It was yet another gorgeous, sunny Denver day and Jackson and I were out walking when the phone rang. It was Dr. Toribara's nurse from National Jewish. She wanted to let me know that some lab results were in that the doctors were concerned about. My hemoglobin level had dropped quite a bit and they needed to add some tests to my schedule. She wanted me to know that Dr. Toribara and Dr. Olson were working together to figure things out and I had nothing to worry about. I just needed to report to the lab before my appointments in the morning. She said he'd also be scheduling some procedures to investigate the bloodloss, but they would take care of the details.
This is just one, tiny example of how different bad news is here. Yeah, it does stink to hear that my hemoglobin has dropped again. It does stink to hear that I'm gonna need to be put under for some not so pleasant procedures when I'm out here alone. It's frustrating that my body continues to throw curveballs and react in bizarre ways. That is ALL SO MUCH EASIER to handle when it's followed by "don't worry, Toni, we're taking care of you and all the details" though. Wow! I'm convinced that part of the reason I'm improving is due to the fact that I'm not having to deal with mounds of stress related to my medical care. People are taking care of things for me. The rest of the medical world could truly learn a lot from this place.
