One Thing After Another

 Did you ever have a time when things are going relatively well? And then it seems, one thing after another goes wrong? Well, that has been my life lately.

I have been sick with an inflamed trachea (tracheitis) for five weeks. I have been on and off IV antibiotics. When I am on the medicine, I feel great. Then I go off of the antibiotic, and it seems my infection comes back.

I thought I would go to my primary care provider to get a sputum culture ordered. When I called, I was informed the clinic is permanently closed! I was shocked and beside myself. No time is a great time to lose a primary care provider. At the moment, there are some medical issues I would like to get sorted out. I also could use some refills on my medicines, but it seems, these things will have to wait while I try to find a primary care provider.

Thankfully, I was able to call my pulmonologist’s office and was able to get an appointment for this week.

Over the weekend, my sputum turned a bright blueish-green. I definitely have pseudomonas, but now we just need the antibiotic sensitivity report to find out which antibiotics this bacteria is sensitive to.

The appointment with my lung doctor went well. I did have to wait about 1.5 hours to see the provider, but in the end, everything which needed to be done was done. I got my sputum culture lab orders, dropped off my sputum at the lab and came home to wait for the results.

I received the lab report today. It stated since there were epithelial cells in the sputum, the sputum was contaminated. They threw out the sputum and did not culture it. I cannot tell you the devastation I felt when I read the report. The sputum clearly had pseudomonas in it. The lab could have cultured it, but they chose not to. (Another lab has cultured my sputum even when there are epithelial cells in it. The report simply states the results may not be accurate as there may have been contaminates in the sputum sample.) So a vital piece of information (the antibiotic sensitivity report) remains a mystery.

The lung doctor also sent over antibiotics to the pharmacy. Right now, it says the pharmacist needs to review the prescription. When this happens, usually the prescription is hung up in the system. I need to call the pharmacy and try to get that sorted out. I meant to call today, but I wanted to call in the afternoon after their lunch break. However, I forgot to call.

I also need to call my lung doctor’s office and try to get another sputum culture ordered. Hopefully that will be an easy process and will not necessitate another office visit.

Add to all these things, my bathroom backed up with sewage. The last time it cost $300 to clear the line. I decided to try a different plumber. This time it cost $800.

Also, the same day I found out I lost my primary care provider, I received a letter in the mail that one of the providers I see for my endometriosis care has left the clinic. What a bummer. She is fantastic.

I know God orchestrates everything. Perhaps, there is a fabulous primary care provider waiting to take over my medical care. Perhaps my pseudomonas infection will clear up on its own. Perhaps my endometriosis and ovarian cyst will also go away and not require medical intervention. And perhaps spending $800 to clear my sewer line means my bathroom will never back up with sewage again. I hope next week is a better week.