We got to chat for about two and a half hours on Thursday night. Her tests came back negative for everything they searched for - so no Lyme Disease, no cancer, no heart issues, no MS, no blood clots, no strokes, nothing. She got a clean bill of health.
We will likely never know what happened to cause her symptoms. They were completely gone as of Monday the 25th. She had a follow-up appointment on Wednesday with a very arrogant and condescending neurologist who insisted that it was a panic attack and that "it must be a hard diagnosis to hear, but I'll write a prescription for the necessary psychiatric help." Then this lady begrudgingly admitted that "the only other possibility" was that she was physically overworked and got some kind of spring virus, which shut her body down when she was trying to fight it off.
The thing is, I've seen my friend have panic attacks in years past, and she NEVER had those symptoms back then. She also has not had nearly that much anxiety in her life in a very long time.
So she and I are both willing to bet that what happened to her was a combination of these two suggestions - she was dealing with a delayed fear reaction to almost losing her dad back in November, and she probably came down with the flu after her husband got it early this month, and she didn't have the physical capacity to fight it off. This we can understand. But all one or all the other... we don't buy that.
The point is, she's improving every day and has not been hit with anything life-altering, for which I am most grateful. Thanks to all of you again for sending good thoughts her way.