The Rheumatologist

Gee, this was a bust, but what did I expect?  At least I knew the receptionist.  She used to give myself and my youngest daughter allergy shots years ago and still remembered me.  Good thing too, I would make use of my connection with her later.  The Rheumatologist examined my hands and said they showed no sign of Rheumatoid Arthritis, maybe Osteoarthritis, but nothing major.  He did however give me a six month follow up appointment and scheduled me for XRays just to ensure he wasn't missing anything.  This appointment with him just happened to be in late February 2009, just prior to my skiing episode.  I left his office feeling like a cry baby, somebody with a low pain threshold, a born complainer.
Well, March 16th on our way back from Sutton, Quebec after a 7.5 hour drive, we arrived on his office doorstep just before closing at 5:00 unannounced, no appointment scheduled before making it home.  We decided on this route rather than taking me to the hospital where waiting times lasted hours.  My husband had to practically carry me in from the car.  The receptionist took one look at me and scheduled me in for the following day as she had a last minute cancellation.  This time upon seeing me he seemed to take more of an interest and examined me more closely under the watchful and scrutinizing glare of my husband.  He seemed baffled.  He ordered some blood tests and set up a follow-up appointment in two weeks.  He thought it must be some kind of virus and would probably go away after it had run its course, maybe a couple of weeks, possibly six at most.  I left there in shock to think I would have to endure this agony for a possible two more weeks or even longer.  How??  I was strong, athletic, always managed to bounce back from anything.  I had survived nine surgeries in my lifetime, never down for long, always back at work within a few days regardless of the severity.  How would we get through this?  He arranged for the follow up appointment and asked that my husband not attend.  Okay, just how did he expect me to get there?  My husband was the collected one, I on the other hand, being in pain, totally confused, had a difficult time trying to explain the outcome of my appointments to my family or anyone else without his help.  Why did he not want him there?  He asked the questions while I just sat there in awe that no one knew what was happening to me.