ORENCIA ARRIVED

My orencia arrived finally.  I have not read the directions yet so I don't know how to inject it.  I want to wait until after this weekend.  I have some travel to do and I don't want to inject myself and possibly have side effects before my travel.  I have learned that figuring out a good date to start medicine is a good idea.  You never know how you are going to react to the medicine.

Until tomorrow...

MY BATHROOM

Okay, maybe I am weird.  I understand it if you think this way.  I have a hangup.

I don't like people using my bathroom.  I have a guest bathroom for other's to use.  I keep it really clean and ready to use.  Now that I have two bathrooms, I just like to keep my bathroom to myself. 

While I was away I figured out my house sitter used my bathroom.  I could tell my bathtub was used.  It was a shame because it was not clean (I didn't get around to it before I left for my trip.)  Once before a previous house sitter used my bathroom and I figured it out because my towel was wet when I got home.  That means she used my shower and my dirty towel.  Yuck!  This time my bathmat was wet and I had been gone for 5 days so obviously someone had been using my bathtub. 

I guess in the future I need to make it clear I do not want anyone to use my bathroom while I am gone. 

I took Happi and Lucky to the vet today.  Lucky just had a nail trim.  Happi had a nail trim and check up.  They took blood and urine to test.  They checked her ears.  We talked about her fall (she fell down the stairs yesterday.)  We talked about her weight, food, medicine, hearing, front leg, etc.  I will get results in a couple of days.  I made a change in her meds: I am now giving her Prilosec in the evening instead of the morning to see if that calms her stomach.  I am stopping the bitter medicine.  I am changing her steroids from every two days to every three days.  I will be adding Gabipentin in a week for swelling and pain.  Hopefully that helps her out.

Until tomorrow...

SECRETS

My whole adult life has been about keeping secrets.  Almost all my jobs since graduating college have been centered around being able to keep things confidential.  When I mean confidential I don't mean the simple "Hey, can you keep a secret?  June is dating Ken."  Because of my positions I have to keep company secrets, staff secrets, and personal secrets.  I have so many secrets floating around in my head it is a miracle there is room for anything else.  I guess maybe that is why I am always forgetting things, I have no more room for anymore information. 

It is interesting being the one to keep all the secrets.  For one, I am always under suspicion.  Certain people always think I must be telling these secrets to someone else.  I file those people away as the folks who project what they would do onto me.  They are horrible secret keepers so they assume I must be too.  I don't tell people the secrets, they just get filed in my brain.

Then there are the folks who are always trying to get me to spill the secrets.  They think that if they keep asking me, I will tell them the confidential information.  I have a trick to deal with these folks.  I play dumb.  Example: "Do you know the baseball score from the game last night?"  My answer "There was a baseball game last night?"  "Of course there was a baseball game, it is the playoffs."  My answer "Really, baseball, I wasn't paying attention."   I call it the What?  Huh?  Baseball??  or XXX???  "No one tells me anything."

Then there is the person who is mad that I know the secret and they don't.  Hey, I wish I didn't know the secret most of the time.  Most secrets are not very good.  If they knew the secret, they probably wouldn't want to know it too.   I just look at them and shrug my shoulders.  Inside I would gladly give it up but it is my job to hold the secret.

Today when I got back from my trip I was told a bunch of secrets and I now I have to hold them in a little file drawer in my brain.  Don't ask me, you won't get an answer except What? Huh?  Secrets???  No one tells me anything!

Until tomorrow...

FRIENDS STOPPED BY

After finishing up unpacking a few things this morning, I had to rush out and go food shopping because my friends were stopping by at noon.  I wanted to make sure we had munchies. I had chips and salsa, crackers and dip, watermelon, strawberries and iced tea.  We scarfed it all down.

After an afternoon of laundry and spending time with the pups, I am finally sitting down.

Some things I forgot to post about the vacation:

• We had a team effort to purchase and label water bottles with the title, date and location of the family reunion along with a picture and everyone's name.  It was an effort to reduce the number of disposable single use plastic water bottles a group of 30+ people would buy and drink in a week.  It worked.  I didn't see one disposable single use plastic water bottle the whole time.  

• My foster kid had a hard time with me being away.  We had a few arguments over the phone during my trip but things got better now that I am back home.
• The dogs are alive and well and the dog sitter did a great job.

Until tomorrow...

FINALLY HOME

It was a long day.  I had to get home early and put a few things in my suitcase, eat breakfast, make my sandwich for the plane, and say goodbyes.  I drove for over 1 hour to get to the airport and turn in my rental car.  There was hardly any slow downs going to the airport but the traffic going to the shore was HORRIBLE.  I don't think any car was going faster than 10 miles an hour the whole way.

I arrived in time and the flight home was fine.  The flight was full but our row of three people only had two.  I don't know how we got so lucky.  This is the second flight I had where the flight was full and the person in the middle seat in my row didn't show up.  I must just be lucky.

I got home to some happy pups.  The house was super clean.  My house/dog sitter left the house so nice.  I got some Thai food and now I am vegging in front of the TV before I fall asleep.

Until tomorrow...

FINAL PIZZA PARTY

Today is the final full day of the family reunion.  A bunch of people are going on the boat to take the dogs out.  I opted to not participate.  I wanted to do other things.  I took a walk around and took photos, mailed a postcard and just hung out.  I ate lunch on the deck and organized my stuff.

I like that I have spent a bunch of the time relaxing and spending time with relatives that I have not seen in 8 years.  I wanted to make sure to connect with them so we can begin having a richer relationship moving forward. I want to see my other relatives too but I saw my brother B twice in the last few months.  I saw my brother E a few months ago.  I haven't seen my brother C but I connect with his family frequently over the phone and video.

I feel relaxed after five days and not stressed like I normally do at the end of these family gatherings.

The final pizza and alcohol gathering was fun for a while but I left to go pack.  I am not a big fan of group peer pressure to drink.  They all seemed to be having fun and I was not missed.  Plus I will be ready for my departure tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

SOUVENIR DAY

I went to the local store today to by souvenirs.  I bought myself two T-shirts (one long sleeved and one short).  I bought my foster kid a short sleeved shirt.  I think he will like it.

I then walked down and bought him some fudge.  I don't know if he likes fudge but I got the kind with Reese's pieces and M&Ms on it.  Who can resist that?

I took a nap while the family went to a seafood restaurant for dinner.  I didn't want to sit and watch everyone eat seafood while I had nothing to eat.  I cooked my dinner and when they came home I went to play a game at another house.  We played Scatagories.  It was fun.

Until tomorrow...

BUYING POSTCARDS

Today I woke up and went to breakfast at a pancake place that everyone kept calling a Waffle House.  There were Mickey Mouse pancakes and chocolate chip waffles for the kids.  I had some hash browns.  I went for the company.

I walked around and bought postcards to send to my foster kid.  I bought three to send to him.  That way he would get a bunch a week after I get home.  I also found some postcards that I can send to him that have patterns that the person who receive them can color when they get them.  I thought that was neat.  He likes to color a lot and he will like to color them.

I relaxed a bit and went for another walk to mail the postcard at the post office.   

Until tomorrow...

SUNNY AND SOCIAL DAY

The sun came out today.  It wasn't especially hot but it was sunny so I was happy.  I went with folks to a pancake restaurant and had some home fries.  Then my mother and step-father came for the day to visit and I went to lunch with them and had some french fries.  I was done with fried potatoes.  I went home and had two "hot dogs".   After an afternoon of visiting with my mother and step-father, we all got in the cars and went to an outdoor concert.  It had food trucks, drinks and Kona Ice.  It was a nice evening so it we pleasant sitting around.

I was hungry when I got home since I ate very little food all day.  It was late and I needed to stay up to check in with my foster son in a short time.  We check in twice a day at scheduled times.

Until tomorrow...

ARRIVED ON THE EAST COAST

I landed on the East Coast at 6 am and went immediately to get my rental car.  The deal my brother
me was for a convertible but when I got there, the convertible was having mechanical issues.  The nice woman at Avis gave me a nice Mustang instead.  I told her no large SUVs please.

I drove to Whole Foods to get some food to eat.  I know there will be no vegan food where I am going.

I continued on and arrived at my final destination just as most people were waking up.  I went and unpacked and settled in and then called my foster kid to check in.

It was raining outside most of the day so the activities were muted.  I did go to a store once the rain died down and buy some postcards to send, as well as, a birthday card for my step-father.

Dinner was a family gathering of pasta.  I brought my own tofu to cook.  It was fun to hang with everyone.

Until tomorrow...

RED EYE FLIGHT

I woke up with the dread that I had to spend the day finishing up the cleaning and errand running so I could make my evening flight to the East Coast.  I cleaned and polished and vacuumed.  I packed my stuff and walked the dogs.  I was ready to go at the appointed time.

I got to the airport at the appointed time (well, if you know me I was early) and got on my flight with no problems.  I sat next to two twenty-somethings who never said a word to me or each other the whole flight.  I tried to sleep but only got about an hour.  I watched a movie to pass the time.

Until tomorrow...

THOROUGH CLEANING

Today was a cleaning day.  My house needed a top-to-bottom cleaning.  Dusting, vacuuming, cleaning, scrubbing, mopping, and washing.  It so needed it.  It looks so nice now.  Sparkly clean.

I am exhausted and dirty.  I am glad it is over.

Until tomorrow...

ANOTHER TRIP

I took another trip today.  I went to see a planetarium.  It was a small planetarium in a small town.  I was expecting to see a display of stars and planets.  Instead I saw a laser show of U2's music and a movie about the moon landing.  It was interesting but odd when it was not what you are expecting.

There was also a display of stuffed animals.  I mean animals who were alive at one time but died and stuffed.  They were on display in "habitats".  There were many animals: Bears, bobcats, birds, foxes, and many other animals.  There was even a polar bear.  I am not sure were they got that.

It was a fun afternoon.

Until tomorrow...

LEMON TREE

My lemon tree is losing leaves.  I can't figure out why.  At first I thought maybe there was a pest.  Maybe rats were attacking it again but I checked and it doesn't look like that is the case.  Then I thought it was just the wind, we had a very windy night.  But it happened again the next night.  Now I think it maybe a lack of water.  I find this interesting since I have a natural spring under my house and I usually don't need to water my trees.  Maybe this year I do. 

Until tomorrow...

LATEST UPDATE ON HAPPI

I spoke to Happi's regular doctor who is now back from vacation.  I explained to him about Happi's ear infection.  He said that from the notes, Happi's ear infection is not very bad and the medicine the doctor put in her ear should not be blocking her hearing.  All that said, the truth is that her hearing is going.  Or has gone already.  Happi is probably deaf.  I think this is very disconcerting and confusing for her.  The doctor says it is fairly common for dogs to lose their hearing when they get older but it can be very hard on them since dogs really rely on their hearing more than any other sense.  So we need to be much more careful around her since she can't hear.

I will have to have a long talk with my foster son about this new development.  It will be hard for him to understand.  He really likes Lucky so much since she is younger, fun and playful.  Happi is slow and old.   I want Happi to be around for as long as she is happy and comfortable. 

Happi sleeping with Lucky's toy monkey. 

Until tomorrow...

NOT DOING YOUR JOB

Don't you hate when someone doesn't do their job?  As a consultant I run into this all the time.  I work with all kinds of people in all kinds of jobs. 

When people don't do their job it just drives me crazy.  I am not talking about when someone doesn't do their job because they are sick or have a family obligation or a family death or a child sick.  I am not talking about a person who gets caught in traffic or public transportation is late.  I am talking about the person who says they are going to do something (sometimes repeatedly) and doesn't follow through.  No reason why.  The job just doesn't get done.  The person shows up at meeting after meeting acting like 'Oh, yeah, I have to do that...'. 

I wish those people would just acknowledge they messed up and forgot to do what they promised to do rather than acting like "oh yeah."  Or better yet, do what they promised to do.  Do their job!

Until tomorrow...

NEW DOG BEDS

Today I went to buy some new dog beds.  A few weeks ago Lucky was in her cage for too long and she had an accident in her cage.  I took the dog pillow out and washed it.  It came out great but I decided to cut off the tag and I accidentally cut the pillow.  Since Lucky is known to eat the stuffing, I had to throw away the pillow.  She has been on a towel since that happened. 

Happi has occasional accidents on her beds so I have to switch out her beds on every now and then when they get stinky.  She has been really good recently about not having accidents on beds so it has not been too bad.  I can sometimes take the cover off and wash the cover depending on the type of bed I buy.  The cheap beds do not have covers that come off.  I have a bed downstairs that Happi has been sleeping on that is very puffy and she hates it.  Happi has three-legs and it is hard for her to walk on puffy things.  Puffy things make her unstable and she doesn't like that feeling.  She rather likes a stiff mattress.  I think this is why she has been sleeping upstairs on the firm bed.  Today I bought two firm beds one for upstairs and one for downstairs.  I will replace the bed in the living room and the bed in my bedroom.

I found that Ross sells dog beds cheaply.  I got three dog beds for less than $50.  Now all the dogs will have a fresh new bed.

Until tomorrow...

SKUNK ATTACK

Okay, it wasn't a skunk attack but it felt like an attack.  Here's what happened.

At 5 am I turned on the outdoor light and turned off the alarm to let Happi my dog outside.  I opened the door and exited first.  I got a blast of skunk mist in my face.  I pushed Happi back in the house and closed the door.  My theory is that when I turned the light on, it scared the skunk who was somewhere very close and it sprayed.  The spray was close enough that I got a face full.  It wasn't the direct spray with the oil and all, thank goodness.  But it was bad enough.  I waited a minute or so and let Happi out with me monitoring her.  She smelled the skunk and she ran down the steps, peed and and ran back inside.  I quickly took my clothes off and washed my face. I put my stinky clothes outside to air out. Unfortunately, the house now smelled like skunk.  I mean like SKUNK.  It was hard to tell if I still smelled like skunk or not because there was skunk everywhere. I put two fans on and hoped it would clear some of the smell out. I laid down and decided there was nothing I could do about it now anyway and I went back to sleep. 

When I woke up I took a shower and opened the windows.  The smell outside had dissipated so some clean air was much appreciated.  My sheets smelled fine so I didn't think I got it too bad after all.  My pajamas went straight in the washer.  I smelled Happi and she was as fresh as a dirty dog should be.  Lucky had not gone outside until the smell went away so she was good.  It took about three hours for the smell to clear out.  What a morning.  I am hoping that skunk has moved on and found another house to terrorize.

Until tomorrow...

HAPPI NOT HEARING

I don't know if it is the ear infection or if it is the antibiotic that the doctor put in her ear but Happi is unable to hear.  Before she went to the doctor she seemed to barely hear but now she doesn't seem to hear at all.  She seems to be a bit confused. 

She hasn't barked in days or over a week.  She can't seem to hear me calling her or the doorbell ringing.  It does make her sleep a lot more since she doesn't hear those noises that make dogs get anxious like trucks, cars, sirens, doorbells, etc. 

I sure hope it is not permanent but if it isn't, we will cope.  Years ago I had a dog named Raven, a black cockerspaniel, who was deaf.  She was sweet and a lousy watchdog.  I would come home and have to wake her up.  She would be so happy to see me once I did.  She had to always be on leash since she could not hear if I called her. 

Now if hearing loss happens to Lucky, I will be better off since I taught Lucky sign language when I got her.  I use signs to get her to sit and lay down.  She needed something to learn since she is an overachiever. 

We shall see in a few weeks if Happi gets better or not.  Either way, she is my baby.

Until tomorrow...

GARDENER HAS ARRIVED AGAIN

I love it after the gardener comes to clear out my backyard.  It looks so picturesque.  She clears out bags and bags of greenery.  Mostly it is vines.  I have three sides of my backyard with vines.  I can't stand them but I have learned that if I stay on top of them, they don't grow back so much.  I wish I could just kill them but that would require poison (which I won't do) or digging out the roots.  That will be a big job since the vines have grown between the fences.  So for now I just live with it and cut it back frequently.  Luckily I have a great gardener who loves to make extra money on the weekends.

It always feels like I have a showcase backyard when she is done doing the work.  I wish I had the strength in my hands to keep it up but I would rather use my energy other ways.  What she does in three hours would take me weeks working an hour a weekend.  Then I would have to soak in a bathtub.  By the time I got 1/2 of it done I would have to start over!  Some things are left to the professionals.

Until tomorrow...

HAPPI HAS AN EAR INFECTION

For a couple of months now I have noticed that Happi's hearing has declined.  I assumed it was because she is getting older and her hearing is going.  The other day I wiped her ear and some black goop came out of her ear.  More came out.  It didn't look right.  Then her other ear had a little bit.  She seemed happy I was taking it out.

I called and here we were at the vet's office.  They told me she had a serious ear infection.  So bad, they could not see down in her ear.  Yikes!  They can't see if there is something stuck or if it is just an ear infection.  Then they looked in the other ear and it had the beginnings of an ear infection.  Bother.

They put some antibiotics in her ear that stays in for weeks.  I am supposed to go back in three weeks and they will look and see if they can see something.  I feel awful.  What a horrible fur-mommy!  I didn't know she had an infection.  Granted she has a lot going on but still.

Anyway, she is on the road to recovery.

Until tomorrow...

BLACKLIGHTENING

I started watching a Netflix show a while ago.  It is one of the superhero shows.  I started watching it because my foster kid was watching it and I wanted to see if it was appropriate for him.  Then I got hooked.  I have to say I was entertained in a way I was not ready for.  I thought it was going to be dumb but I thought it was pretty good.  It had some morale messaging.  It had the bad guys and the good guys.  It was violent but what super hero movie isn't violent? 

Overall I was entertained and it wasn't (except one scene) gory.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Now I am off to watch Family Reunion.

Until tomorrow...

TRAUMA WEBINAR

I participated in a webinar on Trauma and Sensory Strategies.  It was super interesting.  It talked about how when a person goes through trauma it will not just be the senses that you think that are effected.  A person who is assaulted on a street at night may be effected by dark streets and strangers walking up on them but they may also be effected by the smell of baking bread because there was a bakery on the block where they were assaulted and they remember the smell of baking bread.

Or a child who is beaten by there parent and then removed by child services, may remember the assault but also the feel of the blanket they owned that they liked but had to give up when they were taken away.  The feel of that blanket maybe the only thing they remember that was a good memory of their parents.  Getting that blanket as a present and how it felt.

It was an insightful webinar and makes you think of all sorts of things in your life that were sensory rather than our usual I see the present or I taste the food.

Until tomorrow...

DOG SITTER

This evening my new dog sitter came over to see how to take care of my fur babies.  I will be going on a short trip soon and my last dog sitter could not take care of the dogs this time.  She is going to a conference and is not available.  So I had to find another dog sitter.  This is not an easy task.  I was referred another person but she works nights and works a far way away.  It would have been a hardship getting back and forth to my home in time to feed them and let them out.  I was worried it would not work out.  I decided not to go on my trip.  Then my friend volunteered to take care of the pups so I could go.

Tonight I spent an hour showing her everything.  Dogs, bird, house.  The dogs took most of the time with Happi's medication regime.  She takes three medicines in the morning and four medications in the evening.  It is complicated and time consuming.  She gets very anxious and cries a lot.  She won't eat and then cry because she is hungry.  Yes, Happi is high-maintenance.

Lucky is high-maintenance in another way.  She is territorial.  Someone watching her needs to know not to ever try and pick her up, never take anything from her (except a toy), never take her food bowl away from her, never try to remove her from any furniture, and never touch her bottom.  To get her to give anything up (food bowl, furniture, pens, etc.) you need to give her a higher value treat.  She steals a pen from the table, you give her a cookie and she will give it up.  She is on the couch, you tell her to get off and give her praise.  If she won't get off, you give her a treat to get her off.  You DO NOT attempt to push her off.  And NEVER try to pick her up.  She can jump in your lap, which she will, but don't go up to her bed and attempt to pick her up.  A dog sitter's boyfriend almost got bit doing that.  She and I warned him.

Anyway I think she is prepped.  She has dogs so she knows most of the drill.

Until tomorrow...

EYE UPDATE

Since last week when I hurt my eye, my bottom eye lid has been twitching. It doesn’t hurt or even bother me. I don’t feel it but I see it when I look in the mirror. It looks weird. Like my lower lid has a heart beat.

Today I called my eye doctor’s office to see what is going on. Turns out the antibiotic drops are probably drying my eye out. When my eyes dry out I have had this twitching before on my upper lid. The Sjogrens disease makes my eyes so dry already and these drops are drying them out even more. Luckily I only need them for one more day then I am done.

Until tomorrow...

FOOD STORE

Have you ever gone to the food store with the intent to go food shopping? You have your food shopping list ready. You have your shopping bags in the car. But then you get the store parking lot and maybe there is no parking spots or it looks crowded. Or maybe you just decide you have no desire to go food shopping that day.

That is what happened to me today. Late in the afternoon I finally got myself together and got out the door. I drove to the food store. The parking lot was moderately full but there were spots but I drove in one entrance and drove out another. I had no desire to food shop. I went home and took a wonderful hot bath instead. Shopping can wait another day.

Until tomorrow...

HAIRCUT AND OLIVE GARDEN

Today I went to see my foster son.  We went to get him a haircut.  I found a place nearby to cut his hair on short notice.  It was a good haircut and he was happy.  After that we went to Olive Garden.  Since I became vegan I have avoided Olive Garden because I didn't think they would have anything for me to eat.  Turns out I was wrong.  I was able to eat the salad (no dressing), minestrone soup, bread sticks, and pasta with marinara.  I had the soup, salad and bread sticks all you can eat.  I didn't eat very much.

I was surprised about Olive Garden.  I always assumed I would only be able to eat the salad.

The painter had to come by and clean some paint drippings off the neighbor's deck railing.  Despite me checking it when the painters were done, there were some paint markings on the railing.  It might have been some animal like a cat that walked through the paint and jumped on the railing.  Or maybe a leaf with some paint on it fluttered across the railing.  It is now fixed and the neighbor's realtor is happy again.  

Until tomorrow...

ALARM

Today the alarm company came and did some work.  I added some sensors to my windows that are more easily accessible.  I had him restick the sensor that the painter's tore off.  He did some other stuff and now the system works more smoothly.

He was a really nice guy and was super helpful.

Until tomorrow...

JULY FOURTH

I decided not to do anything on July 4th.  No party or barbecue.  I had things to do around the house and I wanted to get them done.  Laundry, clean the grill, and pick up around the house.  Then as a bonus Happi threw up on my bed so I had to clean that up and wash my comforter. 

Now that I had a clean grill I decided to grill myself a vegan burger, cauliflower and brocolini.  It was a delicious meal. 

Until tomorrow...

POST EYE ER VISIT

I woke up this morning and my eye was puffy. Not puffy enough to head to a doctor or the ER. I called both my primary doctor and my eye doctor.

My eye doctor's office called back and the doctor is on vacation. The opthalmologist said the same thing as the ER doctor: come in if it gets worse.

I put my drops in but I had to go on a long drive and I am not sure if that effected my eye or not. I did clear the drive with the ER doctor who said it would be okay.

Tonight my eye feels horrible. It feels like it has been scratched. I have not touched it.

Here is a sample of what I think a part of flew into my eye.

Let's see how I feel tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

DOCTOR I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE

Today I was at my clients and we were talking about this time last year. Well this time last year, on July 4th, was when I stepped back and fell and got a concussion in front of all my party attendees. Great fun! We were saying how I had three things happen this year so I was done: concussion, car accident and fall where I fractured my wrist and tore my rotator cuff.  I was good for another year!

I guess I jinxed myself or something. At 5:15pm I took Happi outside to pee and something flew into my eye. I hurt. No, it really hurt. Like a knife in my eye. When my eye was open it didn’t hurt but if I blinked, oh boy, that HURT.

I came inside and tried to get it out and rinse it out. I was careful not to rub it. No luck. I called my eye doctor but they were closed. The answering service attempted to get a hold of the doctor to no avail. So off to the emergency room I go (at the doctor’s office insistence).

My hospital had an upgrade recently so I was getting to see the new ER. Swanky! There are two rooms just for eye and ear injuries. Makes you wonder how many eye and ear injuries there have to be to get there own examine rooms.

It was in and out very quickly. 2 hours. They looked in my eye and saw a foreign body in my eye immediately. The doctor came in, numbed me and “did it the old fashioned way” by tilting my head back and using a q-tip to swipe it out.  He said I will have a small cut where it was (imbedded) for a few days but I will be fine. He gave me some antibiotic drops to use three times a day.

Guess what it was? Plant matter. Something from a tree or something. My tree is sending out little seedlings right now so it could have been a small piece of that. It was very breezy.

Anyway it hasn’t effected my vision just my blinking ability. I’m sure I will be 100% in a day or two.

Until tomorrow...

ORENCIA IS APPROVED

Well, it can be done!  I got a letter today stating that The-insurance-company-who-will-not-be-named has reconsidered and approved my appeal for Orencia.Orencia is a RA drug that is not a biologic like Enbrel.  I can not take Enbrel because I got meningitis while on Enbrel.  While I was researching my appreal, I found articles written about other people on biologic medicines who also got meningitis.  There was also another article that clearly stated that once a person got meningitis on a biologic, the person should never go back on that same type of biologic because the risk is too great.

Now I just have to wait for the doctor to send the prescription to the pharmacy and Voila!  I will be on Orencia.  I just have to see what the co-pay for this drug is going to be.  But today I celebrate.

Until tomorrow...