This weekend

I went down to Maryland on Friday to get my infusion and everything went great. Well, aside from having my brand new iPhone 4 stolen. But that's a whole other story and quite frankly I am sick of talking about it, because I'm sick over the concept of even letting my guard down enough to have something that expensive taken from me. But I guess after the news I had received at my appointment, my mind was understandably elsewhere.

So my appointment was at 9 o'clock but I missed the train at 6:53 which would have put me in Baltimore with an hour to meander around and get my morning coffee, some newspapers for the infusion, etc. So instead I caught the 7:45 and made it just in time to be 20 minutes late. I hate being late. Especially for doctors appointments. But it's probably the one instance in life where people expect lateness. Usually I just call the office when I am running late and they are accommodating because of the distance I travel to get there.

The first appointment was to check-up with my GI there. I don't see him in office every time I go down for an infusion. Mostly it's just the nurse practitioner taking notes about my symptoms, vitals, change in meds, etc. So it was nice to actually talk to my doctor about some sort of plan. I also knew since I had complained about the abscess a few weeks back that he would want to check that out. Ugh. So despite the fact that I am used to being poked and prodded in the most unflattering ways, it is still a production when I have to actually put the gown on and get "examined". I mean, most of the time I am prodded, it is done so under anesthesia or some kind of drugs to make me not care that a metal object is being put up my behind. So yea, I wasn't too happy about him needing to do a thorough exam of the area, but I knew it was necessary.

And I was glad that he did not see any evidence of the abscess remaining. The exam was very comfortable and it did not hurt so I knew everything was healed up. He could also see one small fistula that looked like it was unhealed, so that is something that is going to need to be studied further as the possible cause to the problems I get in that area, such as the abscess.

And then my doctor told me his plan. I am to keep taking the anti-biotic prescribed after my abscess scare and start tapering off of steroids again, this time at a slower pace as to not upset my body.

AND THEN, he said the magical word I thought I would never hear again, RECONNECTION! AH! Quite frankly I was surprised he would even talk about that possibility yet. Basically he told me he would like me to get the MRI done next time I go down for an infusion and then in two months I need to have another colonoscopy. Hopefully he will be able to dialate my bum to see how extensive this fistula is. But also, if my colon looks like the only remaining inflammation is simply diversion colitis and not crohn's colitis, then we can set up a meeting with a surgeon to talk about reconnecting me!!!

Talk about happy. Do you know the scene in Rudy when he reads his acceptance letter on the bench and he's got this quiet excitement. Like he wants to scream at the top of his lungs but he just composes himself and then gets up and runs. That's how I felt. I was trying so hard not to be cheesing it. And really, I do also understand that I still have some pretty shitty days which indicates my colon isn't as great as I would like it to be right now. So I am not totally getting excited that this is a possibility for the near future. But I'm hopeful. I really didn't think any doctor would even bring this up with me for months because of the way things have been. But I am glad my doc understands how important this is to me. I really do love my doctor!

So that's the plan. As I got my infusion, the nurse called and arranged for all my tests to be set up. I'll be getting my next infusion on October 1st along with my MRI. And then the following month, on November 4, I'll have my colonoscopy, which will hopefully yield some good news. As I was telling someone about this today, they asked me how many colonoscopies I've had and I just laughed. Not to be a medical-test snob, because they are a big deal, but I've just had so many I can't remember. The good news, however, is that by the time you get to whatever number it is that I'm at, you learn the tricks of the trade. You know, what you can get away with eating even the day before the test and how you don't really have to drink ALL that crap to clean your system out. And I'm rambling.

Okay, just had to share those updates. My sister is going to be induced on Tuesday. I will be an Aunt!!!!! I'll post some pictures next time. Did I mention I love my doctor?

Happy Labor Day.