That's awful, Kate! I'm so sorry.

The Apple Store sent it out to the depot for repair, so my only option would be to go to a store with better customer service (unlikely since they tend to be bigger and more busy) or to a non-Apple but certified place that doesn't use the depot (never worked well in the past).

Kate, that's tragic. I am sorry.

I just sent this email to my neuro. I wonder what the response will be...

I have reached out to [neuro] through you multiple times to get treatment for my shoulder pain since medication for it was handed over to him. I have received no response whatsoever.

The pain is sufficient that I have missed work and suffered exacerbated headaches because of it, and I'm not willing to sit by and miss more work. [pain doc] will not prescribe medication due to his agreement with [neuro], but I was at least able to get more [lidocaine patches] prescribed and a nerve block scheduled in anticipation of another radio frequency ablation.

At least I have one doctor taking this seriously, but this is not enough. I need the whole team on my side. The unmanaged pain is bad now, but immediately after the nerve block and the RFA it will be even worse. I need to know from [neuro] right now if he intends to manage this, or if I should seek alternate management.

I will defer the explanation for being ignored until my next appointment, but I can't responsibly accept inaction when I *know* I will miss more work because of this. I missed one day last week, and there's no reason to expect that will not continue.

I'm tired of just asking. It's not working.

Good for you, ita. I hope that does the trick.

Kate, that's just awful.

Oh my god, Kate, that's terrible. I'm sorry.

Thanks, everyone. I'm still in shock, and really wishing I could be with my Boston friends today -- they're having an even tougher time with this than I am, since they saw her all the time.

Oh, Kate, I'm so sorry.

Kate, was there a note of any kind? Dealing is always going to be awful, but there's more awful...

I don't think there was a note, but there are a lot of details I don't know yet. The friend I talked to didn't mention a note, but given the circumstances of her life recently, and what we know of her death, he's sure she killed herself.

She had entered an inpatient treatment facility several months ago for help with her mental illnesses (depression, OCD, possibly others); at the time, I assumed it was just a short-term thing, and I even thought (or wanted to believe) that it was a positive thing for her to be seeking help in that way. She was apparently still living there when she died, so I'm guessing that her problems were proving difficult to treat.

That's rough, Kate.

CAT scan contrast dye is the one thing I've had a frightening and very quick reaction to—difficulty breathing that felt like increasing pressure from immersion in water, followed by projectile vomiting when that let up a few minutes later. (Though I've had a merely annoying case of hives in response to amoxycillin after a few days on it.)