Through Rain and Gloom

It’s another one of those weeks when I have a cluster of medical appointments. And they involve a lot of driving. Monday dawned with a deluge of rain, which made the prospect of driving into Boston yesterday morning all the more delightful. Wednesday, the next double appointment day, will at least be sunny.

Both ways yesterday, the driving was intense. Visibility in the worst of the Nor’easter downpour (at least without snow, thank goodness) was about ten car-lengths. And, of course, there were some geniuses on the Mass Pike who chose to ignore all the electronic signs that observed that “wipers on means headlights on” and oh, by the way, this is the law.

The one big blessing in all this was that traffic was not nearly as heavy as usual, perhaps because people are taking off for the holidays ahead of time, or because they were smart enough to stay home. Despite all the rain, I was able to make the drive in a little over an hour, even driving below the speed limit.

I could have canceled and stayed home. But appointments are hard to come by, there’s never a convenient time, and I didn’t want to wait another few months to reschedule.

Most importantly, it was good to have my dental check-up and learn that my teeth have not resorbed more. It was also good to see my wonderful cardiologist, who gave me an A+ on my ECG and said my Type II pulmonary hypertension seems to be well-c0ntrolled with my current medication. There’s no cure for it, but I’m holding steady. And I need to exercise more. I know, I know. I will try to do better.

I was tired when I got home, but I made it safely and got the reassurances I needed that all is well, all things considered. Worth driving in a deluge.

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

Image: Jessica Knowlden