I'm Back!

So what the heck happened to me?

On September 3, I went to the local ER because I was feeling very unwell -- nausea, severe muscle weakness (including difficulty swallowing solid food), dehydration, etc. That afternoon, the hospital's routine work-up revealed an alarmingly high level of troponin in my blood, which most commonly indicates a heart attack or heart injury. Promptly, I was admitted to the ICU for 24 hours so that my cardiac function could be monitored more closely.

Over the next two weeks, I stayed in a general cardiac ward where I underwent two echoes and a cath (in addition to a bunch of other diagnostic scans and blood tests). These all revealed that my blood vessels were squeaky clean and my heart was pumping normally. At this point, the aforementioned local institution was stumped, so they transferred me to a larger teaching hospital where I could be seen by specialists in cardiology and rheumatology.

After a completely normal cardiac MRI at the new hospital, a primary heart problem was ruled out, and the focus turned to an autoimmune cause for my weakness and other signs/symptoms. Several tissue biopsies were conducted, and a feeding tube was inserted so I can still get nutrition while my throat muscles remain inflamed and weak. The results of the biopsies are still being reviewed by the big-time specialists at Johns Hopkins, but the suspicion at this point is that I have a mixed connective tissue disease. I am showing classic signs of dermatomyositis (an autoimmune disease of the skin and muscles), CREST Syndrome, and - of course - the rheumatoid arthritis I already knew I had.

I am now home from the hospital on high dose immunosuppressive medication. Over the next month of follow-up appointments, we're going to work on finding exactly the right combination of medical therapies that will - hopefully - restore function and allow me to, once again, lead my normal life.

TL; DR: My body essentially collapsed for reasons unknown, and I am still trying to bounce back.

I did keep up with the political landscape while I was in the hospital, though. Neither of the debates were, for me, especially enlightening. (Trump is not the smoothest, most polite public speaker? This is my shocked face.) And the responses to said debates were even less of a surprise. (Pence was "mansplaining"? Really? Stop making me hate my own gender, you absolute media assclowns.) 

And as for the other stories in the news? Yeah: they're making me even more inclined to crawl over fields of broken glass and swim through gator and shark infested pools to vote for Trump. 

Particularly of concern to me is an effort by Democratic, "antiracist" politicians in my own backyard to completely gut our prized STEM magnet because, damn it, too many ambitious Asian immigrants are getting in (and not enough blacks and Hispanics). My take on this controversy lines up with my take on affirmative action in general: look at the pipeline. Which elementary and middle schools are adequately preparing students for Magnet High School's entrance exam and rigorous academic expectations, and which schools aren't? Do a comprehensive analysis -- and then fix the schools that are underperforming so quality instruction is more justly distributed across the region. 

You see, as a teacher, I actually care about educating kids for real. Lowering the admissions standards for a top high school does not serve that goal. All that does is reinforce existing inequities; all that does is put lipstick on a pig. Unfortunately, more and more supposedly educated (mostly white) people around here have been captured by this season's delusional, cultish ideology-of-the-moment, which argues against all common sense that playing quota games to buff the numbers for Magnet High School (and other exam schools nationwide) is in fact to strike a blow against "systemic racism." Because black and Hispanic students can't in fact earn spots at this school in the traditional way if they're just given more opportunities to do so -- apparently. 

Wait, what does racism mean again? Sigh.

Anyway -- I should have a more normal post ready for you next week. Any prayers for my continued recovery are, of course, greatly appreciated.