DJ MOM SHUFFLES THE RECORDS

today both parker and i had long appointments with DR A . he is the canadian doctor who is working in tandem with DR H to monitor my treatment and provide hands on care in between my appointments with DR H.

i met with DR A to go over the results of a recent ultrasound i had. apparently my spleen is rather swollen. i've also had a flare up in pretty severe kidney pain - and have been passing blood again. i had labs done today to check on my kidney function. we will have left for SF to see DR H by the time those results are in - so DR A will be faxing them to DR H. guess he'll have to contend with my kidneys and spleen. lucky doc. all in all, i think my old bod is doing remarkably well given all the duress and stress it is under.

and now on to parker's appointment...

when parker's symptoms started looking suspiciously lyme-like we phoned DR A's office and asked if he would take on parker as a new patient. much to our relief, he agreed. so a couple of weeks ago, we had parker's medical records transferred from our long time family doctor's office to DR A's office.

today, we discussed parker's suspicious lyme test results and his symptoms. we also discussed the possibility of parker having some sort of Post Viral Syndrome. it is possible but DR A said that a PVS usually resolves within a month or so. on Dec 7, parker will have been sick for 3 months and his symptoms are not only not resolving, they are getting worse. he experienced his worst joint pain ever this week - despite being on prescription pain meds twice daily and tylenol every 4 hours. additionally, we talked about whether mold or allergens could be causing his symptoms. DR A said that is highly unlikely - but " you can never say never in medicine. the body's immune response is complex and can do weird things. there are so many variables in medicine and it is not an exact science." (isn't he wonderful to acknowledge that fact!)

the outcome of today's appointment is that DR A agrees that parker's symptoms are suspicious for lyme. he believes that further evaluation at this point is wise and necessary. he is completely supportive of us taking parker to see DR H. i am grateful for his support. parker and i left his office with a file folder full of important medical information and history to give to DR H when we see him next week (dec 9).

i do not know if DR A will be willing to treat parker for lyme if that ends up being the diagnosis. i didn't quite have the courage to come right out and ask him that today. in the past, we've asked him to take on one or two other lyme patients that we know. he has always declined. we know that this has been difficult for him - and it is not what he wants. unfortunately, his hands are literally tied. the canadian medical licensing boards give doctors that treat lyme a really hard time. DR A feels he can fly under the radar with one patient...but two may be pushing it. to the point, that it could end up jeopardizing his practice and his care of my case. yes, the medical furor and backlash over treating chronic lyme is that hostile and intense.

but
DR A is lyme friendly
and
our old family doctor is not.
so that is a start.

in the meantime, DJ mom is glad she shuffled the records.