Waiting...

So, at the beginning of treatment, I was on steroids, methatrexate, and hydroxychloroquine. The last two listed take 3-4 months to build up and have an effect on your system, so the steroids were to help me get through those 3-4 months. Through this period, I was working 4 days a week. Thankfully, my principal was very understanding and I also had a set of subs that were willing to help me out weekly. Taking Wednesdays off was perfect - I worked myself ragged Mon/Tues, recouperated Weds on the couch while I did school work, worked myself ragged again Thur/Fri and spent the entire Saturday on the couch. I was teaching a course for the first time last year. My sister, who teaches the same subject I do, would come over on the weekends and read the textbook to me and quiz me - I was too weak to hold the book while lying down. I questioned whether I should still work. I still felt like I had to "use it or lose it" with my muscles. Was I hurting the kids by being absent so much? Perhaps, but the alternative at this point in the year would be to get a sub (untrained to teach the courses I was teaching) for at least the rest of the semester, if not for the whole year. The principal agreed that having me there for 4 days a week was better than the alternative. The kids ended up doing great on their exams, so in the end I think they were OK! After my mom left, my co-workers took over with providing meals for my family. That was such a huge help! The steroids made me HUNGRY! This was over the holidays, too. I could not fill up. Needless to say, I gained some weight. At about month 3 or so, my face was hurting from swelling from the steroids, but they were a necessary evil. I was so happy when I was put on steroids because I could walk better and last longer through the day, but I was even more happy at the end of the steroid treatment!