So here’s the story…

The treatment did absolutely nothing for almost 5 days. Late on day 4, they were going to give up, but upped the dose a tiny bit more as per my last desperate request. And behold, a little relief! Of course, almost immediately after finally reaching a potentially therapeutic dose, my IV blew out…and then my next IV blew out. Having no more usable veins, they had to discharge me. Frustrating? Oh, might one say that. 😉 I asked for a PICC line upon admission, citing my history of every single vein painfully exploding from regular IVs in each of my many hospitalizations. But as always, they preferred to let it become an emergency (and therefore waste a very difficult week and tens of thousands of dollars) rather than take one small preventative measure.

Now I must make a number of appointments as an outpatient. They want me to see their physical therapists and other specialists. Then we will discuss a possible repeat of the ketamine treatment with a PICC and appropriate dose. There will be interdisciplinary meetings about my case, which is great. I came to Stanford with literally almost nothing but the clothes on my back…and now I have no idea how long I will be staying in the area. I am a medical gypsy extraordinaire!

Luckily, my family lives a few minutes from the hospital and they have been amazing about all this. It’s wonderful to see my uncle, aunt and cousins for the first time in ages (though I wish it were under better circumstances). I think there is a shared gene for a specific Anhalt brand of absurd humor, and they extend the kind of care to me that I would eagerly give to my loved ones if I were able. I love these people! I wish I had been able to spend more time with them over the years.

More to follow soon…