I’ve really got to figure out how to best do my posts. It’s Tuesday, late Tuesday and here I am, writing about Monday. What can I say? I tend to be a late night writer…something that I did as a kid, too – I was always “burning the midnight oil” as my parents used to say, reading late or finishing up homework. Regardless – I do enjoy writing late and doing a recap of the current day – so maybe that’s just something I’ll need to trend towards or figure out a balance for the future.
Let’s just say, my Tuesday was GREAT! Stay tuned…(tomorrow).
Anyway – Monday was largely uneventful, and I was up incredibly early because I actually fell asleep – laptop propped on my lap and all – writing the previous days’ post. I know, I know. So if it ended abruptly, it’s not you, it’s me. I just needed to extricate myself from the recliner and go to bed. Working backwards, Monday evening I played pool (billiards not swimming). And Monday evening, I lost my match – but I had a fun opponent and a good time. It was close in the end, and she only beat me by 1 or 2 balls. Oh well. Thankfully the rest of my team did awesome and overall the team took the win. It’s fun cheering for my friends, even if my voice is super muffled in double masks (one of which is a surgical grade N95).
Before that, it was a hike at Bent Creek, where I enjoyed some surprisingly empty trails (given the warm temps) and dinner was a mash-up of Annie’s Mac & Cheese with microwaved frozen veggies and tuna mixed in. Earlier in the day, I did more stuff around the house…some cleaning, a bit of journaling, and just generally setting myself up for the week.
This backwards stuff is hard!
Anyway…overall my body is doing well! The hydrocortisone has really helped my facial skin to feel less inflamed, red, rash-y and painful. I think the Zinc soap also helps. I won’t use hydrocortisone forever, but its good to know that when there’s a flare, I’ve got this as an option. Next week, I see my local dermatologist and I’m looking forward to discussing my options. Until then – it’s more of the same, along with plenty of sunscreen, metronidazole, nystatin, and petroleum jelly for the extra extra dry spots (usually around my eyebrow hair follicles).
Everything else, body wise…? Skin is still dry, so too are my eyes and mouth, so really nothing has changed there. One thing that I’ve noticed, is how weak the tips of my finger nails are; multiple times over the past week or two, I’ve been doing something – fiddling with the case to charge my phone, or pulling on compression socks – and I’ve bent a nail half-way back. This typically is followed by lots of cursing and four letter words. On the upside, my nails are growing faster in general and I think that’s a sign of my body returning to a more healthy, post-transplant state. I suppose this means I just need to trim my nails more and after everything I’ve been through, it’s not that big of a deal. Other stuff – hair is growing daily (as I write, even!) – it’s still very duckling fuzzy, but it’s filling in. Personally, I’m still an Annie Lennox or Sinead O’Connor, and that’s OK.
Alright – that’s about all I can think of for now. It’s late, yada yada yada. Have a great mid-week Everyone!
The Art of Transplant 