Close Calls at the 'Bob household

Rheumatoid and The Girl
For the last year or so, The Girl has had the misfortune of having a case of swollen knuckles. They come and go and are usually accompanied by some strange red “lumps” around the knuckles as well. It seems that during the Winter has been the worst, and finally this time around we decided that it was getting scary enough that she should seek medical advice on the matter.

This was made scarier by the mention of Rheumatoid Arthritis by the lady that caught sight of them when she was renewing her Birth Control.

We don’t currently have insurance, because… well, we don’t fall ill often and we tend to heal. And we’re legitimately together, so it’s not like we’re scared of coming up with Genital Warts or something, and the cost of insurance is still high, especially when you consider that you still have to shell out the dough for Co-Pay when you visit the doctor. I mean, wtf, really. You pay insurance, so that you can visit the doctor, and pay again. Seriously, I think something’s amiss here.

Plus, the last time I saw a doctor was for a routine physical, where I caught something and damn near died 3 days later, so yeah, no thanks I think I’ll stay the f*ck away from all the sick people.

Anyway, $157 dollars later and we were waiting on a phone call for the results of the blood work. And spending free time researching information on – and treatments for – the disease.



Early Call
We were expecting to be called no earlier than Saturday (today) but more than likely have it put off until Monday. Yesterday however, she got the call while I was at work. It came back negative.

Which is both great news and a little, tiny bit of a bummer. Because, if it’s NOT RA, then what the hell is it? It’s got to be an allergy to something, but god knows what, right? I’m currently thinking it might have something to do with her coffee regimen. No, seriously. During the Winter, she drinks more of it (and all the strange stuff she adds to it). She also had some flare-ups in late spring, near finals for that ending semester at school, during which time she was drinking coffee more heavily again.

It doesn’t seem to be a topical thing as much as an internal thing, so I’m sticking to dietary items, but there’s also the idea that it’s related to the flocking on the inside of the dishwashing gloves, though I doubt it. What else could it be? I’m thinking that perhaps a call to the family doctor (read: Daddy Dr. Stepdaddy) is in order.

Hopefully it’s not too early.



Silver Lining imagined, disintegrates
One good side to the RA thing was that it would be a legitimate reason to not have kids. Why don’t you guys have kids? Because she has a disease that appears to be at least partially hereditary. Would put a quick stop to all that discussion rather quick.

C’est la vie. It was not meant to be, though. Kids are still on the table. Damn.