Wow! Thanks for all the welcome back's guys! I actually just got home not too long ago (yes, a day late). I had some issues with my car (although I almost didn't make it back to the state at all, thanks to our first plane being told to circle the airport for a half hour before landing, but fortunately the pilots of our next flight had been in a similar situation & we were able to get on the plane, despite making it to the outgoing gate 5 minutes before the scheduled take-off time!). I ended up having a flat tire & a flat donut spare, AND a dead car, thanks to water in the gas line. Thankfully, AAA was able to come out & pump up my spare & transfer tires, and I got my car started with the help of several bottles of dry gas, but by that time, it was too late at night to find a place to get a new tire. Fortunately, this all happened at my professor's house & so I just spent the night there, before getting up at the crack of dawn this morning to find someone to fix my tire! But I made it home with 5 minutes to spare before I had to leave to see my neurologist to get my test results.
I had a great time out in Oregon! The conference was wonderful. I learned a lot & had a lot of fun times with a small group of close knit scientists (most of whom I had already met at a previous conference). My presentation went very smoothly & was well received. It was a trying trip for me, in terms of pain, though. I was at the conference from roughly 7 am - 6 pm every day, with oral presentations being held from at least 8 am - 4 pm, and posters from 4 - 6pm. It was hard, having to watch & read all the powerpoint slides (especially from across giant rooms), and they couldn't have made the font in the program any smaller! But nonetheless, it was worth it! Part of my pain was my own fault, as I forced myself to read some on the plane rides! I apparently, also chose the hottest time of the century to visit Oregon! It was sunny & well into the hundreds on Sunday & Monday, although surprisingly, it didn't feel nearly as hot to me. I suppose it was because there was no humidity, or at least not like back home. Dry heat is glorious, humidity, on the other hand...
I was also lucky enough to met & spend an afternoon with our wonderful fatherjohn, and his lovely wife & daughter! He was so kind as take time out of his busy schedule to drive all the way up to Portland to see me, and
then take me on a scenic tour of the state! And yes, Palady, fatherjohn drove me out to the ocean & I did stick my feet (dress pants included) into the water! Brrr! I'd never seen the Pacific coast before, and among other things, it is much colder than the Atlantic! We had a fabulous time together, and I am so grateful to fatherjohn, especially since it was neither a short nor easy trip for him, I am sure!
Hopefully everyone is well & had a good week! I sure do have a lot of reading to do, to catch up!
Oh, and a quick status update. All of my test results from my lumbar puncture & other brainstem test are back, with exception of the MS panel (which is of course, the one that I am really concerned about
). Everything tested negative, which is good, but... Here we go again, essentially. I do have to make some phone calls this week, though. Even if we don't know what this is (still!) we have two new ideas in terms of treatment options. One being lidocaine injections behind my eye (or so I hear via my pcp, regarding the conversation that he had with my ophthalmologist just before I left), and another being some sort of neurostimulatior that could be modified to affect certain facial nerves, most specifically the trigeminal nerve (assuming that the neurosurgeon concludes that I am a candidate). So hopefully August brings us closer to some kind of "solution," at least for the pain.
Hugs to all! I missed you guys!
Skeye
Uh, oh! I hear a thunderstorm coming! Back to the rain, extreme humidity, thunderstorms, and unseasonably cold weather; gotta love New England! I miss Oregon already! Maybe I won't be doing much catching up tonight after all...
Post Edited (skeye) : 7/29/2009 5:58:11 PM (GMT-6)