Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2005 7:34 P.M.
Trippin Down the Lane. (Memory, that is.) I got my results of my x-ray last night. No TB. The girls went and had their tests "read" today. They all tested negative except Brittni, my oldest, 12 year old granddaughter. She tested "borderline" so she has to be re-tested again in two weeks. I am convincing myself that it will come back negative then.
What I don't think I have ever mentioned in here is something that happened back in 1971. I can't remember the exact date, and I can't remember why I had the test. I am getting in touch with the Maine Medical Center tomorrow for my records. Anyway, in 1970, for whatever reason, I had the tine test for TB and it came back positive. They took further test and established that I had the TB virus so I had been exposed to it. I didn't have an active infectious case, but they started me on Isoniazid, or INH for short. This medication, I was told, would build up antibodies to kill off the virus. I took one pill every day. I can't remember how long I was on it. It seems to me that it was 4 or 5 months. I was never given any instruction except dosage and that I had to have my blood drawn every few weeks for awhile and then once a month. They never even told me why they had to. At this time, I was 17 and married. I was not on any other medication. At some point, my husband had a chance for a really good job in New Hampshire so we packed up everything and headed out. Actually, I headed out ahead and stayed with his sister and brother-in-law for a week and found an apartment while he worked out a week's notice with his current job. Life went on for a few months and suddenly I found myself pregnant. I was ecstatic. I got myself to the doctor as soon as I was two days late. I knew. I could set a watch to it. 28 days exactly between them. And always around noon. I knew. I filled out all the usual paperwork and listed my INH in the medications box. The doctor asked what I was taking it for. I told him about the positive TB test. He said he wasn't familiar with the medicine but to keep taking it and he would get back to me if I should discontinue it. He scheduled me for another appointment 2 months later. I never heard from him again. I wanted to go back to Maine. I hounded my husband. I wanted my mommy! Finally a couple of months later, I told him I was going back with or without him. I was 17 and I knew nobody where we lived aside from his sister which I soon learned was a sandwich shy of a picnic. I still hadn't heard from the doctor, but figured that between all the time I had taken the meds combined with all the vitamins I was taking, my immune system should be in pretty good shape, so I tossed the rest of the INH in the trash. When I got back to Maine and had my first visit with the doctor, I was asked if I was on any meds. I told them that I was just taking the vitamins and that was it. Months later, I had all but forgotten any of this when Jeff was born. I didn't get to see him the first day. He was a full breech with his little feet up around his head, so I was pretty sore and tired the first day and just thought it was normal. The second day I still hadn't seen him. Finally the head of the pediatric unit came into my room and demanded to know what drugs I did while I was pregnant. I told her I never did drugs! She then dropped a bombshell on me. Jeff was seriously ill. His liver was failing. He would have to have a complete blood exchange to save his life. If he didn't have it and IF he lived through the night, he would have lived in a vegetative state for however long he lived. I had never felt so hopeless in my life. Not only was my firstborn son possibly going to die, but they were saying it was my fault! Of course, he had the exchange and immediately improved. The third day after all this happened, I asked to see the pediatrician again. I asked if when she inquired about the drugs if that would include prescriptions. As I said, I was 17 and very stupid about many things. She said that indeed it would and I told her about the INH. She apologized profusely and then got all the information about the doctor in New Hampshire, the hospital and such. I would wager that he lost his license within the year after that. A few years after, I ran into the doctor in Maine that originally prescribed the INH and asked him what he would do if a patient on it became pregnant. Without missing a beat, he said that he would take them off it for the first trimester, as it has been known to cause birth defects. So, you see my friends, after all that, Even the mere mention of TB can bring back a flood of memories. I know all of this we are going through now will soon become just another one. At least this time, the danger had been headed off at the pass.
Ok, nuff about the downers. I missed out asking LA the questions, I posted lame ones on Jenne's But, hey, I'll give it a shot.
Follow the directions carefully ;)
A) Recommend to me:
1. a movie:
2. a book:
3. a musical artist, song, or album:
(B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want and I will post the answers in a new entry.
(C) Copy and paste this meme in your blog, allowing your friends to ask you anything. (The operative word here is ask. heh) I will change this in one respect. I will say that I MAY post the answers in a new entry.
Later,
Cosmic
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