My car is tired.

Ok, I will say that I learn something every day.  It may not be good lessons, but I learn.
I learned that not all doctors are nice (yeah, BiG news), and some lab techs are nice, even though they poke holes in you.
I dropped the kids at school, dropped Ethan at Mom's, and went by to see Ches at the hospital.  He was a little better since he got some sleep last night.  Then, I got on the road headed south.  I had my maternal-fetal specialist appointment today in Little Rock.
It just wasn't good from the beginning.  (When you have a feeling...listen to it!!)  I was already concerned about going while Ches was still in the hospital, but I got this "chasing the holy grail" feeling.  So, I went.  When I got there, they couldn't find my paperwork (strike 1).  I had to fill it all out again (mucho exasperation-o!).  I got upset (and I haven't really cried in a long time, but tears came-I'm sure it was everything added together).  Then, after an hour and a half of waiting, I went back to a little room, and waited some more, then a doctor came in.  Yes, A doctor.  Not MY doctor (strike 2), with whom I had an appointment!  I was not excited to meet a stranger, when I'd pinned all these hopes on the nice doctor Dr. Gorman told me all about.  I mean, they should have called me if Dr. Wendel wasn't going to be coming in!  Anyway, he was pretty short with me.  He basically discussed the miscarriages, my history, and told me all the usual things they test for were irrelevant since I'd already had three healthy children.  He said the only thing he could test for were thrombophilias.  I told him I'd already been tested for antiphospholipid antibodies, but he'll test again.  I asked about hormone deficiencies and my thyroid and parathyroid.  He got annoyed at me, and said parathyroid are only tested if you've had surgery or a disease recently, but he said he'd test for TSH and T4, thyroid.  Long story short, he told me that my eggs are getting older, and if it's not my thyroid or a thrombophilia (blood-clotting disorder), he couldn't do much to help me (strike 3).  And then he said, "Ok?"  I mean..what do you say to that?  He's supposed to be a stupid specialist!  (He's OUT!-think it's all Clay's baseball on my brain?)  I only wish I'd had the guts to tell someone how rude he was.
After all that's happening this spring, I just have to laugh.  I'm not crazy, but I mean Really.  Who does this stuff happen to?  It's so unreal.  I just have no energy to cry.  One of my friends told me today that God doesn't put more on you than you can handle (an old saying that people use to make you feel better), so I told her He must think I'm pretty amazing!
OK, back to the boring story..Then Rude Doctor handed me a lab work request and a long strip of stickers with my name on them.  I made my way to the fifth floor, and found the lab.  I went in, sat down, and got all teary again after reading all the tests on the sheet.  The lab tech was all nice, and asked what was wrong. I just told him the doctor I'd seen (that I'd never see again!) was RUDE!  He was nice, and got all the tubes for my blood (eleven!).  I got all worked up (you know my new tendency to have anxiety attacks), so he put me in the "recliner" to draw my blood in case I passed out (always a good sign-ha!).
He was drawing the blood, and after a couple minutes, I got all hyperventilate-y.  I got it together, but ugh.  I washed off most of my makeup in salty face-wash, then got in my car.
I did a GPS search for the nearest Chili's, in search of some Paradise Pie.  I know food does not solve problems, but it sure makes them easier to face!  Chocolate is my drug of choice, and once I got some, I already felt better.  I didn't even eat it all, but ahhhh..was it good!
So I drove back to Fayetteville, got some dinner at Panera (around 7pm), and went to the hospital.  I was super surprised to know Ches had been UP!  And when I got here, he wanted to go outside! (more shock! and happiness!)  The nurse unhooked him from the IV since he wasn't getting an antibiotic, and we walked down by the water (until we saw the rocks crawling in chiggers!! and we did not need more bites!!).  We walked back to the sitting area, and I ate outside.  It was so nice to see Ches' eyes open, and him walking around.  I think there's hope around the corner!  I needed some good news today, so that was enough to make my day.
He's hoping he can go home tomorrow, but we'll see.  His liver function came back abnormal again today, so that points to Ehrlichiosis.  They won't release him till they have a diagnosis.  He does seem to be responding to the antibiotic they're giving him though.  He's just sure the sleep helped him, and the headache is better controlled.
There's more, but I'll save more good news for tomorrow. : ) Keep praying, God answers prayers!