The newest Cheetah girl?

Okay.

So I go to Ann Arbor for plasmapheresis, but they take one look at my spots and say, OH no. They said they weren't going to start the treatment until my neuro came up. I asked them to page him and tell him that, because sometimes he comes up half way through the treatment.

I think some of the nurses thought I had MRSA. Nope. I could hear a couple of them whispering. I was like, oh for crap's sake it's not MRSA. Dr. Teener said he would try to get me into the dermatology clinic right away, but if he couldn't, I should go to the ER.

Now let me tell you something about U of M's ER. Last time I was there, I couldn't swallow, couldn't breathe well, my face was paralyzed, I had NO muscle tone and was in a wheelchair. We got there at noon, and I got into a room at 2 in the morning. I can't IMAGINE how long I would have been there with a skin condition!

Thank the Good Lord that I got into the derm clininc right away. After about 10 minutes, the doc went out to confer with her attending (it's always like this at the U of M. They send the newbie in first for practice or whatever, then the big guns come in and you get to tell your story all over again. AND get charged twice. Gotta love America.) And because it's not something they see every day, every intern, med student and other "helpers" came in to my room 2 or 3 at a time....once I think there were 5 in there. They all timidly knocked on the door and asked if they could come in and look at me. I thought about charging admission, but declined, for the greater good of mankind. Sure.

So they rather quickly concurred that I had something called Sweet's disease. See www.emedicine.com/derm/topic11.htm for some great information. The only way to confirm for sure is to do a biopsy. I'm thinking, tiny piece of skin, no biggie. Well, it was a shot of lidocane to numb it, and then a CHUNK came out that required stitches. Oooookaaaayyy. Then they asked if I would be willing to participate in a research study they were doing on Sweet's to try to determine the exact nature of the disease, why some people get it, why some don't.

So I say, sure, why not, if it can help someone else. What's another hunk of skin? I've got plenty to go around! So this other doc comes in and take a much bigger hunk of skin, about the size of a number 2 pencil eraser (never used.) Not so pleasant that one...he's like, oh look, isn't that cool! It's just like a hole in your skin...so I made the mistake of glancing down and seeing a hole in my arm filling with blood....Good thing I was sitting down.

So anywho...all said and done, I got 30 bucks for the second biopsy, which I didn't know I would get, and Jacob got a cool stick horse! I have to take Prednisone which is a miracle drug, but it's HORRIBLE on your system. Within 2 doses my joints felt better. But it makes my blood sugar go through the roof, and makes you moody, hungry, and gain weight. That's ALL I need.

So here's to me...spots and all...what could be next??