Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Last Night

Please let me DRONE on, yup, you read it right - I won't bore you, though, I promise, but there's little else to do.

Clothes Talk
I was at work, yeah, yeah, wearing another one of my pretty scrub tops and my patients were going oooh, and my co-workers were like, "Really, Cherie, you wear a size 0? Wow, I've never worn anything UNDER 14." We were not talking about my scrubs - just ordinary clothes, this time. I said, do you know that store called Petite over at Smithfield's? It's MY store, guys, nothing else. Everywhere else, I'll have to try the BIG GIRLS section first - that's MILD for Kid's Section. Well. I like to look good, and every woman SHOULD like to look good. It need not be expensive, but it's almost like the eleventh commandment for me. Come on, now.

Well, one of my favorite patients said to me, "Cherie I don't always admire what people wear around here, but I like your blouse." It was a nice compliment while I checked her pulse.

Rashes
Before going to work, though, we picked up a refill for my Prednisone (remember the poison ivy episode some posts back?) Well, my arms, yes, it's the arms this time, started itching yesterday afternoon, pretty much controlled by Hydrocortisone (Matthew even applied salt, encouraged by tales of my childhood post-caterpillar run-ins). I was fine. Until about 9:30. Boy, the itching! Aaron was kind enough to relieve me from 11:30 till 7 this morning. I said he could have the Hardee's chicken I brought for the staff. (Blanda, the black lady in my post SCRUBBED, made a coconut pie - yum - which I ate a slice of first before leaving.)

I am so tired of these rashes. I am allergic to Penicillin and Aspirin, and was wary of crustaceans growing up. I was found allergic to one brand of lipstick, and another of shampoo. God knows plenty of people irritate the skin out of me, but i'd never been allergic to plants. Aris said I should go for a patch test to see what this is this time. He's beginning to think something from work is doing it. Hah.

Back Home
The boys were bushed but after I showered, I stayed up and a friend came up on my Yahoo Messenger. Imagine my surprise when he said he has Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma of the Right Lung. We are both nurses. My instinct wanted to know how long - you know what I mean, because stage 4 lung cancer is incurable. Surgery is out of the question because this type metastasizes to the other organs (brain, liver, bones, etc.). Chemotherapy will offer palliative relief, but nothing more. So I offerred intercessory prayers. Please include him in yours, too, so at least when it's time to go, it won't be painful.

At 5:57 am
I woke up with an intense itch on my arms and ran to the bathroom to wash them with soap and water. I didn't bother with the cream this time but downed 3 pills of Prednisone. I've never encountered as bitter pills as these in my life, so I always take P with orange juice, and if there's none, I keep a spoonful of sugar ready (Mary Poppins is right about it making the medicine go down, no doubt about that.)

I started reading
Mr. Fleckenstein's blogs YESTERDAY so I'll be doing more of that today. I am very interested in how Americans view the Healthcare Reform Bill (with a thousand other names).

We'll go walking when it's not so hot. There was a nice fog over here, too, yesterday morning, we were on the lookout for deer crossing the roads.

Family: Matthew is playing with his friend Mario outside.

AJ is here: he is saying with doleful eyes: "Mom, look at me. I'm sad. I don't want Daddy going out." He is the dramatic actor of all time, and the sweetest, I tell him not to be sad, and give them the biggest hug.

The Daddy: is cleaning the Isuzu, our clunker car. He wants to get a truck if we eventually decide to cash in our old ride. It's good for short distance driving, though, and has served us well all these years, even in the harsh winters of Pittsburgh before we got our Pilot. I guess the bigger the families, the more diverse the needs, the more the priorities change no matter how attached we are to our properties. Well, a good converation piece over lunch between us later, that's for sure as we love all our stuff even the old ones.

I'm still miffed that I didn't get to see Robert Frost's House or maybe Daniel Webster's (gotta check this one out) while we were up in New Hampshire, and it does not help that my brother is ribbing me about going all the way to Connecticut in BAD weather to see Mark Twain's when RF's was right around the corner. Aaaaahhh!! I'll never live this out, but there's always something.

By the way, Mrs. Robin's NOT gone. She's been really busy feeding those big mouths - I am so wondering if the food is WORMS. Aris warns me (he is terribly protective and clearly the worrywart between us two) to keep a good distance because the mother bird he says is just hovering around but is wary of people and strangers, and the birds need to eat. So I am keeping away, and hoping they all get big and fat.

I'm really going now. Please don't say I bored you. Have a blessed Tuesday
!

17 comments:

happyone said...

I have had my share of poison ivy too. In recent years I seem to get rashes from some common ornamental grasses and some plants too. It looks just like poison ivy and itches the same and oozes too.
I have come across a product called
CalaGel which works wonders for me. It dries up the rash fast and helps with the itching.

java girl said...

Hello Cherie,

It is so very nice to meet you! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! I look forward to getting to know you in the future! You left a comment just in the nick of time too! I'm writting my list up for the drawing right now.

I think you blog is so fun and your family is darling! I will be dropping by often!

May God richly bless you and your family!

betchai said...

oh, i am so sorry to hear that your allergies are still there Che, it seems it has been long now, and the itch, gosh, i do not know which one is better. i have allergies, but i don't usually have the itch, my allergies are more into breathing , but i just spray my nose or my mouth and i am fine.

i am glad the mom bird is back feeding her babies.

java girl said...

Well Cherie,

Who knew that I would be back over here at your darling blog so soon! You are the winner of my "Dog Day's of Summer" Target gift certificate giveaway!

If you would email me your address so that I can get this in the mail to you!!! I hope you find many bargains while you are shopping at Target with your gift card!

My email is ksjavagirl (at) gmail (dot) com

Have a happy day!!

cherie said...

Hello, Ms. Happyone! I'm trying to see if you had an email somewhere, if so, would it be okay if I asked you for it? Thank you, Ma'am, I don't even know what these rashes are anymore - they're pinprick when I don't scratch. I'll get that CalaGel, for sure. Everything that works is perfect to me. I attract rashes like magnet i think I'm developing some kind of tolerance to Cortisone already. ): Thank you so much for th visit and the information!

cherie said...

Hello there, SimpleBeauty! Haha - you can imagine how happy I am! We're all excited in the house, I had to show them all! Thank you so much for the gift card! What a wonderful surprise! Here's my email add again, in case my email doesn't go through: cherie_3023@yahoo.com

Yes, yes, let's blog-hop over at each other's sites - yours is very pretty and informative and fun, too! Hugs, new friend, Cherie

Beth! Haay naku, nakakaiyak na nga ito - meron akong skin allergy, nakakainis, maya-maya-maya, mahanginan lang ako, ayan na. Ang nakakakunsumi, ang sobrang kati!!!

You take care of yourself, too! Mahirap sin ang ganyan, gaya ng sister ko, asthma naman, pag di talaga respiratory, balat naman.

The birdies are so cute, at the slightest approach, they open their mouths sooo wide, akala mommy nila. so I keep telling the boys to stay away.

Melissa G said...

Congratulations on winning Simple Beauty's give a way!

cherie said...

Hi there, Melissa! Just got back from your site! And see what I get coming back, a prayer answered - you, haha! I'll add you to my blogroll! Thank you, thank you! Hey, do you have Target in Ireland?

Unknown said...

It not only is important for you, but also (obviously) your patients that you look and feel good. Trust me, a smile on someone who wears something to brighten my day always helped those 6 weeks in the hospital.
Poison Ivy is an allergic reaction (I guess you knew) and it is no fun at all, I do not envy you (fortunately it is one of the things I am not allergic to).
I knew the Robin would not abandon its nest, but it a lot of work feeding all those children!

cherie said...

hi, there, mr.whitemist, sir. come to think of it, it does help divert tha patients' attention, haha! i am so glad that the 6 weeks in the hospital seems to be paying off! i am very fortunate to have met you in the blogworld - continue to inspire us here!
my rashes have not reached the oozing part, thank God for that, but the itch is aggravating, ugh!
as for the robins - haha! i agree, sir, even i will have to say so!! thank you for dropping by!

Inday said...

Good morning Cherie. First thank you for giving me a surprise visit. Second, you make my day with this cheery reading though am very sorry about the Itchy part from Poison Ivy. Is it a wonder, it's called Poison Ivy in the first place?

As a Pharmacist, I wish I could offer better remedy other than your Prednison bitter pills. Just wash it down with lots of water.

It could be the sap of that plant that has contaminated your sensitive skin. I just wonder if colgate toothpaste helps?

Or there might be some buggy culprit in the plant that penetrated your skin like an unseen guest that causes the irritation. Then you scrubbed it or rubbed it and it deepened and ouchhhh.....

What a busy Nurse/Mommy job you are in, I suppose we all are!

Thirdly, being a Senoir Citizen with vision no longer as good as yours, is it okay to enlarge the font so I can read better without having to struggle in repositioning my lens whether it goes vertical or horizontal?

To the Layout, go to Fonts and Colours, check the text fonts and up you can see Bold and Italic, Small and Large. Sorry Cherrie.

I want to come back again and read some more. You are an interesting story teller.

Cheers!

cherie said...

ate inday!!!! definitely, larger fonts coming up!!! i am sooo happy that you came by, and yes, how timely that you are a pharmacist, too! i'll write to you more you can count on that - will check if you have an email add. truth to tell, this does not look like poison ivy this time, more like chemical rash by the looks, i'm not sure, gotta go see the doctor again, ugh! and there's 3 in my family all up in new hampshire, waaah!!! life, life!!
ate, salamat po talaga sa pagdalaw dito, ha? will write more interesting pieces for you...hugs!!

Ayie said...

oh, i feel too bad for your allergies...i know how irritating it can be

cherie said...

haay, akambal ko na ata talaga ito, ayie. nauna ang legs, tapos arms naman, sana pagkatapos nito, wala na. ang pait ng gamot, ugh! thank you for the sweetness, ayie!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about your friend, and I hope the best for him. Also, I'm sorry about your itch. It must be very uncomfortable..

Have you tried chamomile lotion?

cherie said...

oh my, not yet, Icy! i will go see if CVS has some, thank you so much, i really appreciate all these tips!! hugs!

Ayie said...

no worries =)

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