More Crap

I have been counting down the days until I go and see the specialist again. Thursday morning couldn't get here fast enough. I have a billion questions to ask and just as many things to say.

I need to express to the doctor how important it is that I get in quicker than this. Not only can I just not handle doing much more of this waiting game bullshit but I also can't afford to keep living like this. If I have to wait until May that would mean from November 1st until sometime in May I will have been off work for a total of nearly 6 months out of a possible 7. Perhaps if I express this situation and the stress it causes me to the doctor on Thursday she can figure out a way to get me in sooner. I need a plan and school is fast approaching. I need to get back on my feet and be normal again so that I can start saving for school.

Lately I have just shut everything in my brain off. I'm trying not to think about money or not working, or the stress that the two combined cause both Dario and myself, however it's creeping back in again as I sit and wait to hear back from the EI office. It can take up to 28 days to open a claim and I cannot afford to wait that long. They need a doctors note from me which I can get for them on Thursday, however I have no idea who to send it to since I don't have a claim number or anything yet.

There has been a lot happening with my family lately. As I've mentioned a bit before but not in great detail, my stepmom has been having an extreme amount of pain in her hands and in her feet that leave her unable to even do normal household things. It has gotten so bad she can't lift a bag of groceries, she can't go for walks, she can't do more than two loads of laundry on any given day, she can't even lift a pot of water onto or off of the stove. She has been struggling with trying to find answers for the last 7 or 8 months now, and the pain has gone on for even longer than that. It has gotten worse and worse though. She was sent for an MRI and the doctors told her she had a point of inflammation in her back but that it wouldn't cause any of these symptoms. She's been tested over and over for arthritis, rheumatory arthritis, everything under the sun and still nothing. She's finally just started seeing a neurologist but still nothing.

She went to see a chiropractor about the results the MRI had with her spine. He gave her the best answer of them all so far which is sad. He told her she had a deeper curve in her spine but also that there was a major point of compression that could actually cause all of this pain. She talked to her doctor and they finally agreed to do another xray, this time of her whole spine. She had one done before but they just did a portion of her upper back I believe.

On Friday she had an appointment to see the doctor about the xray results. What it came back with is pretty unbelievable. She has a completely inflamed spine and it is spreading to her joints. It is an arthritic disease that is genetic/hereditary. Over time if the inflammation goes untreated it fuses your spine together so that you lose a great portion of your mobility. It is more common in men, but when found in women it usually affects other joints in the body more than it affects the spine. The back is in the same condition as a mans would be, but women for some reason will more often feel it in their hands, feet, neck, kidneys, eyes, all sorts of weird places.

The prognosis isn't a great one. She has been off work for months now and has actually been cut off her disability benefits because until now they couldn't prove anything was wrong with her. It's sad that all it took was an X-ray. Finally they can lose that stress of her not being paid but her treatment for it is going to be a bit of a rough step. The closest place they can get her into the fastest is Kamloops. Which means my dad will have to take time off from work and they will have to drive to Kamloops, spend money on hotels, food etc, while neither of them are being paid. They are trying to convince the doctor to get them into Vancouver so that at least they have a place to stay here with me. Cheryl has to go for some CT scans and a bunch more blood work etc, and they will know more about it then. What sucks is it's not cureable. She'll have this for the rest of her life and she's only 43 years old. It doesn't appear that even with treatments it will get rid of the pain completely.

So it doesn't look good for her right now. I know that she is relieved to FINALLY have an answer as to what the hell is going on but she is also very devastated. They say that when it affects the joints more than the spine it often makes it very difficult to diagnose, which she's been experiencing for sure. It's just, agh. I don't even know what to say about it all really.

I am hoping the doctors can push to get her into Vancouver as fast as they can get her into Kamloops. If I can help them out in a way that would make them less stressed it would be very nice, but it would also be nice to have them here so that I can actually see them and visit with them. Aside from my mom and her sister, no one in my family has been down here to visit me. My dad's side just simply can't afford the trips, especially given this situation. My dad has told them that if they can get them into Vancouver it would be best for everyone and would make things a lot less expensive. So here's to hoping something can go right for them out of this shitty situation.

I don't know what it is with things lately but it just seems like 2009 is a year of disease or something. It doesn't seem like anyone is having an easy year so far and that everyone is experiencing some sort of hardship or many hardships for that matter. People are getting sick that are just way too young to be getting sick, people are struggling with their jobs, it's just a bad beginning to a bad year. I hope when this is all over with it'll be the last of the crap for a little while. It would be nice to have a break from shit.

I don't know what my plans are for today. I have to put my laundry away but aside from that, I don't know what to work on.

My little brother loved the shirts I got him for his birthday which makes me very happy. He told me that he might be going to Mexico with his friend Juan this summer, so I told him if he'd like to come down to Vancouver and stay with me for awhile I would really like that. So if he's free/able to he might drive back with Dario and I in July and then stay for a week or two. I think it'd be pretty cool to have him here. But it would be cool to have anyone in my family come and stay with me for a bit, I miss them a lot.

2 more days. 10:15am Thursday. I'm hoping I can get somewhere with this all!

*Edit* I spoke too soon. I finally received my claim information from Service Canada. Thankfully.