Health - The Statistics

A couple of weeks ago I set out to do this post on my health. I ended up with a colossal post, but one that covered too broad a spectrum. I ended up with chapters instead of paragraphs.

So, the first installment of a new series of posts on my health debacle is going to feature mostly numbers. Here are the stats:

1 - Average number of doctor appointments in a six-month period, prior to this sickness

23 – Appointments I had from October 10, 2007 to March 6, 2008. The actual number of appointments is probably higher because some days I would go in for a routine visit and then have the doctor schedule another appointment later in the day…mostly blood work.

10 – Different doctors that I saw

7 – Vials of blood drawn

1 – CT Scan

2 – MRIs – One without contrast, one with contrast

4 – X-rays

1 – Echocardiogram

6 – Drugs

1 – Hearing test

0 – Diagnoses

The last number really is my favorite. After all that, what I can’t tell you is what made me sick. Instead of trimming the list of possible diagnoses, each appointment seemed to broaden the many ways I could experience pain, suffering, and death.

Throughout, I have gone back to October 8^th—the beginning. I’ve ran through the events of that day and that weekend countless times trying to pin down a possible culprit of this scary and expensive adventure. Like I said not too long ago, I believe it might have been Lyme disease because of all my matching symptoms, but we will never know for sure. I was also in a heavily forested area the day before my headache set in and I could have easily picked up a tick. I was tested for the Lyme antibody earlier this year and it was negative. However, prior to having that round of blood work done, I was told that the test for the Lyme antibody is often inconclusive, meaning it can be negative but still the patient can show symptoms of Lyme disease.

Coming soon:

Thoughts on the health care I received, faith, death, finances, and my miraculous comeback from a disease that took me to the precipice of eternity and back again.

That last part was a joke, but really, I am doing much better and am very healthy by all accounts.