It's a Pig's Life

I've been looking forward to my next infusion because my pain and swelling have been increasing lately. (I'm finger-pecking here, so this may be brief.) I ran into my nurse at Wally World a few weeks ago, and even told her as much. She called me today "with bad news". The Powers That Be have pulled the plug on my clinical trial. No infusion in 3 weeks for me. No explanation, no info yet on how much, if any, Okra I've been getting. My consolation prize is 12 months of 12-week interval labs and office visits (and probably some paperwork for my crippled hands to complete each time). If they get (or have secured) FDA approval, infusions can resume at no charge until Okra's on the market. As of right now, though, for all we know, they won't pursue approval based on the data they've collected. Thanks, Guinea Pig, we appreciate your blind desperation and cooperation ... we'll call ya.

Lit a fire under me. I submitted my disability application and will mail in the rest of it tomorrow. Need to get the TB test done, too - I can at least keep paying for the MTX, and shouldn't incur any other office visits outside of what The Powers will pay for. Hopefully I'll have a favorable decision before the 12 months is up. The one thing this study has taught me is that I cannot function without treatment. I fear going there again, even as my hand cramps now.

Universal Healthcare Now!!!