I've been being bounced from specialist to specialist, having all sorts of tests done and leaving a lot of doctors scratching their heads. Today, FINALLY, after almost 3 months of looking for answers, I have some. I saw a neurologist again today, and he had the wisdom to call in the shoulder specialist (who was conveniently in the next room.) The shoulder guy knew what was wrong before he even walked in the door; apparently I am having a common yet uncommon side effect of the lymph node biopsy.

I definitely have nerve damage from the surgery, and it is possibly very severe. Some of the muscles in my shoulder girdle are simply not working at all (hence the lack of mobility), and others are in a world of pain and tension from the damage (hence the pain.) I may end up with nerve exploration surgery and possibly tendon grafts (hugely major shoulder nerve reconstruction stuff) at the Cleveland Clinic or another big medical center in another city (very few surgeons do those types of surgery.) Right now I am on huge doses of prednisone for 2 weeks (hello, crazy!) and I have another electromyography (needles in the muscles again! How wonderful!) scheduled for the 30th. I see the shoulder specialist again on May 5 (right before I leave for Spirit) to see what the big picture and plan are.

I'm terrified and still in huge amounts of pain (the kind that makes you scream), but thrilled that someone finally knows what the hell is going on. The last week has been sheer hell in both pain and mobility; driving is really difficult and even getting dressed is a challenge.

I am trying to get merchandise sewn for Spirit of the Tribes - it isn't easy, but I am pretty much dead broke and about to start selling off my personal treasures. Not really sure how I am going to manage the luggage on the flight to Florida though! I will probably be limited to one suitcase since I can't actually carry/pull more than that. I plan to vend at Tribal Revolution, come hell or high water. I submitted my henna party for Pennsic, but other than those things I am keeping my schedule pretty open. Was hoping to vend at TribOriginal again but just can't afford any more deposits right now.