That *is* a lot of doctoring, Laura, but we want you in tip-top shape!

Our sometimes yard guy is here making our backyard look less like something Indiana Jones might hack his way through and more like a hammock-friendly backyard. Apparently we have cicadas (no shit), spiders (ditto), and a black snake of unknown size.

We had a groundhog the other week. It would be too cool to have a nonpoisonous snake, though.

Gastro called. Anti-TNF meds are probably off the table. He wants to confer with other gastros, check literature, follow up with the derm, etc., before deciding what treatment comes next.

Hey Cindy, I was just thinking about you, listening to the Attorney General on the radio. If you have more issues with the insurance company, definitely call her office -- she has people to help with that stuff!

Thank you, Jesse.

That's a whole lot, Laura.

black snake of unknown size

I'M SURE THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE STEPH

black snake of unknown size

I'M SURE THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE STEPH

Murderbiscuit will make the snek his minion.

No good can come of that unholy alliance.

Maybe Murderbiscuit will just eat the B.S.O.U.S.

Good luck with all that doctoring, Laura!

Good luck with all that nature, Steph.

Sorry C is having such a rough time of it Cindy. At least his bloodwork looking good is a consolation.

I forgot to mention that I took Mom up into the Ozarks for a few days in Eureka Springs. It was the first overnight vacation either of us have had in ages, and she enjoyed it even though we didn't do anything too taxing—just a lunch excursion in a railroad dining car, seeing Thorncrown Chapel, and touring some of the gift and jewelry shops downtown. After some mishaps with getting Friday dinner reservations Mom picked Gaskin's Steakhouse, which was new to me. They got her to try their mushroom soup, which I'd have never guessed she would have liked, but it was amazing. She got all worried about a cat we saw wandering around outside, but our waiter told us he's been there for twenty years, so that cat has lived a better life than either of us.

Oof, that is a lot of stuff. I am thinking of all of you and sending all of my good vibes your way, so please know that. Cindy and Steph, man it is amazing to see this interaction of knowledge. You people, rock. Seriously. All good thoughts your son's care team's way. And, you know, that insurance effing does what it's supposed to do.

Laura, that's a lot of appointments, but it's good that you're getting thorough care!

I will not address the snake talk.

The cicadas are SO LOUD. I find it utterly cool. DP thinks it sounds like the background from a 50s/60s sci-fi movie. He's not wrong.

My insurance company rejected a dosage increase on the stupid expensive growth hormone injection that I take to help with nutrient absorption (apparently it makes the villi in my intestines lengthen to increase area for absorption). My weight has gone up, which is good and means I'm absorbing more (and I don't need bi-weekly magnesium infusions), which is good, so the dose has to go up, which is... bad? According to the insurance company? Like, the drug is helping in exactly the way it's supposed to, so, yeah, let's make sure she can't get it anymore. Uh, OK. Now, the intestines are probably adjusting to their new normal, too, so they're maybe(?) absorbing better anyway, but... maybe not? Who knows? Anyway, I'm monitoring my weight, and it's fine, and I get blood tests once a month, so hopefully the mag level holds. The doctor has submitted an appeal. It is just mind boggling, though.

And in good news -- I am employed again! Part time W-2 for now, and on the way to full time with benefits, salary increase (I mean, relatively speaking -- at part time, it's half of what full time will be, which will be more than a 10% increase over last full-time job). I also have some contract work that I will continue, so... I'm a freaking contributing member of society again. Holy shit. I am beyond excited.

Yay Jen!

Yay Jen!!

Why is my shoulder weirdly super annoyingly painful? Like, it’s not that painful on a 1-10 scale. But it’s just continuing to be painful and I can’t figure out a way to stretch it or ice it or whatever that relieves it and that is obnoxious, especially since I can’t figure out why it hurts. I think I’m just getting old and I hate it.