Christmas in the ER

I experienced the most amazing thing on Christmas day. I don't know if it qualifies as a miracle, but it is a definite improvement in the world.

A little over a year ago I was in the ER due to extreme pain. If you don't remember, have a read. It was quite the ordeal. Not the pain - sure that was a problem too, but it hurt too much for me to worry about whether I would survive the day or not. The ordeal was with the staff's attitude towards my illness. I had to spend a great deal of time explaining why I was on the drugs I was and exactly what steps and by whom were taken to arrive at my diagnosis. I didn't just have to do this once, I had to do this no less than four times in under two hours - each time requiring more detail than the last and all the time I was getting worse.

It was an excellent example of the attitude towards Lyme in this country. Which is: yes, sure, it exists, but no one in this country could possibly have it or if they did have it, they were immediately cured by the process of entering the province. It's extremely political.

This year, I spent Christmas day in the ER for exactly the same complaint. No one has bothered to fix the problem because they are waiting to see if it is 'just' a symptom of Lyme (and/or co-infections) or if it is (as I think) something different and most likely genetic.

Remembering what it was like last year, I was ready with all the details of how and why I'm being treated for Lyme. Only, no one asked me.

Let me say this again. Not one single staff member in the hospital questioned my diagnosis!

I did not have to explain the exact chronology of my symptoms, tests, and treatment.

I did not have to go on for great length about my diatary restrictions.

I did not have to explain my chemical sensitivities - they even put me in a seporate room away from the nasty smells.

In fact, the only really important effect that my Lyme treatment had on my stay in the ER was the discovery that telling them what herbal supplements you are on is a good thing. Apparently it would have meant a fatal reaction to the painkiller they were thinking of giving me so they sent me home with an arm full of morphine instead.

I don't know why they were so accepting of my Lyme diagnosis. Was there something in my file from the last time I was in the ER? It wasn't the same doctor, it wasn't even the same hospital. It was extremely busy so perhaps they didn't have the time to question other doctors' work.

I would like to believe that it's more than that. I would like to think that attitudes towards Lyme are changing. Perhaps medical professionals in this province are starting to think for themselves rather than take at face value what the bureaucrats tell them. Maybe the ER doctor had watched something on the news about Lyme and then did some reading of his own. Maybe this is a sign of good things to come?