Ginger, lots of timely-appointment~ma. I hate that it is so difficult for you.

Kaiser is good at many things, but scheduling tests you have to have immediately for scary reasons is not one of them. A friend and I both had the same horrendous experience trying to schedule all the scans the oncologist wanted us to have in the next week or so after the positive biopsy. I finally called an oncology nurse and cried, and she bullied them into scheduling me. There needs to be some kind of cancer ombudsman who does this stuff, not people who are already shaking piles of goo.

There needs to be some kind of cancer ombudsman who does this stuff, not people who are already shaking piles of goo.

Not just cancer. These are onerous tasks on steroids.

I can't believe it's already been 11 days. It seems like yesterday, and years ago, all at the same time.

We still don't have autopsy results.

We still don't have autopsy results.

In Utah, it can take months to get results. Apparently, our legislature decided to save money and outsource autopsies to Idaho, or something. Or Colorado.

In Utah, it can take months to get results.

We knew it was going to take 4-6 weeks for toxicology. The bigger delay right now is getting all of the findings back from the forensic pathologists who specialize in the major organs and collating it. Hopkins pushed for a more detailed autopsy than is normally performed. They were just as shocked as we were. Dr. Lipson wants to know why.

I had to wait many months for H's, mostly for toxicology. I hope your wait is not as long, Maria. It's emotionally draining to have that uncertainty, and not having the final death certificate really limits what you can get done with legal, financial, etc. matters. But coroner's offices are short-staffed these days.

Dr. Lipson wants to know why.

Doctors who want to know Why are wonderful.

Dr. Hwang, the God of Electrocardiology, is still my model for ideal doctor. He was doing a procedure to burn out a bad electrical generator in Hubby's heart, that was causing the rhythm problems, and he accidentally poked a hole through the heart wall. He came out personally to the waiting room to explain why things had gone on for an extra two hours, and when they moved Hubby to Cardiac ICU, he again personally went to get Hubby's stuff from the old room to carry them to the new room. This was at the end of a 20-hour day, too. I don't think big-league cardiac surgeons normally do that sort of thing.

Blerrgh. I now have a doctor appointment at 2:30 to figure out if the powdery taste in my mouth and the thick white coating on my tongue is a worrying side-effect of the new antibiotic. Whee?

Jilli, that could be thrush, which can definitely be a side effect of any antibiotic, b/c the antibiotic kills off the good flora of your tongue. It's also exacerbated by a weakened immune system.

Oh swell. Considering I'm on a "pulsing" regime of Cipro and Flagyl AND have a weak immune system right now, that's probably it. More probiotics in my future, I assume?