6

The neurologist I saw on Monday (a different one from today) wants to see me again. His receptionist called me earlier and she set me up with an appointment for Tue May 9. That's a long time away. She'll call if there are any cancellations, so I can get in earlier.

5

I just got home from seeing the neurologist this morning for EMG testing. Having electricity pulsed through my nerves and then long needles stuck into my muscles is not a pleasant experience. She doesn't have a diagnosis but said it's not due to lack of exercise or an injury and at this point is likely a problem with the muscles or the connection between the muscles and the nerves. She ordered a genetic blood test for spinal muscular atrophy but told me not to read too much into it yet. The blood sample goes to the BC Children's Hospital for analysis and takes two weeks to get the results back. They may also do a muscle biopsy to analyze a sample of my muscles. I won't know anything for a while, until they call me.

I talked to my mom and told her what happened but left out what the blood test is for.. I don't want to worry her too much. She is certain that there are no muscle problems in her family history.

The benefit of having a unique last name

BC Hydro just contacted me. I worked for them back in the Fall of 2002 and I am eligible for some sort of profit sharing program with their employees. They didn't have my current information on file and apparently I never responded when they send me a letter a few years ago, so they were going to write off the payout. But my name stood out and someone from HR looked up my last name and contacted my parents who forwarded the message to me (since I'm not listed in the phone book) . There is now a cheque for me on its way in the mail.

4

I have an appointment with a neurologist for Thursday at 9am. Hopefully then I will find out what's going on.

3

I went to the doctor this afternoon. She went over my blood test results from last week and ordered some more blood tests. I couldn't wait until Wednesday to find out what's happening so I went to the emergency room at St. Paul's hospital. I saw a neurologist and he did a whole bunch of tests. Three hours later, he couldn't tell me what it was, but he ruled out my ligaments and nerves. He said it was something in the muscles but needed to do more tests. They are going to call me tomorrow and tell me when I can come in. They are going to do some sort of test where they run electrical pulses through my nerves or muscles and then they can pinpoint what's going on. The good news is that it's probably not hereditary. None of my parents or their extended family have any muscle problems, which is very good.

The doctor I saw this afternoon called me at 9:30 to see how I was doing. I gave her an update of what happened in the hospital. That was nice of her to call, especially since it's a walk-in clinic and they don't typically offer the same level of personal service as a family doctor.

2

I feel so useless right now. I went to a BBQ yesterday and couldn't even walk around because there were so many stairs on the porch. My coworkers went to Pacific Centre for lunch today but I stayed here and went to the food court in my building because I don't want to fall down on the stairs descending into the food court from the street outside (and I also have to get back up the stairs).