Welcome Dr. Ponti

Have you ever wanted to give someone your firstborn?
I love Dr. Ponti.

And she is going to consult with the neurologist Dr. Raab!
It was her idea.

And she looked at that battery of tests I had run last Fall,
(The ones I fought so hard to get, for lupus and Lyme and auto immune issues,
the one the yelling doctor ruffled through a few weeks ago, sneering at me and saying, ‘I have tested you for everything, what do you want?’)

And what Dr. Ponti said today was, “We need to run better tests on you. We have much more informative tests.”

“There are?” I looked at her. She nodded, “Absolutely.”

Better tests? Have my prayers just been answered? It was like I was basking in the glow of actual modern medical care.

I love Dr. Ponti’s listening skills, her bright eyes, her confidence, her kindness, her shiny pointy black shoes, her competent and cheerful office staff and assistant, her thoroughness, her patience, her decisiveness, and the way she did an actual physical exam and looked in my ears and nose (and said you have blood in there on the right side, which I know), and listened to my heart and lungs and carotid arteries, and her space age chair and futuristically clean and simple exam room and her plan. She had a plan!

I DON’T HAVE TO BE MY OWN DOCTOR!

I have Dr. Ponti, I have Dr. Raab.

So next there is another MRI of my head, this time the side views of the joints, and not the brain scan, and then some fasting bloodwork.

She doesn’t want me to stay on the steroids very long if I don’t have too, though I told her they were my new best friend. I feel like a wounded animal who comes in from the far pasture when it is time for my prednisone.

By Day 3 I was looking forward to my prednisone.
When do I get my next dose? I asked the clock.
Will it keep the bull at bay from the china shop of my head?

Last night I still had such bad head pain and I who had dreaded taking the medication now wanted to double up on it. I truly was looking forward to today so that I could take another pill.

Pain still prevents my sleep so last night at 3 am I took a teaspoon of Benadryl and that did give me a three hour nap. I will likely do that again tonight.

It has been a fruitful day.

And the weeping cherry tree has burst into bloom.