Aches, Pains and Hope

Last week I started having neck pains throughout the day. They mostly shot up the right side of my neck, but sometimes it felt like my spine was tightening. Now it has turned into a sharp pain in my right ear. I am hoping it's just an ear infection.

The pain really concerns me because I am convinced I have blood clots. I have had random aches and pains since 2004. (Wow. Just writing that makes me sad. That was so long ago.)

The problem with being undiagnosed is that I assume the doctors can't help me when problems arise. I mean, if I go to a doctor with my current list of health issues and they can't find a cure, how will they find a cure for any new ailments? I don't think they can.

Finally, FINALLY I am going to be a patient at Johns Hopkins. I have been waiting for this day for years. When my health problems first started, I went to the emergency room of a local hospital. They could only run emergency tests because I had an out of state HMO. They couldn't find anything wrong so I went to some doctors and had tests run. Nothing. I called Johns Hopkins and asked if they took my insurance and they said yes. I had to wait until the beginning of the next month to apply as a patient. When the time rolled around I was told they didn't take it. I cried before I could even hang up the phone.

I lost my insurance at the end of the year and was uninsured until I got my first "Full-Time" (with benefits) job. I had a lot of tests done locally until being fed-up and calling Hopkins to register as a patient. It took a couple of months for me to get records sent from all of my doctors and for them to review my chart etc. I have been booked for this appointment since August. I really hope the doctor is able to help me.