The nightmare continues.

So, basically, I'm still not getting better. I had continued going to various doctors at the same clinic after my last posting, and my confidence was diminishing. I had spoken with some doctors back home, and I was not getting the tests in Ukraine that would have been ordered for me in the US. They were testing for other things that American doctors thought would be a stretch. (In short, if these tests came up positive, it would probably be because I had epic bad luck and was sick with two things at once, but what they were testing me for to begin with could not have put me in the hospital at all, and definitely not with the symptoms I had.) Dr. Google was backing up all my suspicions. With each appointment either came more bad news, or more "Hmm, you're very sick, but we don't know what's wrong with you." The last straw came when I was told I'd reached a point where they couldn't do any more tests because the antibiotics I was on could interfere with the results. THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM IF YOU DID THE BACTERIA CULTURES TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND WAS TELLING YOU I WANTED IT DONE JUST IN CASE I DIDN'T FULLY RESPOND TO TREATMENT. This isn't ever so much a "I told you so" sort of moment, but I'm not sure I can think of another situation that more deserved the phrase "You should have listened to me."

That day, I was ready to come home. I hated that my doctors wouldn't listen to me half the times, and the other half they didn't understand me. That wouldn't have been so bad if I thought they were ordering what was medically necessary. I was sick of being by myself. And, more than anything, I'm sick of being sick. Emotionally, I was completely spent, and I wanted out. I spent a long evening in an internet cafe pricing out tickets, trying to figure out if coming home was even feasible.

In between some frantic calls with my parents, another American doctor, and Wes, a very dear friend of mine who was traveling in Budapest at the time, I came up with one last plan. There is an American medical clinic in Kiev. I hadn't gone there yet because the first time I needed care was outside of normal business hours, and they don't have the specialist that I needed for immediate follow-up. However, all doctors at this clinic speak English and are certified in the US, so I figured this would be my very best chance. I developed a "wish list" of the tests I wanted, and if I couldn't get them (or couldn't get them in a timely manner- it often takes a week for a test you can get done overnight in the US), I was coming home that weekend.

The doctor at the American clinic was shocked by the corners that had been cut in my care. For the first time, I had confidence in the doctor I was seeing here. I had the first round of tests on Saturday, and those results come in Wednesday. I got more tests today (which come in Thursday), and I get more tests on Wednesday. I have one week left in Ukraine, and my hope at this point is that I leave with a diagnosis. I feel better about the situation, but I still wish I were home right now.

Bright side though: Today was the first day I took out my new camera. I can't wait to buy a new lens for it, but I'm so happy about it. :)