Mom’s A/C has been fixed. A handsome young repairman showed up at 9:30 a.m. with a big smile, looked the kaput unit over and discovered that whoever installed it, new, last summer had neglected to do so correctly. They’d left some “plugs” in place despite stickered warnings all over the innards of the A/C unit not to do so. As a result, water had built up inside instead of draining away, and according to the repairman, “you’re lucky the whole thing didn’t short out and burn up.”

Indeed.

He removed the plugs, drained the water, and restarted our air conditioner. It’s 74 degrees Fahrenheit in here again. The young cats went back to chasing each other up and down the stairs; PIB watched from his perch on the arm of the recliner. Mom put her long-sleeved shirt back on and cuddled into the wooly throw on the sofa. I wished for 68 degrees but told myself to be content. 74 is so much cooler than 91. I’m counting my blessings.

In other news, my RA and bursitis are both doing their best to make me dispirited and grumpy. The RA is keeping my hands (and random other joints) stiff, swollen and sore. The bursitis pain is constant, making me gimp around, muttering under my breath and suppressing groans as I walk. Even if it hadn’t been so bloody hot the last several nights, the pain from both conditions would have kept me rolling and tossing instead of sleeping.

There is hope, though. I see my rheumatologist tomorrow morning. I’m curious to know how my most recent blood tests came out, because I can feel a lot of inflammation all over my body. Will my sed rate be elevated, or will it be “normal,” making me feel like an idiot? I’m hoping that Dr. McA will have a couple of minor miracles up his white-coated sleeves. And if miracles are not forthcoming, perhaps he’ll at least trot out some different meds. I’m not sure that there are more DMARDs out there I haven’t already tried, but I know there are several biologics.

Frightening, really.

I’m also going to ask about taking another prednisolone taper for the bursitis. Taking the stuff scares me, but it did help when I took it a few months ago, at least temporarily. I wonder, too, if the same drug in a different dosage schedule (the last one I took tapered for seven days) might relieve both the bursitis and the RA pain? Do I have a moon-face, a buffalo hump and weight gain (sigh) in my future?

We’ll see.