Frapto 365

Ever since I was a kid, I suffered from sinus issues. From a deviated septum (that caused me to mouth-breathe), to the resulting orthodonture problems, to having my adenoids removed at age 9, and later sinus surgeries, my nose — and that hole in my head called my sinuses, have given me all kinds of trouble. Didn’t get my deviated septum fixed until my mid-twenties, and I was ever so excited to finally be able to kiss without holding my breath!

As a teen, my first ENT (one of my favorite doctors, no longer with us) showed me S-curve pictures of my septum and told me the left side of my nose was only good for hanging glasses off of. When I informed him I had perfect eyesight, he declared, “Well, it isn’t much good for anything, then, is it?”

These days, after three more recent procedures, tho I can breathe better, I am still having recurring sinus infections, and days of resulting migraines. Visited the ENT surgeon today to see if it is time to have that nasty cyst removed from my left sinus. Luckily for me, we are going to start on a round of allergy tests first, and see if we can at least stop the sinus pressure that causes this. Let’s hope I don’t have to give up too many of my favorite locales and foods in order to stop this cycle of pain!

images © Paula K. Wirth

Raynaud’s is a condition caused by the cold.  When your body is cold Raynaud’s causes your fingers and toes to lose circulation.  It is not that big of a deal unless your toes and fingers can’t warm up.  I discovered I had this 6 years ago, although my fingers had been losing color when cold for a long time, spots on my toes that would not go away had me asking why.  Turns out it was gangrene.  This winter caused the gangrene to show up again, worry sent me to the doctor, but I was told it would not spread and that I needed to do a better job keeping warm.  The irony is that I spent 22  years hating the heat and humitity of Florida and longing for snow and cold.  Had I never left Florida this would have never been discovered and my toes would not have black spots on them.

I went to the doctor’s and got vaccinated against the H1N1/09 influenza virus today.  There were surprisingly few people lining up to get their shot today, especially since there were stories of people waiting 4-5 hours in line just a couple weeks ago.

The vaccine is in the bigger purple-capped vial on the left, and the small yellow-capped vial on the right is the adjuvant, which boosts immune response.  The adjuvant was mixed with the vaccine right before my shot.  Each vial has 10 doses and can only be kept for 24 hours after the adjuvant is added.  I was vaccinated with a 27-gauge needle.

Now listening to: Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett on A Way With Words (a call-in show on language)