Reply #270: Now, wait. Take a breath, and read the links.

[knitter4democracy]

He's now faced with a bone marrow transplant, and you know how risky that is. I had a friend get one in eighth grade, and she died. It's not a definite thing.

Medicine's an art, not a science. You've said that your hubby's in ID and that you're a scientist as well. That's great--we need more people like you guys. ID's a hard part of medicine (figuring out the right weird disease out of a mass of odd symptoms isn't easy). It takes a soft touch and a real sense of how to read people well.

Not everyone here is vehemently supporting his decision, but many here understand that it's an agonizing one. Would you feel better if the state forced you to do something you didn't think was a good idea for your kids? What if they died in the process?

I am so very glad that you made it through your horrific situation and are doing so much better. What you faced is a scary, scary thing, and I can't even imagine just how awful it was for you and your family to go through. I'm glad that the treatment worked and that you're better. It had to be hard for your husband, to not be the patient or the doctor but to feel a need to help more somehow. It had to be even worse for you. :(

Everyone's experience in the medical system is different, though. I did almost all of the treatments the doctors gave me for my pain for ten years, and when I finally talked the specialist into trying surgery, it turned out the diagnosis had been wrong for ten years and was appendicitis. I'm married to an internist (nine years this summer), and no one ever thought it was my appendix. No wonder the treatments didn't work. That's why I say medicine's an art, and while standard protocols are there for a reason, that is also why there are other options.