Back to work

Well I went back to work and I appear to be doing well. A lot of things are changing at work right now as I am in the middle of transitioning from one set of responsibilities to another. This is always a challenge as the old responsibilities linger and it takes time to come up to speed and be truly effective in the new ones. I love a challenge though and it really gives me something to focus on along with my family.

The prednisone is really helping despite the side effects. The prednisone wires me up like crazy. I have to really take note and adjust how I react and talk with people to make sure that I’m not blunt, abrupt, uncaring or short. I don’t intend to be like that but how the prednisone makes me feel causes me to act in this way. I have asked my wife to help me watch this and she has given me some insightful feedback. I believe that honest feedback is the key to changing, and you never can see yourself through your own eyes very well.

The prednisone runs out today. It will be interesting to see what will happen now. Will the swelling return? Am I going to need to stay on the medicine to just to maintain the ability to walk or will I only need to use it during flair-ups?

I am able to walk normally without hardly any pain, although I can tell things aren’t quite right yet. I have noticed in the recent past little lumps just under my skin around my joints in my wrists and ankles. Tonight I found one of them on my ankle and had my wife feel it. I’m not sure what these are but I think that they are the clumps of white blood cells the web sites are talking about. I can see if these were growing in my organs how it could cause problems. I have been short of breath tonight, like I am breathing through a dust mask. It also feels like there is a weight on my chest that I have to lift with each breath. If the prednisone is working in my lungs the same way it is in my ankles I wouldn’t expect this. I have a meeting on Friday morning with the specialist and hope to get a bunch of answers from them.

My ER doctor called me today while on a trip to Washington DC. She is really an amazing doctor. Not only was she very knowledgeable and skilled (She nailed the prognosis in only 3 hours in the middle of the night, complete with blood work, x-rays, etc) but she is also very concerned for me personally. When have you ever gone to the ER and had that doctor take a personal interest in you? Her follow-up and concern were so genuine it really surprised me. I only wish she had a family practice, I would join in it in a heartbeat! When I asked her about it she said that she only worked at the ER part time because she wanted to focus on her family and being a Mom. I tell you, I am really impressed. There are some really good people in this world.

I didn’t get a copy of some of the blood work she took because it didn’t come back the same night. She mentioned that it came back positive with some results and wanted to make sure that I had this information for the specialist. I don’t know what this means yet, but will need to pick it up and take it with me.

A lot of people have been keeping me in their prayers and it really gives me strength. It means a great deal to me.

Michael