My very first open house was today, and while it was not a mad crush, it was definitely worth my time and effort. I had a few lookie-loos, and a couple people who were seriously looking for places and who paid close attention to the details on my business cards. All morning it was foggy and a little bit chilly, as I set out the signs and the big feather flag advertising the open house, and did a little prep work inside. Right at noon, right as my official hours started, the fog bank cleared, and you could see all the way to the snow-capped mountains. It was terrific. I loved holding the house open, getting to talk to people who wanted to have a conversation about real estate. I will be looking for opportunities to do this again, in the very near future.
It did wear me out, standing for three hours, and then rushing to gather all of my supplies before racing back to town for my massage that I couldn't postpone. It took the first half hour I was there for my muscles to calm down enough to work on. The good news was that my therapist has experience working on people who have lupus, and he was very sensitive to how I was reacting to everything during this flare-up. I was quite pleased to tell him that I have doctor's orders to come see him as often as I can afford. Now if the above-mentioned house hunters actually call me and hire me, I will be able to afford to see ol' Slow Hand at least twice a month for a while. Just like last time I saw him, he told me amazingly cool stories from his lifetime, but unfortunately for me I was so exhausted before, during, and after my session, I've forgotten all of them, even the one I said "I'd love to use that in a work of fiction" about.
Ever since that first googling session Wednesday night, I'm learning a lot about what lupus is and what the diagnosis means for me. Currently I'm still cataloging my life and comparing it to the symptoms on the list. Hair falling out? First thing I saw a doc for when we moved to North Carolina over twenty years ago. Shortness of breath? I've complained that I can't run anymore and now can barely sing (a tragedy for me) for sixteen years, since the last stint in Oklahoma. Dizziness? I was so dizzy two years ago that I pushed my regular South Carolina doc to send me for an MRI, and we discovered absolutely nothing. Frequent low-grade fevers for no goddamn reason? THIS IS A THING? IT WASN'T IN MY MIND ALL ALONG? I wish I'd known that for the last three decades. And it's also not in my imagination that my eyes are drying out and itching all the freaking time. All of these things were pointing in the same direction, but changing doctors every year or so meant that no one ever put the pieces together. I don't know how I got so lucky that this new doc knew enough to test, but I will be eternally grateful. The diagnosis sucks, but that pales in comparison to finally having an answer.
I think I may spend the next week or so writing things down, so I have a chart for a rheumatologist. I am assuming I'll be getting to know one soon.
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