Chirley, I hope the surgeon you talked to yesterday will come through. Not doing the surgery doesn't sound like a very good option.
I would not look forward to another meeting with that Professor....and yes, everything affects everything else. Everything is connected. We have no idea whether copper is even implicated in Bruce's anemia. The family doctor thinks that Bruce's liver is the prime culprit. No real easy way to fix that.
At this point, after a year and a half of uncertainty about the diagnosis (!), I do think that living life as best you can, including shopping for a new handbag
is the best revenge.
It's interesting about how trials work there -- if I'm understanding you correctly. I wouldn't be interested in a $1200 blood test either. Here, if they use you as a guinea pig, they foot the bill. But our system here isn't grand and glorious either -- there's lots we have to pay for, even with insurance.
Hugs,