What a Difference a Day Makes!
I know it's been more than a day for y'all, but everything significantly changed within 24 hours of my last post.
IT LOOKS LIKE MY MOM WILL BE OKAY!
When I wrote that post I was trying to be balanced and with a positive outlook, but it was mostly because I had chosen to have faith and be at peace (as much as possible) until we could know more one way or another.
But in reality at that time with what I knew the situation was very much up in the air, could go either way. (I made a reference at some point to it being kind of a "Schroedinger's cat" type situation and my mom gave me a perfect "..." look. Yeah, I'm a nerd.)
Anyway, by the end of the day on Friday we had learned some things that changed the information we had to make it more likely a best-case scenario healthwise.
At the beginning, there were several things that added up to giving the appearance of this being a very BAD situation. First, when we realized it would be five weeks before my mom could even get in to see the specialist for a real diagnosis, my mom called our asthma doctor to see about going to someone else earlier than that. And she said "No. He is the very, very best. I want you to see him." Well, that kinda makes you think there's a reason you need to see the very best in the field. And that's scary.
Then, when my mom talked to my brother (who's just finished his first year of grad school as a PA, so he knows all the medical stuff) and told him what the asthma doctor said, he just sort of shut down. Didn't have anything at all encouraging to say. Which makes you think, again, that there ISN'T anything positive to say.
Well, it turns out that he misunderstood her. When she was reporting what the doctor found on the x-rays and said "there's isn't any honeycombing" he thought she said there IS honeycombing. Which is a sign of lung damage, is absolutely permanent and basically means that part of your lung is dead.
Poor thing, I can't imagine what it must have been like for him, knowing what he knows, to have to have gone two full days, in class and trying to study for two massive end-of-the-year finals, thinking that Momma had pulmonary fibrosis.
After he was finished on Friday (and he aced both finals! Second-year grad student now! Go, bro!) he came over. Once he realized the confusion he was EXTREMELY encouraging.
This condition is very uncomplicated if you can catch it before damage has been done. Treatment is very simple, just a series of steroids. No surgery or invasive procedures. Praise God!
However, the one big thing with Hypersensitive Pneuomonitis is that it's an environmental allergen. And the longer you're exposed to whatever you're reacting to, the more likely you are to develop damage that IS irreversible.
So, ... my family moved out of the house.
They spent Friday and Saturday night at the B's, our dear friends who are the more-than-family kind. (Mrs. B is the "other mother" for my three younger siblings.) And then Sunday another family friend brought over their RV and set it up on the B's property (they live out on land and have horses and some cattle) so they have their own space, but can still use full-size bathrooms and showers and stuff.
I'm here to hold down the fort; care for the dog, rabbit, gerbil, and fish; but mostly to begin seriously cleaning the house. Because if we're going to have pier and beam work on the foundation work AND the AC vents in half the house filled in with concrete, AND new ones run through the attic and ceilings down into all the bedrooms, etc, etc, etc. - We really need everything cleaned up and cleared out as much as possible.
And, with my mom not feeling good and being run-down and tired for the last six months or so, (and now we know why! Fifty percent lung capacity. No wonder!) we haven't kept up with deep cleaning like cabinets and cupboards and closets and under and behind fridges and furniture and things. So it falls to me.
...
That's how it stands right now. The Siblings and Momma are staying at the B's/in the RV (it's a really big, expensive one - as my mom said "MUCH nicer than most of the cabins we stay in at the state parks!) and going on with life (In some ways, it's almost easier - they're actually closer to my sister's studio for dance camp the next two weeks, and my brother's two best friends live on that side of town.) She's already can tell by today that she's feeling much better, coughing less, etc. I'm here, working and cleaning and busy with real life as well.
I was going to crash at my other brother's apartment for the nights, since he lives just blocks away. But with only two weeks break before grad school starts again (They get two weeks in mid June and four weeks for Christmas/New Year's. That's it. Otherwise it's a year-round program) he's been enjoying catching up with friends and playing volleyball tournaments up on campus, etc and hasn't been getting home until midnight-2am. Besides, whatever Momma's reacting to hasn't been bothering me. In fact, since I started my elimination diet I've felt better this last month than I have in a long time. I have energy. I'm not hungry. My skin is clear. I don't get itchy or sneezy or headache-y or any of the other dwarves unless I do something that causes a reaction.
So, thank you so much for your prayers and good wishes and support. We need them. This is still going to be a long, complicated, uncomfortable, time-consuming, and EXPENSIVE process.
And, of course, she still hasn't seen the specialist. It could turn out to be more serious. (That's what happened with my dad. The diagnosis was relatively positive - for cancer, that is - but the surgery revealed that is was so much worse and advanced beyond anything they'd thought it could be.)
That (my dad) is part of the reason why, I don't think we were overreacting last week. The emotional impact of the situation was unavoidable given what we've gone through before and we had to process that. I'm just glad that after we worked through it, things now look much simpler.
Well, relatively speaking. After all, what is money, time, and work, compared to life and the ones you love.
And on that incredibly sappy and cliche-sounding (but no less true!) note, I will leave you.
Thanks again. I know y'all don't really know me or my family, but it's nice to have people to listen even so.
*hugs* and *cookies* for all!
IT LOOKS LIKE MY MOM WILL BE OKAY!
When I wrote that post I was trying to be balanced and with a positive outlook, but it was mostly because I had chosen to have faith and be at peace (as much as possible) until we could know more one way or another.
But in reality at that time with what I knew the situation was very much up in the air, could go either way. (I made a reference at some point to it being kind of a "Schroedinger's cat" type situation and my mom gave me a perfect "..." look. Yeah, I'm a nerd.)
Anyway, by the end of the day on Friday we had learned some things that changed the information we had to make it more likely a best-case scenario healthwise.
At the beginning, there were several things that added up to giving the appearance of this being a very BAD situation. First, when we realized it would be five weeks before my mom could even get in to see the specialist for a real diagnosis, my mom called our asthma doctor to see about going to someone else earlier than that. And she said "No. He is the very, very best. I want you to see him." Well, that kinda makes you think there's a reason you need to see the very best in the field. And that's scary.
Then, when my mom talked to my brother (who's just finished his first year of grad school as a PA, so he knows all the medical stuff) and told him what the asthma doctor said, he just sort of shut down. Didn't have anything at all encouraging to say. Which makes you think, again, that there ISN'T anything positive to say.
Well, it turns out that he misunderstood her. When she was reporting what the doctor found on the x-rays and said "there's isn't any honeycombing" he thought she said there IS honeycombing. Which is a sign of lung damage, is absolutely permanent and basically means that part of your lung is dead.
Poor thing, I can't imagine what it must have been like for him, knowing what he knows, to have to have gone two full days, in class and trying to study for two massive end-of-the-year finals, thinking that Momma had pulmonary fibrosis.
After he was finished on Friday (and he aced both finals! Second-year grad student now! Go, bro!) he came over. Once he realized the confusion he was EXTREMELY encouraging.
This condition is very uncomplicated if you can catch it before damage has been done. Treatment is very simple, just a series of steroids. No surgery or invasive procedures. Praise God!
However, the one big thing with Hypersensitive Pneuomonitis is that it's an environmental allergen. And the longer you're exposed to whatever you're reacting to, the more likely you are to develop damage that IS irreversible.
So, ... my family moved out of the house.
They spent Friday and Saturday night at the B's, our dear friends who are the more-than-family kind. (Mrs. B is the "other mother" for my three younger siblings.) And then Sunday another family friend brought over their RV and set it up on the B's property (they live out on land and have horses and some cattle) so they have their own space, but can still use full-size bathrooms and showers and stuff.
I'm here to hold down the fort; care for the dog, rabbit, gerbil, and fish; but mostly to begin seriously cleaning the house. Because if we're going to have pier and beam work on the foundation work AND the AC vents in half the house filled in with concrete, AND new ones run through the attic and ceilings down into all the bedrooms, etc, etc, etc. - We really need everything cleaned up and cleared out as much as possible.
And, with my mom not feeling good and being run-down and tired for the last six months or so, (and now we know why! Fifty percent lung capacity. No wonder!) we haven't kept up with deep cleaning like cabinets and cupboards and closets and under and behind fridges and furniture and things. So it falls to me.
...
That's how it stands right now. The Siblings and Momma are staying at the B's/in the RV (it's a really big, expensive one - as my mom said "MUCH nicer than most of the cabins we stay in at the state parks!) and going on with life (In some ways, it's almost easier - they're actually closer to my sister's studio for dance camp the next two weeks, and my brother's two best friends live on that side of town.) She's already can tell by today that she's feeling much better, coughing less, etc. I'm here, working and cleaning and busy with real life as well.
I was going to crash at my other brother's apartment for the nights, since he lives just blocks away. But with only two weeks break before grad school starts again (They get two weeks in mid June and four weeks for Christmas/New Year's. That's it. Otherwise it's a year-round program) he's been enjoying catching up with friends and playing volleyball tournaments up on campus, etc and hasn't been getting home until midnight-2am. Besides, whatever Momma's reacting to hasn't been bothering me. In fact, since I started my elimination diet I've felt better this last month than I have in a long time. I have energy. I'm not hungry. My skin is clear. I don't get itchy or sneezy or headache-y or any of the other dwarves unless I do something that causes a reaction.
So, thank you so much for your prayers and good wishes and support. We need them. This is still going to be a long, complicated, uncomfortable, time-consuming, and EXPENSIVE process.
And, of course, she still hasn't seen the specialist. It could turn out to be more serious. (That's what happened with my dad. The diagnosis was relatively positive - for cancer, that is - but the surgery revealed that is was so much worse and advanced beyond anything they'd thought it could be.)
That (my dad) is part of the reason why, I don't think we were overreacting last week. The emotional impact of the situation was unavoidable given what we've gone through before and we had to process that. I'm just glad that after we worked through it, things now look much simpler.
Well, relatively speaking. After all, what is money, time, and work, compared to life and the ones you love.
And on that incredibly sappy and cliche-sounding (but no less true!) note, I will leave you.
Thanks again. I know y'all don't really know me or my family, but it's nice to have people to listen even so.
*hugs* and *cookies* for all!