Costa Brava, Spain

Girona

Our household goods move went perfectly. I was able to organize the most important things that I wanted to organize (only the most important, and no more) and at the same time, doing the big shipment this early is helping me get out of the house at last!

We spent Monday and Tuesday getting ready for the movers (more accurately, Friday through Tuesday), and they packed us and moved us on Wednesday and Thursday. Woo hoo! Our loaner furniture came on Thursday afternoon, so we were never without beds. The movers were great this time! Thank God!!

Friday night at 9:07 we hit the road for our 12-hour journey to Spain. That was quite an undertaking! David started us out in the drive, and I wrapped it up. We drove through so many downpours, it was actually quite challenging, but we got there. We arrived at Castell Montgri at about 9:00. They didn't get us into our room until about 2:00 in the afternoon, which is understandable. The plan was to take the kids to the on-park playgrounds and have lunch on site. Unfortunately, two of the three playgrounds were wooden and full of splinters, so we didn't use the playgrounds too much while we were there.

We got into our mobile home and promptly took a nap. We were all so tired! The next day, we took the bus to the beach, and it was nice and sunny and the kids had a great time. Later that afternoon, we took the kids to the pool. That day was all about the kids!

The next day we also took the kids to the pool, but it was a different pool for them to enjoy. Then later we went out and found a nice place to eat dinner. I thought we were going somewhere specific, which turned out to be closed. It was a happy accident, though, because we got to visit castle grounds that were still intact and quite beautiful. We finally went to dinner in a nearby town. I tried the ham. David had steak. His dinner was much better than mine!!

The next day, we went to the Dali museum in Figueres, and then we visited the lovely little city of Girona. It was pretty and enjoyable. We had tapas and then headed over to the cathedral.

The cathedral was impressive, but unfortunately it was closed by the time we got there. You MAY recognize it from the Game of Thrones. Girona appeared many times on that show. But it was interesting because of its architecture and history. As we were heading home, Alex was starting to feel ill. By the time we got home, he was running a fever. I was praying it was not strep.

I had booked a tour to Barcelona for Thursday, so on Wednesday, I decided that instead of filling the day, we should take it easy and let Alex rest. We stayed around the home in the morning. I had thought about a glass bottom boat tour, but the kids were so tired and not very interested. By Wednesday afternoon, I couldn't stand sitting around, so we went to the pool again.

Alex seemed to be all right, but at the same time, he felt warm to me. It was hard to tell if he still had a fever, but he was still complaining, and he doesn't usually fake it.

Thursday morning at 0730, I called the tour company and cancelled our tour. No Barcelona for me, which was the one thing I had my heart set on. I'm disappointed still. Alex seems to be okay, but we drove home on Thursday (it took us 15 hours since the kids were awake all day) because I was still feeling worried about him. Today, Saturday when we were SUPPOSED to get home, I think Alex is fine. I don't know if I made the right decision.  There's a SLIGHT chance that Alex exaggerated how he felt because he wanted to go back to where the tablet was working. I'm disappointed by the vacation. No Barcelona! We only went to the beach once after driving 12 hours to get to it! It was a big drive for a little reward. And overall, I'm just ready to go home.

So much has happened in my extended family since we've been away: death, cancer, marriage, babies. I'm ready to see the people I love and be part of their lives again. This week we are shipping our van and moving out of the house and into the lodge. Life will be so easy for a little while after this week, and I am really looking forward to moving out of this house. It is hard to believe that we have less than four weeks to go!

Don't get me wrong, we are so blessed that we have been able to be here, and to see everything we have seen, including our vacation to Spain. I fell in love with some places I never expected to see to begin with. Two years was a great amount of time. I am simply not very good at being in limbo, and we have been in limbo for a very long time!! It's been a wonderful limbo, but limbo nonetheless! My time here has also been adversely affected by all of the sickness. I think we're up to 26 infections of strep. The Army hospital will be my hospital of choice until we leave. I'm hoping we don't need to visit them again. I'm optimistic, even.

I kind of feel like I'm leaving Germany on a bit of a sour note. So much sickness. I'm so tired of this house with no hot water in the kitchen and a fridge that freezes or spoils everything. Our last vacation was disappointing.

I feel guilty for my negativity. I know it won't be my attitude overall about our time here. All I really have to do is think about the Schirn museum or the blue windows in Mainz, and I am grateful. But today, I missed a big event in someone's life, and it will still be a month before I can celebrate with her. That is so hard to take!

Life as an expat? Difficult. But I honestly hope I get the chance to do it again someday. Maybe in Japan or Australia. :-)

Castell Palau, where we thought we would eat dinner. So pretty!

Restaurant Camelot, a good recommendation from a very friendly local.

Yum!

Girona.

The outside of the Dali museum. Interesting!

This was in the church that was significant to Dali.

One of Dali's creations.

Lilly was so excited to go to the beach. She carried the shovel and bucket around the house for two days before we left.

Alex is getting good at swimming underwater!

Livvy LOVES the pool!

This is the cathedral in Girona. Pretty impressive!

Poland (but not London!)

One of the things on my list was to visit a Polish pottery outlet that a friend of mine had told me about last year. It wasn't far across the border, but it was about 6.5 hours away, so it would have to be an overnight trip.

It was in a very remote place in the countryside in Poland, and I had a lot of difficulty finding a place that could fit the entire family. We could always stay at a hotel in two different rooms, but that usually costs twice as much, and it splits up the family, which defeats the purpose of a family vacation.

Accidentally, I booked us an Airbnb in someone's house. We still ended up sleeping in two different rooms, but the kids enjoyed the couple's cat, trampoline, and tree swing. I enjoyed the homemade pierogies and goulash soup!! They were a very sweet couple originally from Poznan, and excellent hosts.

We made a nice day trip out of the pottery outlet and a rhododendron park in Germany that had an interesting man-made bridge from the 1800s. I'm glad we got to go to Poland, and I'm glad we got to be part of the Polish country culture for a couple of days.

I'm also glad everyone was healthy for that trip. Actually, Livvy started running a fever about two hours before we got home. I swore off that awful pediatrician, and ended up taking her to Landstuhl because she had strawberry tongue again, which meant more strep.

A couple of days later, David started complaining about a sore throat, but I was holding onto hope that he didn't have strep but tonsillitis not caused by strep. It was not to be. That Friday, we went to Landstuhl, which is over an hour away, and got there at about 1630, and finally David got discharged at about midnight. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and strep throat. Poor guy.

At about that time (midnight), Alex said, "The bad news is that my throat kind of hurts."

So we checked him in. And then to be on the safe side, I checked in Griffin. Both were positive for strep.

When David was diagnosed, he graciously suggested that we keep the babysitter so that at least I could still go to London. It wouldn't be the same at all without him.  Our marriage needs us to have a weekend alone, but I certainly wasn't eager to throw away all that money. However, I couldn't risk infecting the babysitter with the infectious boys, since they needed to be on antibiotics for at least a day in order to not be contagious.

So, no London for me. I was very sad and disappointed. I don't understand why we've been riddled with sickness for the past 8 months. But then again, I don't really need to. This kind of adversity is part of life. It makes you appreciate what you do have, and it makes you appreciate your health when you have it. I can live with that. God is still good and always faithful, and He will always have my praises.

Soon, our trip to Spain (and the beach!) is coming up! Please say a prayer for all of our health! Lilly was complaining about her ears yesterday. I'm thinking it was allergies and have started her on the allergy medicine for children. I hope that's all it is.

On another note, my computer died completely, as opposed to the half of a life it's been living for over a year, and I can't seem to upload photos to this post through the app. So you'll just have to take my word for it that we were there. Lol.

And on another note, today they took our household goods away! Only 36 more days! Woo hoo!

...Updated with photos!

As soon as we go anywhere, all of the kids take over the place like it's been theirs for years.

I think these were mustard fields. A beautiful bright yellow was everywhere.

Devil's Bridge. Interesting form, but I'm not so sure about the function.

Delicious goulash made by our hostess!

Awwwwww.

Awwwwww (again).

At Devil's Bridge.

It's nice to get out of the city!

Strep Infections

I figured that since my family has had 23 diagnosed infections of strep in the last 7 months, I have learned a lot about it and should pass this knowledge on.

We're healthy today.

I think that Alex has been picking it up from an undiagnosed carrier in school, because he is always our first case, and we have confirmed that David, Griffin, and I are not carriers for sure. We are having the other three tested this week.

Here is a typical presentation of strep throat from my kids:

1) Alex is so strong, so he doesn't actually look that sick. He will tell me that he's not feeling well, and usually by this point he is running a little fever. When he's at this point, if I check his throat, he will often have a war zone at the back of his throat. That's the best way I can describe it. I had always thought that strep resulted in white spots, but I've more often seen bright red patches that sometimes bleed. It looks SO painful (because it is!).

2) In addition to the fever and a red throat, the kids won't eat or drink. This is one way to distinguish strep from a virus or some other infection. Consistently, none of my kids will eat when they're suffering from a strep infection.

3) When I had it, I couldn't believe how painful it was. It was as painful as having my tonsils out when I was 25. Of course, having had them out has probably protected me from getting the infection more than the two times I've had it.

4) Only once did one of my children present with "strawberry tongue" (see below if you're interested). I knew as soon as I saw it that the child had strep. David took the child to the doctor who said that the kid was coming off of it, since that child had just finished antibiotics a week previous. But at least the doctor ran the test, and the child was (of course!) positive for strep.

5) Untreated, or in our case, insufficiently treated strep turns into Scarlet fever, which often results in a rash that has fine bumps and can look like one smooth color but still feel rough. At this point, the fever is higher and the fever reducers don't work very well. Scarlet fever can also cause heart murmurs, so the doctor may run some tests to check the heart, depending on what he hears through the stethoscope.

6) Untreated, or insufficiently treated strep may also show itself as an exit sore from diarrhea. It basically looks like the skin was rubbed away with sandpaper. This is called impetigo and requires an antibiotic cream to clear it up.

7) Sometimes fever blisters show up. I'm not sure if they're fever blisters or boils from the infection, but they've usually been about the size of a pencil eraser or maybe slightly larger. I've seen them on arms, feet, and legs. I've never seen them on the trunk of the body or the face. They get very itchy, and in fact are more itchy than painful.

8) Strep has about a 4-day incubation period, and it's contagious up to 24 hours after treatment with antibiotics. You can imagine me counting down days every time one of our kids has gotten it. This last time, I managed to keep it away from two of the four children, thank God.

I don't know what is causing us this grief. If I did, it would be resolved by now. But I can certainly tell you that this is one of the main reasons I am so excited to get home. For some reason, I am confident that the pediatrician in Waynesboro would never allow this so passively as the pediatrician here has.

Please keep us in your prayers!!

When a foreign city starts to feel like home

Photo from the Schirn Museum exhibit

I had a chance to walk around Frankfurt by myself for half a day yesterday.

I took the S train to the U train into Römer Plaza. On a pretty day, Römer Plaza is one of the best places in the world to sit alone.

It was a pretty day.

I visited the Schirn museum. Their exhibit at the moment is vulgar, offensive, distasteful, and disgusting. It was an exhibit from two Swedish artists who create stop motion films. They use multiple mediums such as clay, felt, metals, and probably anything else that fits their needs. They had running themes of masks and animals, sometimes animals wearing masks. If I could take a guess, I would say that the artists were making an overall statement that we are not who we need to be. We are not true to ourselves. We are not true to each other.

Many of the films were gruesome. The pieces of art physically on display (in addition to the films) were exquisite. The first thing you see when you walk in is a room full of exotic birds in all different positions. You might be caught off guard with the detail and even the size of them. Then you'll notice the film. I watched the first film with curiosity. Stuffed women made of nylons having to do with breaking eggs. The next film I saw, I watched with interest. That was the gruesome one, but I was interested to learn the artists' agenda. The next, with loathing. Picture a baby and a momma who are switching in between a lizard and a lizard skeleton. Really, words don't describe it. The last one I watched, which was the maximum I could tolerate, I watched with horror. Something about a mother's children forcibly re-entering her womb to undo their own birth. Honestly, I couldn't do it, so I didn't watch very much of that one.

I love, love, love the Schirn museum. No other thing I've seen or done has taken me outside of my culture and made me think more than this museum has. I am fascinated by the artists whose works they display. What drives them? Why are they so different from me? In what (or whom) do they place their hope? That is what I always wonder about people. I really enjoy new cultures and different lifestyles. The Schirn museum is amazing at showing me that.

Because of that, more so than the artists, I would love to meet the curator. Who is that person?! How did they get so good at their job? What drives them, and how do they find people?

I'm just a simple Pennsylvania girl, and I'm happy to be that. But I'm also happy that I've had the opportunity to visit this world-renowned museum, more than once, and to let it open my eyes just a little more than they were before. I think I will get to see two more exhibitions before we leave. I missed several while I was here. But what I've seen thus far has been very, very interesting.

When I walked out of the museum, I realized that I knew where I was going, and I didn't need to use Google maps to get there. That was a nice feeling, but then I started to get a little bit sad. I was starting to feel at home in Frankfurt. I enjoy Römer Plaza and visiting the nearby churches. I walked across the footbridge and simply enjoyed the skyline. It was a really nice afternoon. It felt a little bit like home: comfortable, familiar, welcoming, and even unimposing. I was saddened by the thought that after this year, I may never see Frankfurt again. I may, but I may not.

I think that's the way these moments are going to be for me for the next two months. I'm looking forward to them so much.

At the same time, I don't think I will regret leaving at all. I am ready to go home to the always-familiar way of life. I am so very ready to see my family and friends. My life has been such an adventure these past two years. I am looking forward to seeing what the next stage will bring.

A gorgeous day at Romer plaza, which is a great place to visit

From the Schirn Museum. Look at this incredible detail.

I just the other day told my dad that I miss the PA wildlife. I sent this picture to him and called it, "Frankfurt wildlife". He said, "I think that's a turkey, but it looks like it belongs in a cartoon." Exactly.

A two photo panorama of Romer plaza. There is so much going on in this photo.

Zaanse Schans and Keukenhof Gardens

This weekend we're going to the Netherlands to see the tulips, so I'm praying that this time, no one is sick. I'm also coaching Livvy that I want her to wear the dress I give her to wear and to smile for the camera. I hope she does. I believe that when she is older, she will value this photo that I hope to take. I almost got it last year, but it was a big fight and the good memory isn't there for me.

We're staying at a Eurocamp for one night. I'm hoping it's as nice as the one we stayed in in Italy.  We were going to stay for two nights, and I was going to take Monday off, but I ended up signing up for training that week and couldn't take the Monday off. It's okay, though. Our timing has the potential to be perfect this year. Most of the sicknesses are out of our house (except for colds and allergies), and the weather has been fabulous. I hope it sticks!

... We went and came back. It was a great trip. We started out at Zaanse Schans, which was even prettier than I'd expected. The weather didn't cooperate at all there, though, and we found ourselves unprepared in a windy torrent of rain. It was neat to go into a real, working windmill. We spent just a short time there and then headed for the Eurocamp.

I had remembered that the advertisement mentioned a waterpark onsite. I wasn't sure if we'd get a chance to visit it, since we had so much to do (for me!) already. But then, somewhere in that timeframe, I realized I had recently archived one of my Keep notes that mentioned this place that is a must-visit for families with small kids, and it was called Duinrell, which was where we were going.

Thankfully, I had thought ahead enough not only to pack my and the kids' swimsuits, but also to have David pack his.

We all slept quite well in that cozy little Eurocamp that night. In the morning, we went for a breakfast buffet onsite, which was so nice and the coffee was delicious and they were friendly and people told us our kids were so good! Then we went back and changed and went to the indoor waterpark, which, by the way, was bigger and better than Great Wolf Lodge. It was a lot of fun, and thanks to the discount from Eurocamp, our entire family got in for a price of €30.

Two and a half hours was a good amount of time, and the kids willingly left like the good kids that they are when it was time to go. I was so glad we went. David and I had discussed if we should take them, and on the condition that he drove home, I was willing to let him drop me off at work the next morning for my training. So after the waterpark, we got changed and went to the gardens.

It was a very overcast day with a little mist of rain here and there, but Livvy was a doll and posed for every photo I asked her to. The lack of sunshine had a negative impact, but it was still a great day, and I happily got to take some flower shots in addition to kid shots. (Thank you, David!)

By the time I had my fill of the gardens, we were all starving, so on the way back to the Eurocamp, we stopped and got some Chinese food, which was really tasty. David and I discussed the thought of leaving earlier, around ten, and decided that would be a good idea. By the time we ate and got all of the kids in bed (they were exhausted!!), it was already 8:30, so we decided to start our journey immediately after all.

We all very quickly fell asleep, and David pretty much teleported us home (that's how it felt to the kids, at least). It was a great trip. We unloaded the van and got the kids to bed as quickly as possible. We didn't make the kids go to school Monday. I got enough sleep to handle work just fine, though. It was a really nice trip.

Doctors and hospitals in Germany

Unfortunately, I'm sitting in the doctors office waiting to be seen. I've been waiting for an hour and 53 minutes so far. I miss minute clinics so much right now!

Also unfortunately, I have had a great deal of experience with doctors and hospitals since I've been here the last 21 months: Alex had his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears, the kids have had their fair share of infections, the family has had 21 diagnosed infections of strep this winter, including one that put David in the hospital for four nights, and I underwent a liver biopsy not too long ago. I've also taken a friend to the emergency room and stayed with him until he got admitted.

So here are my thoughts on doctors and hospitals in Germany:

* Doctors really care about you. They take their time with you even when they're completely overwhelmed with a busy day. My GP even answers her email. That is so convenient for me because the language barrier at the front desk is difficult.

* As a general rule, the front staff really doesn't care about you. I have felt many times like I was a nuisance just because I or the kids got sick and needed an appointment. That hasn't always been true, and I have had some very helpful front staff, but the majority of the front staff have acted more like bouncers than health care people.

* I think that Germans don't care too much about suffering. I don't think they're insensitive, but I do think they're pragmatic about it. It's kind of convenient in a way, because then you pretty much know that if you're being treated, you need it.

* I also think they're very averse to the use of antibiotics. I believe that's why we've had strep so many times this year. They keep giving us 7-day doses that just aren't long enough. If it shows up again, I'll be throwing a fit.

* Surprising to me, they don't automatically provide sheets, blankets and pillows. At the biopsy, I rested on a hospital bed without a sheet, pillow, or blanket. I was on my side for an hour, and luckily had my fluffy scarf to rest my head on. I later recommended to my doctor that he should advise his American patients accordingly, but he said all I would have had to do was to ask for this. In the U.S., our wonderful nurses are always asking if we need anything. Not to mention, all the other patients there had their own blankets and pillows. During David's stay in the hospital, they were provided and he was in a nice room. Maybe it's an out-patient thing.

* There is no discretion or privacy here. Americans are prudes, it's true. Here in Germany, during my routine physical, I had an EKG, and the boy (maybe he was 20) who gave it turned his back briefly while I took off my shirt and bra. No robes or sheets for covers or anything. I've heard it would be a similar experience with a female doctor, which I've opted to pass on since I'm returning to the U.S. in only a few months. Just now, I had an x-ray, and it was the same. This time, they did have a closet for me to disrobe in private.

* Along those same lines, they interrupt all the time no matter what. I was getting a sonogram for my liver, so my shirt was mostly up, and one of the assistants kept coming in until the doctor (who studied in the U.S. and knows that Americans are prudes) finally told her to stop coming in, she would only be 5 more minutes. Interruptions also happened multiple times during my EKG. It's not that they don't respect privacy. They just don't expect it. It isn't rude, but it is a little awkward compared to what I'm used to.

... Update. I waited for two+ hours for the doctor, but it was worth the wait. I went for an x-ray to rule out pneumonia. Thankfully, it was bronchitis and not pneumonia. But I have to say, contrary to what I said above, this doctor put me on strong antibiotics for 10 days, with a 3-day dose of an additional antibiotic, a steroid inhalant, and a couple other things to help me feel better. I am so ready to feel better!! I was sick for 16 days!

Because of my diagnosis, I had David take Lilly to the doctor. RSV! Argh! We need a break!

The biopsy and the diagnosis

I know, this sounds like really bad news, right? Maybe you think I shouldn't advertise my health issues? The problem is, when I was told in January that I probably have an autoimmune liver disease (autoimmune hepatitis), I couldn't find many real-life stories about it online. The usual references were helpful, like WebMD, but they were so textbook. I couldn't find anything very descriptive that would tell me what I was going to experience (or possibly experience) as I went through this. So for the next person who searches, here you go.

In October, my doctor discovered high liver enzymes during a blood draw for a routine physical. She did a sonogram of my liver to see if anything looked abnormal, which it didn't. She said, "We'll do a second blood draw to further investigate. Maybe you have hepatitis." I wish she hadn't said that. The next couple of months while I was waiting for my second appointment and the results, I was very stressed out worrying if somehow I had infected my entire family with some form of viral hepatitis. I was trying to remember if I had received a blood transfusion when I delivered Alex (and how could I remember that, since I almost died?) or if there was some other thing that would have caused it. I was extremely stressed out, fearing that even my poor 2-year-old now had a liver disease.

In January when I got the results, the doctor told me that my ANA were high, (1280 when they were supposed to be 80 at the most), and that viral hepatitis was ruled out, and I had an autoimmune disease that is attacking my liver. That was, ironically, a relief. She told me I would have to go to the gastroenterologist.

A couple of weeks later at the gastroenterologist, he told me that I would need to have a biopsy to clearly determine what stage of damage my liver was in and to determine the treatment. He did a sonogram of my liver to check the blood flow, and it all looked good. He also told me that viral hepatitis had not yet been ruled out, so he needed to do more blood work. Great. Enter the stress about my family again.

They wanted to schedule the biopsy right away, but I had to travel for work for a week and to visit my sister while she was in Europe. I had the biopsy on Tuesday, two days ago, and on that day, the doctor confirmed that viral hepatitis was definitively ruled out. However, he wanted to take more blood samples, to my surprise, but I didn't ask why and just acquiesced. I will find out when I return, I'm sure. Once again, knowing that it wasn't viral was a great stress relief.

At the biopsy, the doctor did a sonogram to determine the entry point. He used his fingernails to dig an "X" into my skin (haven't they ever heard of markers?!). Then he numbed it with a local anesthetic. It was all mostly painless. They fit a small tube into your skin first, then use some kind of a tool to grab a piece of your liver. The doctor told me that one in ten times, he needs to take a second sample. Ripping off a piece of your liver is, as it sounds, very, very painful. However, it is also mostly instantaneous. Naturally, he needed a second sample from me, so it was very, very painful twice. It feels like one would expect it to feel: a shockingly sharp pain followed by a stabbing pain that becomes fairly tolerable after about a half hour. It was hard to breathe at first, which was an unpleasant surprise. I got through it.

The other pain that was a surprise to me was the strong pain in my right shoulder, which he explained was a result of snipping the nerve running down my side. It feels very much like the pain I had in both shoulders after my first c-section that results from air collecting in your shoulders, in case anyone knows what that is like. He led me to believe that not everyone gets shoulder pain during a liver biopsy.

All in all, I would say that, while it was very painful, the pain of a liver biopsy is nothing to be afraid of. If you are reading this because you're going to have one soon, try not to worry too much because it will be okay.

They monitor you for a couple of hours afterwards, and I lay on my side for an hour before the doctor told me I could move to my back. They have you do that to help control internal bleeding. He did a sonogram to see if there was any blood, which there wasn't, took some more blood as I had mentioned, and scheduled a follow-up for two weeks from now. He told me that I can't work out for three days, and that I can't lift heavy weights for three days.

As I said, this was two days ago. I am at the morning of the second day. Yesterday, I had David take the kids to school but went into work. I actually thought working would be easier than being at home with the little kids. (I was probably right.) Today I took the kids to school. I was going to drive the twins, but I really don't like driving here, so I walked. That might have been a little bit too much. I still have pain where my liver is. I have a small bruise at the entry site, and you can barely see the cut where he used the scalpel. It's not too bad this second day. Walking up the steps to work yesterday was somewhat difficult, but I took it slowly and did just fine.

... I am a week out from the liver biopsy, and I feel just fine. I think I am all healed, and I am not stressed about the results. I read that 85% of patients respond to the treatment, which is usually a long-term dose, if not a lifetime dose, of steroids. The 15% who don't respond to the treatment will need a liver transplant, but that's too many steps ahead of where I am today for me to be worried about that.

I have a list of questions for my doctor during my follow-up. Mainly they center around managing the symptoms associated with being on a steroid long-term. Weight gain is really not something I need right now. And I looked at pictures of people with "moon face", and it makes me very sad to know that I'm probably heading there. But I'm trying really hard not to get ahead of myself. I haven't even gotten my treatment, yet. Three more days. It has been a long and stressful two weeks.

I look forward to getting answers on Tuesday.

... Answers. I can't believe it. They were all good answers. I was mentally preparing for something very bad. My liver is completely healthy and free of any disease. My ANA levels came down a step. They're still high, so I'm going to go back in 3 months for another check and then, if they're still high, a referral to a rheumatologist. It's not autoimmune hepatitis, and even though I didn't actually get an answer today, that is good news by itself. It has been a very long 5 months going through this. Although it isn't exactly a diagnosis, at least it isn't that.

...It's a month later now. I'm waiting for my doctor to get done with vacation so we can figure this out. One thing I know, God is good. All the time.

And now I can finally publish this post. It was pretty easy to read, but kind of hard to live through. I'm glad that all of this is in the past.