It's been baby piranhas this week....

You know how piranhas (fish) just devour their victims?  Well I can imagine that baby ones just nip and bite and nibble at you.  That’s the way I’ve felt this past week.  All the nips and nibbles are just a total aggravation!

I had somewhat of an allergy that would have ordinarily caused sneezing and a runny nose.  I know how to treat allergies – had them all my life.  But this Mekinist dries everything out, so it just turned my sinuses into a glue factory.  I thought I was getting my annual sinus infection, so the doctor gave me an antibiotic. I don’t know if it really helped or not It didn’t act like the typical sinus infection.  But then there is nothing typical about my life anymore anyway. I was also taking Mucinex DM to open up my sinuses so they would drain – didn’t really help.  If I were up and moving around, my nose would open up.  If I sat down or lay down, my nose would plug shut.  You might try nose breathing under ordinary circumstances, but not while taking Mekinist, which already dries your mouth out so bad your tongue sticks to the bottom of your mouth, literally!  Guy kept telling me how badly I was snoring at night.  I’ve never been a snorer. But he recorded me one night, and it was absolutely SHOCKING!!  At one point, I asked, “Did I die?!?!” because there was such a long time with no sound whatsoever, and then this gigantic SNORT!  SLEEP APNEA!!!!  No wonder I feel so tired all day!  Since I cracked that last rib, I’ve not been able to sleep on either side, so I only slept on my back.  Well, now I can’t sleep on my back.  There is nothing left except to sleep sitting up. I’d do a bunch of leg exercises until my nose opened; then I’d quickly jump in bed in hopes of getting to sleep before my nose plugged again.   Guy finally talked me into using Sinex 12-hr nasal spray.  I’ve avoided all those nasal sprays like the plague all my life, because I heard such awful things about getting attached to them – with the rebound affect.  Guy said he used it and didn’t get any rebound.  I was desperate enough finally, and used it before going to bed.  Ahhhh…..breathing again!  It worked pretty well all night long.  Sleeping sitting up with your nose unplugged is not bad – until your back starts to hurt. You remember that spot about 2” radius on my back that was shingles?  After lying propped up about so long that spot goes to aching.  I’ve got a little travel pillow I put on the other side of my back, and that sometimes helps a bit.  But the bottom line is, me, who has never had any trouble sleeping, is having trouble sleeping.  L  Sometimes during the day, when I have trouble napping because of plugged nose, I even use the Snex during the day. Oh, yes, I do!

Early last week my right eye was swollen and red.  Guy said, “You’ve got pink eye.  When our cows would get pink eye, they would go blind.”  Oh, thank you very much!  So, I went to the walk-in clinic, and sure enough, she said I had pink eye, and gave be drops to use twice a day.  She also said to use Flonase nose spray and an antihistamine – like Allegra.  That has helped a bit with the plugged issue, but now my nose wants to run all the time. That wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for the big sores left in both sides of my nose (after the fever blisters) that cause 3-5 nose bleeds daily, and at least one in the night. (I should have bought stock in Puffs tissues!)  

Also, because of my terrible dry skin, the areas of my fingertips, beside the nails, have cracked. Right now, I have one on my 1^stfinger of my right hand and one on my left ring finger.  

I have two more trying to break down.  I’ve used about every kind of lotion known to man.  My sister suggested a cream used by breast feeding mothers. I’ll look for that the next tine I’m in Walgreens. These aren’t just ordinary cracks.  They swell up, turn red, and are extremely painful.  If I accidently bump one, it almost brings tears. I keep Bacitracin and bandaids on them. Needless to say. it has brought my hand applique to a screeching halt.  I was going gangbusters on this one.

I started out trying the author’s method of applique where you sew a light weight interfacing to the front of the piece, cut a slit in it (interfacing) turn it and stitch it down.  I just couldn’t get my curves nice and smooth that way, so I reverted back to my way – needle turn where I can get my curves smooth and my points pointed.  But of course this requires all my fingers to be in tip top shape with no open areas. I was watching Alex Anderson today do a demonstration on appliqué.  She was using this author's method. as her preferred method.  She said she never could learn to needle-turn.  I thought, "Wow!  There is something I can do that Alex Anderson can't do!" 

We won’t talk about the “dia#$%$#” word that has caused a “hem@%##@” UGH!

My appetite is still in the tank.  I’ve lost about 35 lbs.  When you have hardly any saliva, it is very hard to chew meat and lots of other dry things. It seems that all tastes are intensified, so spicy foods are SPICY foods – and tend to give me heart burn.

I just bought a case of Colorado peaches that need to be put up in the freezer.  Thank goodness for disposable gloves!  These peaches are SOOOO good.  I thought when I left Alabama, I’d never get another good peach, but there is this one place in CO that produces them, and I get a case every year.

One thing about having this eye trouble, I can’t really read much for any length of time, so I’ve been catching up on The Quilt Show programs with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims and my Audible books. My vision is blurry and everything has a shadow (see double).  Hope that clears up soon.

Have you ever owned or felt a Dooney and Bourke pebble leather hand bag? They are beautiful and very sturdy handbags.  I just love them – never wear out and look just like they did the day you bought them. That is the best way I know to describe my skin in places – across by shoulders and all of my back.  Perhaps it is not quite as dry as that leather, but it comes close.  The pharmacist said that 87% of the people on this drug have skin issues.  Thank goodness for my trusty backscratcher!!! 

Thankfully, most of my rashes have subsided.

Mark’s golden retriever, Abby, finally got better, and Amy got home and came by to get her. Mark got home the next day and sent pictures that she was doing well.  That’s a concern off my mind.

I don’t know if this is a side effect of Mekinist, but I’m cold all the time – more than I used to be..  I don’t mean just cool.  I mean long-sleeve shirt, and a sweat shirt over that.  And sometimes sitting with a blanket over me.  In the SUMMER!  I can’t even enjoy my crop pants and sandals!  That is not fair!!  Most days I spend time out on the deck soaking in the sun. 

I sit out there and enjoy all the many shades of green.

Or the big ole thunderheads that form.

 It seems to me that 74 degrees in this house here is not the same as 74 degrees in the Alabama house.  I don’t know what brand of HVAC this house has, but it is a jim-dandy one!  When it blows out cold air, you know it. Especially in my bathroom.  There is a long vent right under the sink.  You can’t shut it off like most vents. I have a rolled up towel stuffed against it and my bathroom rug, and it still gushes out of there.  You cannot get your face washed and teeth brushed fast enough while it is off. I bought a magnetic thing-a-ma-jig that is supposed to go over it and shut is down, but I’d have to lay on the floor to measure and cut to fit, and I just haven’t done that yet.  The same thing is in the kitchen – right under the sink.  The one in the bedroom, I just have a plastic bag of clothes sitting on it, and it still manages to eek out into the room.  The basement is a whole other story!  Aye-yi-yi!  You could hang meat down there!!  Guy’s got a plan for down there as soon as his carpenter friend can come help him.  He built new steps to go from the hallway into the garage, and now you can just walk right up them instead of having to climb into the house.  What a pleasure that is!!  And it has a handrail, too.  Anyway, Guy is the hot-bod.  He’s in a t-shirt and shorts sitting in front of his fan.  Oh, that makes me shiver just thinking about it!! At night, Guy has a sheet with his feet out and a fan directly in his face.  I have a sheet, 2 blankets, the bedspread, and another blanket – and a sweatshirt over my PJ top.  The thermostat automatically turns the temperature down 2 degrees for the night. When I take my shoes and socks off to get into bed, my feet are ice cold – not just cold – ICE cold!!!  I have these thick, fuzzy socks I have to put on.  I really don’t like the feel of socks on in bed, but I can’t sleep with cold feet.

I’ve had these two scabs on my upper forehead with redness and scaling on my forehead.  

I bumped one of those scabs this morning, and it fell off.  I thought, “Oh, no!”, but it is just red underneath it – SOME healing going on it would seem .  

These seen to just be superficial, and the one left is just dried oozing that occurs occasionally.  The area on my cheek has not changed all that much.  I think there is a little nodule just above where they took the biopsy.  

I guess this Mekinist is continuing to work. It is a least keeping it from getting much worse – I think.  I am concerned about this next CT scan – the 21^stof Aug.  If the mutation is doing this on the outside where I can see, it really makes me wonder what is going on on the inside, where I can’t see – aka liver and lungs.  I’m trying not to cross that bridge before I get there.

But in spite of all, I really don’t feel all that bad, and I’m still walking each evening!!  Annie sees to that.  She sits and stares at me, then whines, then eventually barks and paws at the back of the lid of my laptop.  She doesn’t take no for an answer.  The batteries are shot on our scooters, so I can’t cheat and ride.  That’s good – I need the exercise.

Well, I’m sorry I haven’t given you much to giggle about this go round…..maybe next time.

And as always…..I’m in His hands…..