Another Friday, Another Lost Week

   I spent most of last week taking it easy and trying to feel better.  That bug was brutal!  By Tuesday (3/25) I felt almost normal and went out to do errands...mainly lab visits.  Had a mammogram, a thyroid scan and a regular INR finger prick.  My 3 appointments had been scheduled 20-30 mins apart and I was surprised to get finished 45 mins before the last one was scheduled so I went home a took a nap feeling rather proud of myself.  The cashmere blend yarn I had ordered finally arrived (more about that later) and I tried to start the hat.  
   The next day Jeff and I went to Donna's Dinner for an early supper and ran into a family friend.  She sat with us and talked and we ate our supper.  Toward the end of the meal I started to feel a little strange. For the last 33 years or so I've been having strange episodes every now and then, not more than 3 or 4 a year and none in the last 6 months, ever since I went thru treatment for Hodgkin's Disease.  No one could ever verify what happens to me and all I can say is that I can't speak for the 3-5 mins the episode  last. Whether they're TIA's or petite mal seizures, there's no evidence.  And Wednesday was the 1st time I had a witness to the episode.  By the time we left Donna's and headed to the ER the episode was over and I knew there wasn't any evidence but Jeff insisted we visit the ER so we did.  All that the 3 hr stay, complete with chest plate, blood work, CAT scan of my brain showed were enlarged ventricles in my head (where spinal fluid is made), low INR factor, low BP, low K and I was dehydrated.  No blockages or fluid build up. I got a bag of saline and 2 large K pills and was told to go home and be sure to call my doctor for an appointment ASAP.  (About what I had expected from Little Falls Hospital.)
   It took 3 phone calls the next morning before I was able to schedule a visit with someone, anyone, today. The lst call got me an appointment with my doctor on April 15th. (ASAP???) The 2nd one found that there was a PA available next Wednesday.  Finally I called my anticoag nurse, Jenn, and she got me in to see a doctor today.  Now I have appointments for an EEG, a carotid artery scan and with a neurologist, and a follow up with my doctor next week.  I had blood drawn for a basic metabolic panel and half a dozen other tests!  But still no evidence of what these episodes are.  Just what I had expected.
   The beautiful cashmere blend yarn I had ordered  from WEBS in East Springfield , MA, about 3 1/2 hrs away, finally arrived.  It was worth the wait (maybe) and the hat is about half done but the next time I may just have to orchestrate a road trip to WEBS.  It might save the agata!