Training Medical Staff

I hate having to train new medical staff. My usual plan is to get a doctor acclimated to my various aches and pains and quirks, then I bribe the office staff with chocolate so that when I call in desperate need of an office visit or meds, they put me at the top of the list, because they know when I call it's for a good reason. I went to a rheumatologist a couple of years ago after hearing him speak at a seminar on Lupus. I have up most faith in his knowledge and ability but he is very reserved and when I had an occasion to see a new lady doctor in his office, I felt better able to communicate with her, so I stayed with her for a couple of years. She received a grant to study and has just left the practice for a while, so I am back to training new staff.

I had an appointment yesterday with my original rheumy, it went very well. The most interesting thing was that he asked me if I would be interested in joining a level III drug trial. There has not been a new drug for Lupus in over 40 years. He said he put his patients who were at the worst stage of the disease into the first trial because they had tried everything else and needed a new course of treatment. Some of those patients went into remission and most are doing better. Remission, I have heard the word bandied about in Lupus forums and in literature about Lupus but I never considered it happening to me. I just seem to have gotten progressively worse, so the chance of feeling better and even the slight possibility of remission sounds like a plan to me.

And on a lighter note, to illustrate further the special relationship that we share in my family, above is a picture my mom just emailed me: