ER

So a lot has happened in a few days.

Saturday afternoon, swallowing and chewing got a lot worse. Each time I ate, I could not speak well, and could not control my swallowing. I even felt like my face was plastered into a dumb smile during a party I went to, because I was not able to control my facial muscles and go from normal-face to smiling, back and forth. I kind of made it through the rest of Saturday barely eating, and drinking a few Ensure shakes.

Sunday morning I was alone with two small children. If I choked now, I would have no way to call 911 and no way to get my two year old to do it. So I only drank Ensure shakes. Now, Mike was working in the hospital today, it was the last day of a 5 day call schedule from the Thanksgiving holiday. I called Mom. I explained everything that was going on, and how it was getting progressively worse to swallow each day. I told my mom it would definitely decrease my anxiety if she were here. We went back and forth with Mike and my parents as to if I should go into the emergency room or not.

-Behind the scenes here, Mike was just calling the on-call Neurologist to see if he could squeeze me into his office schedule this week. He said, "this is myasthenia gravis until proven otherwise. She needs to come in right away." -

So in I went. Kids went to community group members and mom came from NJ and took me to the ER. It was the fastest admittance to the ER I have ever experienced. The Neurologist had called ahead and they were all expecting me. Wow!

Now, I have officially entered the realm of "interesting and rare diseases." I know when Mike gets a gleam in his eye when a very interesting "case" comes into the hospital. Even though it is a person and these doctors have the utmost respect for human life, what happens while we are living - especially if it is not seen very often - excites some part of them. The neurologist had the gleam. His partner who joined him in my physical exam had the gleam. I was on the road to be diagnosed.
I absolutely loved the thorough, articulate, gentle, objective, honest, and practical explanation of what I had - what I probably have.

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