On and on and on and ......

I know my blogs have been spread over weeks instead of days, but I think I have a good excuse :).

I last reported that I was slowly getting my meds straightened out and allergic reactions cleared up and that's true. But... as usual lately, I had more symptoms show up that were confusing at first. Here's saga number 1,000,00....?

Just as I got some reactions cleared up and some infections cleared up I began to have quite a pinched nerve in my back. I even developed a steady headache that wouldn't go away so I was off to the chiropractor for a much needed adjustment. several days later when I got no relief I went back for another one and still it was no better. Now this was odd since usually one adjustment got things back in place and I could go about my days, but not this time.

After another day I realized my right foot felt like I had a spinter in it but I couldn't find one and hadn't been barefoot at all anyway. By that night I asked my husband to look at my foot (I'm not bending so easily at this stage anymore) and he saw a few red spots in a patch. Since I couldn't find a splinter and hadn't been in an ant pile I couldn't figure it out. Next day there were more and they began to look like white blisters under the skin. Maybe another reaction to something?
Pretty soon my whole foot was blistered and felt like I had cactus or glass shards in each of them and I sure as the dickens couldn't even touch the floor it hurt so bad. My back still hurt and the nerves down the back of my leg still burned and hurt and the blisters had me worried so I went in to my doctor for a look see.

By then the blisters had apparently burst under the skin and looked more like blood blisters and bruised patches. The doctor decided I probably had shingles and they cut one of the blisters open for a culture. I found out that the headache, the back and leg nerve pain and the blisters were all symptoms of shingles which is a herpes virus caused by the chicken pox virus. Anyone who has had chickenpox or the vaccine can get it but it is most commonly triggered in people with low immune symptoms like me. Since I'm on anti rejection medication for my transplanted kidney I am more suseptable to infections and illnesses anyway.

I was glad to find out what it is but it has been debilitating and kept me at home and off my feet and on pain meds for almost two weeks already. The doctor was surprised because it started showing first on the bottom of my foot instead of on my back or upper torso. Of course that shouldn't be too surprising since I seem to always do things backwards or weird medically all the time. I don't have normal simple colds or flu's, I skip 'Go' and go directly to 'Jail' (hospital or bed). Why fool around with the everyday stuff when there is more to experience? :)

I can actually touch the floor today, after taking my Vicodan that is, and sort of hop around without the crutches for a short distance. Yea!!!

Today I had a nice distraction because my granddaughter, Mariah spent the day with me and we did her homeschooling assignments her mom sent and then we did some painting together before her daddy picked her up this evening. We had lunch and supper together and she and her grandpa, my husband, played and teased each other insesantly. We all had a grand time.

Amber, my daughter, has been such a big blessing through all of this. Yesterday and today she drove me to doctor appointments and blood tests and trips to the pharmacy for my meds and even vacummed my living room for me twice and watered my house plants. I am glad Mariah and I could give her a little break from being teacher for a day at least.

Now I'm going to bed and get off my feet (foot) and rejuvinate after a full day so I won't put pictures up this time. Sorry, I know that's boring but maybe next time.

Thought for the Day:
There's one thing about pain and illness, when it's over even a cloudy day feels like sunshine and green meadows and rejoicing isn't work at all!
rjm