Oh, Jane, how awful! You SHOULD have dialed 911. Next time, do that. Hopefully, you won't have a next time. I still don't find this funny!

Try not to fear a hospital. Sure, they can make mistakes. But they are also very good at helping people.

The doctors need to investigate that high white blood cell count further. I wonder if you broke something during your fall or have a hairline fracture. Please, ask someone to check that out. A high WBC is not a symptom of MG. Have you or anyone else looked your entire body over for bruises or other signs from the fall? If not, someone should.

Your doctor sounds very kind. That really helps.

But she might be wrong about how your MG is. What happens when MG isn't treated well enough, or pushed too far, is that it gets so bad that it takes more time to recover. That's one reason I mentioned that steroids do more harm than good in the long run. I believe that they create "brittle" MG. MG can be made to be stable again. But it does take proper treatments and time. And a MG patient who doesn't push themselves to the limit. Ahem. You are as much in charge of how MG does as doctors are. Probably more so.

Right now, you need to think of yourself as being physically bankrupt. You can't afford to expend/spend any energy. Your body needs a break, probably for months. Take that seriously or you will just be back in the hospital.

Shands is a long trip from Panama City. Can you even handle a trip like that now? Are they the only place close that does plasmapheresis? You may need a medical transport. You really do need a place that has experience with MG!

You can't have a thymectomy in the condition you are in. And it might not help. It could, but you have to weigh the very real risks of surgery against any potential benefits. You need to be stable first, AND decide if that is right for you. Ask a lot of questions. Or ask, "Tell me everything about a thymectomy," and let them do all the talking. You need to rest those muscles, too!

Do you have someone who can be with you if you go to Shands?

I'm sorry that you are going through so much. But the good part is that you are receiving care now. But the rest of the care is up to you. Don't walk far. Don't do very much at all. Use paper plates, etc. so you don't have dishes piling up. Seriously, every little thing in your life needs to be rethought. You can't live your life the way you used to, at least not now.

I hope you will recover soon. We're all here if you need us!!!


Annie

BTW, get copies of ALL of those records. Doctors don't tell us everything. And they might see a test result as nothing, when it may be a clue to something else.