but my neuropathy has gotten worse the past month or so after remaining stable for two years. In particular, I'm getting an odd sensation on my right hand and lower arm that feels like I have something on it, like a cobweb or something, then after awhile, that foreign body sensation turns into tingling and then into numbness. This is in addition to weird tingling in my face and the usual sharp pains in the rest of my limbs.

Now to the fun stuff: I have a new toy! My local cable company has a year long upgrade promotion. For the same price as what I was paying for basic cable, internet and basic phone service (long distance extra), I am getting over 100 channels PLUS a premium channel package (11 HBO channels) PLUS high speed internet PLUS free long distance PLUS a DVR!

So now I can record two shows simultaneously, put live TV on hold, and have the DVR record only the new episodes of an entire season of a show. Unlike video tapes, which typically record six hours or so, on a DVR I can record something like 50 hours. So while I'm in Florida, I won't miss any of the regularly scheduled programs that I like.

In the general awesomeness department, my favorite baseball team made it to the playoffs for only the second time ever! The Colorado Rockies won a tiebreaker game for the wildcard spot in 13 innings! And now they're 2-0 in a best of five series against the Phillies, which they did IN Philadelphia, and they'll have a chance to win the series tomorrow at home!

There was more, but this will have to do for now. I've gotta get up a 4 o'clock in the freakin' morning tomorrow (obviously I wasn't the one who chose that flight!).

I shall return sometime after the 13th.