Faithfully Frazzled

Some days you learn to embody the phrase, “go with the flow”. Today was a very mixed bag and the flow came at me in waves. It started with an 8:30 AM appointment with my primary care physician. Before my next hip replacement surgery this December 19 I am required to have a clean bill of health or, in my case, a not-too-terribly besmirched bill of health! It’s never gonna be squeaky clean.

My doctor was pleased to hear that this bronchitis I acquired a couple weeks ago is wending its way out of my system but ordered a host of bloodwork to be done. One of the most unusual things about my doctor is that he delights in the detective work aspect of his job. There have been a number of times when I’ve had a follow up appointment with him and, much to my surprise, he’s been ruminating on my conditions. Today he said, “Have you ever heard of Autonomic Dysreflexia?”, to which I replied, “has anyone heard of Autonomic Dysreflexia?!” Turns out, this is a condition that affects those who’ve experienced trauma to their spinal column. He was theorizing that because I already have various issues with my spine that perhaps the autonomic dysregulation I experienced after my previous hip surgery could have been caused by the spinal anesthesia I was given. It’s as good a theory as any at this point but I left the office feeling grateful to have a doctor who enjoys getting to the bottom of my sometimes mysterious medical history.

After this I traveled to the next town over for my daily Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation session. As per usual, the treatment went smoothly and I left feeling even lighter than before. The science behind this therapy, put very simply, is that through continued magnetic pulses over a period of approximately a month the neural synapses that are usually closed in a depressed person such as myself slowly begin to open and are then able to fire normally again. I can attest to the efficacy of this method because there has been a discernible lightening of my tension in both mind and body. It is as though someone has ever-so-slowly begun turning the dimmer switch up on the world around me. Has it always been this lovely?!

Sadly, as the day went on my mood deteriorated. By the afternoon my right shoulder was pulsing with pain. My shoulders rarely, if ever, cause me much pain so to say this was an anomaly is an understatement. To add insult to injury the results of my bloodwork were abnormal. Hopefully not enough to postpone my surgery but in combination with my aching shoulder I was a very unhappy camper. Such are the trials of life with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.

Thankfully, I somehow merited an incredibly loving family and through their unflagging support (and a bag of frozen peas) the day was not a total loss. Blessed be the Lord our God who daily loads us with benefits. Psalm 68:19