This single clock-drawing test answered so much: in addition to the numbness on the left side, it explained the paranoia, the seizures, and the hallucinations. It might even account for my imaginary bedbugs, since myābitesā occurred on my left arm. Ruling out schizoaffective disorder, postictal psychosis, and viral encephalitis and taking into account the high white blood cells in the lumbar puncture, Dr. Najjar had an epiphany: the inflammation was almost certainly the result of an autoimmune reaction, caused by my own body. But what type of autoimmune disease? There had been an autoimmune panel, which tests for only a small fraction of the hundred or so known autoimmune diseases, that had come back negative, so it couldnāt be one of those. Dr. Najjar then recalled a series of cases in the recent medical literature about a rare autoimmune disease that affects mostly young women that had come out of the University of Pennsylvania. Could that be it?
furosemide potassium dosage Nearly a week had gone by since I was admitted, but inside the hospital it was as if time didnāt exist. Stephen likened the atmosphere to Atlantic City, with beeping blood pressure monitors instead of slot machines and sad, sick patients instead of sad, sick gamblers. Like a casino, there were no clocks or calendars. It was a stabilized, static environment; the only thing that punctuated the time was the endless activity of the nurses and doctors. From what my family could tell, I had developed an affection for two of the nurses: Edward and Adeline. Nurse Edward, a burly guy with a warm smile, was the only man on a floor of all female nurses, and because of this, he was often mistaken for a doctor. He took it in stride, maintaining an extraordinarily cheery disposition, and joked with me about the Yankees and theNew York Post, his favorite newspaper. By contrast, Nurse Adeline, a middle-aged Filipino woman, was tigerishly efficient, a straight shooter who offered a healthy dose of discipline. Apparently she had a calming effect on me. But to his illiterate mother and self-taught father, Ejubās schooling came second to his household chores. Ejubās father frequently kept him at home to work the land. On those days, Ejub cried and begged to be let go.
