Update on Health of The Artist

It has been an exhausting few months and the weakness has now spread to my arms. Things are moving at a snail's pace as far as medical testing is concerned. Emory seems like a huge machine that just swallows up the patient and it's too easy for one to get lost in the shuffle. Other than the occasional doctor's appointment I've largely been dealing with this alone. If it weren't for my animals I don't think I would be taking it as well as I have been. They continue to be the one constant in my life regardless of what curve-balls come along. They don't care how much money I have, or assess my value based on whether I can drive, or whether I can walk. They love me unconditionally and for that I'm truly thankful. Even so, I am beginning to have more and more difficulty just doing simple things like carrying items to and from the kitchen and I know I'm going to need some human help at home soon.

I'm finding out that there are things I need in order to cope that are not covered by Medicare and Medicaid, and my appeal for Medicare to cover my Benicar is still hanging in the air. Expenses are piling up and ever since all the new changes in Google and Etsy's algorithms both my shops have not been getting enough targeted traffic to bring in the sales necessary to meet my living expenses.

My appointment with the neurologist a few weeks ago was rather anticlimactic. I had chosen her especially because I believed she had the ability to really help me and go the distance, and I still have no doubt that she could, but after doing an exam which included alot of testing of reflexes and muscle strength, and taking a detailed history I guess she determined that this was going to be too big a job for her and set about running the other way just as fast as she could. She made a point of telling me her main interest is in Idiopathic Hypersomnia and that she is "this sleep person" as she put it kind of coyly, a rather poor excuse for passing the buck to some other doctor since I'd waited a total of about 5 months now just to see her in hopes she could kick things into high gear now that I was sitting in her office. It's a shame because the stuff she's published on movement disorders would make her perfect for my situation, as she also understands how sleep abnormalities are a clue to something deeper going on in the brain, something that not all neurologists are astute enough to recognize. 

I had obtained a Lyme Disease testing kit from IgeneX, the most highly recommended private lab with the most accurate test methods but when I asked her to order the blood drawn for it that day she asked why my GP couldn't do it. I had asked him just a week or so earlier and his response was that he didn't believe in chronic Lyme disease and at that time was unwilling to do testing with a lab outside Emory even though Emory's lab (like most others in this country) did very limited Lyme testing and would most likely come up with a false negative (ruling it out when in fact I may very well have it and it may be what's attacking my brain so aggressively having festered since I was 6 years old).

The neurologist also noted that my diastolic blood pressure was high and had been on a few other occasions in appointments I had with several other Emory doctors (all the records are now housed electronically). She questioned rather accusatorily why my GP had not treated it, to which I answered that he was probably waiting for her to troubleshoot the underlying condition. And so it went from there, one deflection after another, my being the veritable hot potato she was desperately trying to pass off like some slimy football to any other doctor but her. 

She went on to state that since I was seeing this pulmonologist I should keep seeing him (which I already know, since it looks like the Biot's breathing is not going to be going away, and my breathing is likely only to get worse over time). It was her demeanor of utter almost dramatic avoidance that began to irritate me; this attempt to make it abundantly clear that she was relinquishing all responsibility for my care that was so incredibly crass in the face of my gradually losing all my muscle strength and control of my body. I tried not to let her know it bothered me but there was no way it couldn't if I had any feelings. Honestly I hope she reads this and is ashamed of herself. How insensitive could somebody be?

To her credit, before bowing out she did prescribe Keppra, an anticonvulsant medication which has helped the jerking I have at night, and she ruled out Myasthenia Gravis with two blood tests, and discovered I have some bulging discs in my cervical spine by doing an MRI, but stated in her notes that those are not severe enough to be causing my symptoms. It seems that was just an incidental finding. Her suggestion was to refer me to General Neurology at Emory (which she says is really backed up and has a long wait). She is outside the country now but when I spoke with one of her nurses just the other day on the phone it occurred to me that going that route might not be wise since it is likely they'd have to refer me to an even more specialized Neuromuscular clinic (which would also most likely be backed up for several months at the minimum). We are behind the 8 ball, so it makes more sense just to cut to the chase.

Each time I see a new neurologist they have to do all that pounding, pushing, and pulling on my muscles all over again to see for themselves (and my right forearm near the elbow is still recovering, as the day I saw her I'd already pulled a muscle just brushing my hair). I returned home that night literally feeling like I had been in a physical fight! She did not look it but was much stronger than my pulmonologist when he had pressed on my left leg the last time I was in his office. All this is very hard on my poor over-strained muscles which work hard just to hold a drinking glass or stand up in the kitchen or bathroom.

This business of doing two tests every few months at this stage of the game just isn't going to cut it. They are going to have to move faster than that if I am to retain as much function as possible. I don't have a caregiver and if I lose much more function I don't know how I will do things around the house without necessary modifications in place. Medical people are always touting "early detection" for everything, so to drag this out after it's been percolating about a year already would be irresponsible. I know what's ahead and I'd rather just get it over with so that I can go on to treating this with every tool available and have access to all the services I'm going to need so that I can have some kind of quality of life and continue to live in my home.

On average it can take Medicare 6-7 months to approve new medical devices/equipment, and I can already tell that this power wheelchair is not going to be sufficient for long. My neck is starting to weaken and there's no headrest on it. It's a Hoveround which gives it a good turning radius, but it's very short from back to front, there's no way to evenly distribute my weight or elevate my legs, and it's murder to do grocery shopping with only a footrest to carry things on.

My GP has already had to prescribe Tizanidine for spasticity and putting all the weight on my butt tends to trigger it even despite the medication. Any straining or holding myself upright for very long triggers it, so now I don't go anywhere further than my mailbox except when I absolutely have to. I've been trying to find places where I can order food online but that is extremely limited especially for anything fresh like fruits, vegetables, or dairy. Almost none of the farm co-ops deliver in my area and the ones that do want to take your money and give you random items without your choosing what you want to order. Schwan's Home Service doesn't have a delivery route in my area so they rely on UPS (the worst possible company) to deliver for a whopping $15.00 delivery charge). I told the representative of Schwan's that for that much money I can order from India and don't have the kind of income to do that each time I need food! Totally ridiculous!

I did some more researching online and found quite a bit of papers now published and listed on PubMed about a link between Lyme Disease and Motor n=Neuron and other Neurodegenerative Disease symptoms, so I sent it to my GP, explaining that at least if this turns out to have been caused by Lyme or its co-infections there's a chance we might be able to prevent it from destroying everything by treating it more aggressively with antibiotics. The window may be closing on that soon so we better get a move on. I guess he saw my point, so he decided to go ahead and order the testing through IgeneX and I have another appointment on Tuesday, October 27th to see him and get the blood drawn. It's a crap-shoot as to whether Medicare will cover it but IgeneX says they have covered it in other patients, so it is likely. It does make me a little nervous that it's not a sure thing because right now I'm having to go into debt just to stay afloat and I'd really like to be able to pay that off. 

Recently I have had to start using some herbs to supplement what I'm doing medically since the Big Pharma meds aren't fully effective. I'm using CBD salve and Sweet Annie salve made with infused Coconut Oil (neither covered by insurance and both custom made for me). Coconut oil has been shown to help these kinds of muscle symptoms I've been having as it has neuroprotective properties. In addition I think fairly soon I will have to replenish my supply of Benicar used in the Marshall Protocol and I still don't know what the outcome will be of my Medicare appeal for that. Our last step was to send the request to the contractor Maximus that deals with appeals regarding medications at the stage 3 appeal.

My son is waiting to hear about the next steps in his testing in preparation for brain surgery (also at Emory). I had been there with him during the day while he had extended EEG monitoring in the hospital, but now there are other tests they have to do before he can be approved for his tumor to be removed. Social Security cut him off by mistake and once they restarted the record that he has Medicare and Medicaid was wiped out of Emory's record, so that's another arduous mess to clean up.

I had hoped I could get all my testing out of the way and be on some sort of more definitive treatment by the time he was ready to have his surgery and that my upper body strength would be intact before that happened, but Murphy's Law seems to be getting in the way at every turn.

All this is very precarious. I am writing a manual about the running of the house for when he will inevitably need to come up and help, but I'm hoping that I can be in good enough shape to help him through his surgery first while I still can. This is truly a race against the clock!

I really need to move the jewelry in my Etsy shop as soon as possible to defray alot of these costs that are coming up. If anyone reading this has people you buy jewelry for (or you buy jewelry for yourself) please take a look at what I have available and consider buying your holiday gifts here. 

Giftbearer or if you do crafts yourself and are in need of jewelry supplies or other crafting supplies you may find some things you can use here; GiftbearerSupply 

Hopefully this will be a win/win for us both :-)

Here are a few photos of items I currently have for sale in each shop.

Cactus Quartz #4 with Citrine Underneath Surface
$24.00

Butterfly Mini Cards
6 for $8.00

Tumbled Kunzite Chips - Medium
$15.00

African Inspired Stuffed Earrings
$55.00

Pink Pearl and Lampwork Bracelet
$60.00

Mosaic Triangle Frame Earrings
$130.00

Green 3 Strand Necklace with Copper and MOP
$95.00

Chevron Australian Opal Ring
$250.00

    

What's New At Giftbearer Jewelry and GiftbearerSupply

Happy Easter to all my customers (and soon to be)! today only enter coupon code HOLIDAYUSFREESHIP with your purchase of  $18.00 or more and get free shipping anywhere within the USA! 

While this deal lasts there's no limit on the number of items you can apply it to. Just check out and pay by midnight EST. You do not have to have a Paypal account to pay through paypal with a debit or credit card.

Take this rare opportunity to buy and save for everybody on your gift list for Mother's Day, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and other gift-giving occasions.

The above pictured black shark's tooth earrings are my newest; wire-wrapped with 14 Kt. gold wire, and dangle from vermeil chain and ear wires. They have a very black tie look to them while maintaining a distinctly tribal style.

In my supply shop new things are happening as well! Papercraft supplies have been growing in demand on Etsy, so I decided to purchase some die cutting tools and equipment to fill this need.  I'm gradually phasing in some of these paper cut outs;

In addition to these, I've also started adding some iron and anodized aluminum chain in bright colors. Here are a few of the colors I have in stock now;

And last but not least; I experimented with my unique version of rock candy. These took me way to long to feasibly make a profit on, so I'm keeping them for myself, but it was interesting to see what I could do with them;

 Hand-carved sticks in cups of sugar saturated liquid (one row of green and another of yellow). The best formula I could find online said to use about 3 cups of sugar to one cup of water, boiled until thickened. I used up a whole bag of sugar, but overall it was worth it.

 24 hours later some stray crystals began forming in the cups. I pulled them out and let them dry on a plate while more crystals started to attach themselves to the sticks.

 The sticks gathered a thin layer of crystals within the first 24 hours.

This is what I got after about 2 weeks! They are finally big enough to eat. I thought it was interesting that the lighter yellow one had bigger and more cubic crystals growing on it whereas the brighter yellow one had finer and more needle-like crystals. This seemed to have something to do with how concentrated the sugar solution was. Because so many crystals filled up the cups quite rapidly I had to fish out those that were attaching to the cups themselves so as not to get the sticks stuck in a mire of rock hard rock candy and reheat and pour the liquid back into the cups to get the crystals to grow on the sticks! Since the evaporation of the water in the solution resulted in less to cover the sticks each time crystals grew on the sides of the cups I had to add water before melting the hardened sugar back down. This is most likely why I got different results from one stick to another.

I don't have it down to a science yet but it was a fun project. The green ones are not growing near as fast as the yellow, but I have one or two that will look like one of these in a few more days. 

I did find that the remaining solution could be used for more sticks after I remove others, so I am staggering them as long as I have enough usable solution to produce more lollipops.

Thinking Outside The Box; Reaching New Markets and Stimulating the US Economy

 

Starting today; November 1st, I am trying something new as a means to bring in business from countries outside the US. Each month over the next several months I will feature a different country in each of my Etsy shops to offer that country a special deal.

 

This month in my finished jewelry shop; Giftbearer, I am offering Chinese buyers 20% off on a purchase of $65.00 or more (total can be one item, or several less expensive items which add up to at least $65.00 in the same order). Please enter the coupon code; CHINA65 while checking out in the box allowed for special discounts.

 

Canadian buyers are offered the same deal but in my supply shop; GiftbearerSupply. Please enter the coupon code; CANDO65 in checkout.

 

I welcome my fellow Chinese and Canadians throughout November to see what wonderful things can be obtained here. Purchase something very special for yourself or for your friends or family. Feel free to use this offer as many times as you'd like during the month of November and send people you know who also live in your country.

 

Not only will you discover some great treasures, but you'll also help stimulate the US economy in the process! What better way to spread the love!

Dog Saves Woman from Rabid Squirrel

Sometime between 5 and 5:30 PM yesterday I heard Carmella barking and clawing at the kitchen window which leads to the back porch. I knew that neighborhood dogs sometimes passed through on either side of my house but this didn't seem like something just passing through, as she continued to bark and claw at the window sill for over 10 minutes, so I came in to see what was out there. I looked out the windows in the back door next to the kitchen and saw a squirrel latched onto the screen on the outside of the wooden framework of the porch. It was making quite a fuss, and strangely did not make a move to run when it saw me just a few feet away. In fact it strained forward on the screen as if to meet the potential threat of a larger predator head-on, riveted to my every move. A former roommate's dogs had torn out the screen from the panel just below but it clung there right where it was, the only thing preventing it from hurling itself in my direction; that it didn't seem to see the open area just beneath. Despite the barrier it just kept making these staccato raspy chirps, the kind squirrels make to other squirrels to challenge another, and staring me down. I have had a problem with squirrels chewing through my fascia boards at the perimeter of my roof overhang for some time now and now hear them gnawing on the wood for hours every day for the past few months, and this must have been one that had been making its home inside my overhang and just popped out one of the holes.

I thought maybe if I got a little closer and scared it off with a stick it would dissapear into the woods, but no such luck. It just seemed more intent on me and Carmella. I let Carmella out to scare it off and rather than going the other way and making its easiest escape up any number of trees it scurried horizontally across the the screen, then turned upside down, head first, and jumped onto the back porch floor and ran straight at me! People think of squirrels as benevolent, innocent, sweet little harmless creatures, but not this one! This monster had come straight from the bowels of hell! It was the stuff that nightmares and horror movies are made of.

I yelled for Carmella to get it and she ran to my side and intercepted it just as it was a few inches from my left foot. That's when I knew for sure it had to be rabid because as she snapped it up it was snarling like an angry cat, as if it really thought it could take Carmella on, unaware of their difference in size. Lucky for Carmella she is up to date on her rabies shot. I wouldn't have been so lucky if I'd been attacked since humans are not vaccinated for rabies. At first snap, Carmella took half its tail clean off and then grabbed hold of the middle of its body. It seemed crazed, almost posessed. Normally Carmella's strong jaws killed  a squirrel in just two bites but this one seemed to keep going and going. If she didn't kill it the backyard wouldn't be a safe place for either of us to walk in. A few more bites from Carmella's powerful jaws while shaking it violently and it finally was dead.

Despite all its carrying on it had not bitten Carmella. Carmella had been quicker, Thank God. There may be more rabid squirrels as the disease can spread from one animal to another and I heard one this morning at 6 AM again chewing on the corner of my house, so today I am going to see if I can find out who to report the animal I saw to. There are children living in the neighborhood, so I don't want any more of these to endanger the people on this street.

Thanks to Carmella, I avoided a trip to the ER and a painful rabies series. She amazes me with her loyalty and protection every day and I consider her a hero. But I think if you were able to ask her she'd tell you that's just what friends/family do. They are there with you when threats cross your path, right in there with you to fight that which could be your undoing in one form or another. If not for her I don't know what I would have done.

Giftbearer

GiftbearerSupply

Day 7 of Carmella's Snake Bite Recovery, and Day 1 of EvoraPet Oral Probiotic

Carmella's skin color is getting better each day and the scab on her toe is healing. She still wants to sleep alot but when I take her outside she bounds around like she usually does and no longer avoids putting weight on the leg that was bitten by the snakes.

As you can see below, the bruise on her stomach is gradually shrinking in size and the edges are more defined.

The medications are doing their job. The only thing I notice out of the ordinary is that she's peeing alot more and more frequently than she usually does, and I'm not sure whether she's always aware of when she has to go. She slept on my bed agan for most of the day and when I left the room for just a few minutes to go to the kitchen I thought she had gone back to sleep but when I came back she was still on the bed but I saw a big puddle on my rug. Carmella looked at me guiltily and jumped down to leave the room. She has been housebroken for a long time and usually whines when she has to go to the bathroom. I don't know if the urge came on suddenly this time or what was wrong but she can usually hold it long enough for me to get her out the door in plenty of time.

I had to use a big towel on the rug and then spray some enzyme on it so that my room wouldn't stink. The enzyme is left to air dry over a 24 hour period while it dissolves the urine and any bacteria in it. It's a good thing I had almost a full bottle left because I've rarely had to use it. If any of you have puppies this stuff is good to have on hand and works better than bleach, Pine Sol, or most other commercial cleaners/disinfectants because it gets right to the root of the odor rather than covering it up or using potentially toxic chemicals. Most brands of enzyme are biodegradeable and just dissipate once they've done what they're designed to do. You can ask for it at just about any pet supply store.

Well, speaking of pet products, I put a scoop of that EvoraPet on Carmella's food tonight. The company says it's tasteless but she managed to weed the majority of it out and shove that part of her food aside after eating the rest. They must have forgotten that a dog's sense of smell is way stronger than ours! I had worried that might happened and wondered how one could be sure the animal got the full dose that way.

Luckily Carmella can't resist the juice that seperates from yogurt and I had some in the refrigerator, so I poured that over the pieces of dog food she'd refused and the flavor of that disguised the flavor or smell of the probiotic powder and then she licked the bowl clean of every last particle.

Before her first dose I took pictures of some of her teeth so that I can do comparisons over the next few weeks. Her teeth are fairly white but she does tend to get tartar around the gumline, especially around her molars. I think this is due to her strangely proportioned head which is about half as long as it should be for her size, and her teeth are set way back into her head. Although she chews on bones and dog biscuits daily those molars are too far back for these to scrape off the plaque, and it's next to impossible to stick a toothbrush back that far. Her molars nearly reach the back of her throat! When you open her mouth wide enough to see it kind of looks like the jaws of an alligator except that her snout is not proportionally as long.

Photographing her teeth with one hand while keeping her mouth open (and still) with the other was hard to do but I got a few really good shots. You can see that she has some yellow in the grooves of her molars that are hardest to reach. Probably being on antibiotics for the Copperhead bites has actually already helped her breath because I could stand to get near her mouth which I can't do when it's at its worst, but the yellow areas in her teeth will serve as a good baseline, and it's possible that her breath will be even better once she's been on this a little while. Her mouth is still rather slimy (which it isn't after her teeth have recently been cleaned) so if that goes away that is likely an indication it's working also.

Left upper molar

I'm not sure whether the little black dot in this molar on the upper left side is a cavity or some sort of particle.

Left lower molar

Right side upper molars and lower teeth (Close-up)

Right upper molars and lower teeth

Upper right Canines and Bicuspids

The teeth closer to the front of Carmella's mouth have less visible plaque. There's only a little bit right at the gumline. Her chewing of bones and dog treats has definitely prevented alot of it from forming on these teeth.

Cuspids and Left Side Canine (Upper)

I'll take more photos of her teeth periodically to compare with these.

Here are a few cute shots I took of her in the kitchen today.

Carmella licking her healing foot

 Carmella playing with big bone

 Carmella walking and turning around

Carmella with front foot tucked under chest and ears at attention

In the morning the man from Rid-a-Critter is coming to look around for any possible snake dens and I hope, will be able to tell me if there are snakes living on the property. Maybe he can let me know the best methods for keeping them from using my backyard as a hiding place or throughway so that Carmella will be safe to go out there without being bitten again. I took her out on the leash tonight and since it was too dark for me to see what was on the ground I didn't go very far from the driveway or let her get close to any bushes or high foliage of other types. She kept wanting to go into the back yard and seemed to hear something back there. I don't know what it was but was too leery to go look since it was around the same time of night that she was bitten. There's no telling what ghastly things might have been creeping (or slithering) around in the dark. (Cue spooky music).

Despite the fact that snakes can be pretty bad-tempered and defensive I think they are nonetheless beautiful animals. I've even got a few wearable snakes available for purchase in my jewelry shop on Etsy. These make wonderful gifts! Click on the photos for more details on each piece.

Sterling Silver Snake Bracelet with Genuine Emerald Eyes (Strong Medicine)

Abstract Snakes Intertwined Ring - Argentium Sterling and Fine Silver

Carmella Comes Home!

 Carmella is home and feeling much better. Her leg is purple but the swelling is not near as bad as before. It looks as though the snake venom went all the way up her thigh to her stomach.

 She still has loose stools but is eating again and drinking plenty of water, and she has much more energy although actually seems calmer than she usually is, content to lounge around on my bed.  She has jumped up to listen to something outside the window once or twice but doesn't seem on pins and needles at every sound as she usually is.

 She spent some time in the kitchen earlier this evening chewing on a bone and I can tell that she knows the worst is over. The purple bandage on her right front leg is where they had the IV. That bandage can come off tomorrow.

I don't know how long it will take for all thr bruising to go away, but the vet wants to check her again in a week.

I noticed that a vein or artery is showing very dark through her skin on her inner thigh. It's visible in the picture above.

The company that was supposed to come out yesterday to look for the snakes is coming on Monday instead because the man who was assigned got tied up removing bats from a elderly woman's house on Thursday. I had hoped he could have the nesting areas identified before Carmella came home. So far I have not seen any when I've looked around myelf but they could be somewhere I can't see like the big burrow underneath the width of the back porch that some other animal made. Just in case, I am keeping a close eye on her and taking her out on the leash until the guy comes to inspect.

 Carmella will be on 4 medications every 12 hours for awhile;
* Prednisone (20mgs)

* Ciprofloxacin (250 mgs.; 1/2 tablet (125mg. every 12 hours)

* Cephalexin (500 mgs.; 2 Tablets every 12 hours)

*  Metronidazole (500 mgs. every 12 hours)

Eek! After the emergency visit Monday night and treatment overnight for 3 days at her regular vet's, the bill is somewhere around $1,500 already. I was just beginning to make a dent in her previous medical bills when this emergency happened.

If you would like to help her there are several ways to do that;

* Purchase one of the ad spots through Scratchback on my blog in the sidebar

* Use the Donate To Carmella button at the top; donate via Paypal

* Purchase Jewelry from Giftbearer

* Purchase jewelry supplies/craft supplies from  GiftbearerSupply

The holidays are coming up and I have lots of variety in both Etsy online shops to choose from be it a piece of finished jewelry or something to help you create finished jewelry or other crafts. I make a point of offering alot of one of a kind and limited stock items.

I found this video on YouTube that might be helpful to those of you who have animals. It is the season for these venomous snakes to be restless and with the weather changing these seem to be more on edge and more likely to bite.

The dog in the first video was bitten by a rattlesnake, not a copperhead, but the clip is interesting also because apparently someone has developed a vaccine to help protect dogs from these bites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs79gprUiao

The dogs n these videos below were bitten by a copperheads;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxKQpiY8VQ

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnimalMedicalHosp?blend=14&ob=5#p/u/0/oHw2FtVxGYg

There is a product I found out about that is supposed to repel snakes from your yard called Snake Away;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1kV6RY5HSw&feature=related

Here's another;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CDGhgkGSU4&feature=related

I don't know whether these work or not but they might.

Some people claim that moth balls repel snakes but I can't stand the smell of moth balls!

I found this video on snake repellents which says the strong smell in some of these confuses the snakes;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O9AU_fjpsg&feature=related

http://www.foxlabs.com/ makes one that is supposed to be eco-friendly and safe for humans and pets.


Carmella has been sleeping soundly tonight while I've been on the computer and researching on Youtube.

I'll continue to keep you posted on her recovery.