Brick walls are not nice!!

Good day and bad day...

I had a great appointment with Dr Adair. Dr Adair is a physical medicine and rehab doctor that one of my docs at work suggested. It was really a blessing from God in disguise because I made this appointment with her 2 weeks before I went to TCI, and since then every doc appt has worked out to lead me to a real diagnosis that I relayed to her today. She spent so long assessing my joints, talking about Ehlers-Danlos and the effect it has on joints and finding out what my goals for reconditioning are. She decided to start me with 6 weeks of physical therapy for reconditioning, and even included my neck in that. We talked about the craniocervical instability and she was very understanding of why TCI wanted to try therapy first and wait before saying FUSE! but she was also very surprised by how long they wanted to wait. She said therapy would not likely fix the symptoms from the instability and retroflexed odontoid and kinked brain stem, but that I should give it the six weeks and then call the institute back with a "ok, now what...".

She also set me up for occupational therapy to assess the need for ring splints.
And a nutritionist for weight management.

Oooh Oooh!! AND! She hooked me up with a new neurologist! So, I am very happy ith how that part of the appt went. She knew a lot about EDS and made me confident in therapy to help with my muscles.

Of course she also played the reality card that all doctors are taught to play. Pain for the rest of my life, the PT will likely have to become a home "exercise" routine for the rest of my life... My joints are already damaged, and my job is not helping them. She pretty much said I had to find a new line of nursing or further joint damage would be the result. And by a new line of nursing I mean one that is less physical.

I'm on my way. In three years I will graduate and be Nurse Practitioner. But I won't last three years trying to do this. I will either get fired or dig myself in a hole so deep it will take a wheelchair and strong prescription drugs to get me out...

Here's where the brick wall comes in. I can't quit. I'll lose insurance. I can't quit. I have 4 kids and a house and a car and...and... I can't go to an office job and work 5-8hrs and still be able to go to school, and school is my way out of physical nursing... So, Verdict please.....


YUP, I'M SCREWED!!!!!!