Day One of Round Two

7:30 a.m. Neuro-Opthamalogy & Biopsy of Eye. Not as bad as I feared.

Then I went to Infectious Disease. All tests from Round One were non-diagnostic (i.e., they don't have a clue). Looks to him like a Fungal Infection of unknown origin and type. He ordered more tests.

So I then went and gave blood (lots of blood--both arms, several vials and bottles). Then I went for another Lumbar Puncture. Not fun. Having had two LPs in Louisville and two at Mayo--I'd rather have the LPs in Louisville. I thought I was a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a few minutes. I confessed I was a spy.

Then I saw my neurologist who said "You are a puzzle." Bottom line: He is sending me to what Katherine is calling the "uber-specialist" in neuropathology. The neurologist says he has to refer one or two patients a year to this "uber-specialist".

Meanwhile, they are testing the blood, spinal fluid and rechecking an old CT scan of my chest.

I get to come back to Mayo for Round Three in November

Questions: "When can I start treatment?" Answer: "When you get a diagnosis." The treatment for sarcoidosis is steroids which if it is a fungal infection would feed the infection, probably killing me. The treatment for fungal infection of the brain needs to be tailored to the fungus and all treatments are toxic and if it is sarcoidosis would do nothing to help me. So--I wait.