My brain in leaking.

Did I forget to mention?

I’m kangaroo virus free (hurrah!).  I still have the migraine (boo!) which is apparently caused by leaking spinal fluid (what word is more negative than “boo”?).

So, technically, my brain isn’t leaking.  Just the stuff holding my brain in position is leaking. Which leads to ouch.

I’ve been told it won’t last longer than six months (As long as six months?  Once again, word more negative than “boo”?  Aside from breaking down into hysterical tears…)  And it is getting better… just slowly.  Crazy slow.  (As in, it is making me crazy…)

To keep this from just being a brief whine, I’m including a vocabulary word:  Dura.

Dura is a thin membrane that surround the brain and spinal cord.  It is responsible for keeping the cerebrospinal fluid in place.  (It apparently looks like, and heals about as quickly as Saran Wrap)

(Why, yes, I do have a small hole in my dura… how clever of you to figure that out…)

Well, that was awkward…

I’m hoping that using a photo of a cool, vintage fire extinguisher I look arty, and less like an insurance risk…

Small kitchen fire today.

The second one in a week.

Both of them occurred when I was… boiling water.  That’s right, the wet stuff that most people use to put fires out.

Now that is a talent.  Of some sort.  But mostly embarrassing.

I believe this should be filed under “I probably shouldn’t cook while I have a migraine.”   Or, “Can I blame this on the drugs?  And if I can, shouldn’t I be having more fun than this?”

Migraine, day 94.  The adventure continues….

My brain is still leaking, though I’m feeling less stabby about it…

Why yes, I do still have the migraine. Why do you ask?

So it has been 13 weeks of migraine.  Thirteen.  Thought I’d spell that out, since two digits doesn’t seem to quite cover the unrelenting feeling of a knife in the brain.  I’m not sure eight letters comes close, but at least it is four times the volumn of verbiage.

That totally made sense in my head.  Of course it is a head with 92 days of brain leak scrambling what little intellect I have left, so welcome to my world.

The positive news (aside from the husband who loves me despite my cranky nature, the nice little house I get to call home, the fact that I get to be an artist rather than an office worker, the fact that I couldn’t have chosen better parents… and countless other blessing s in life that keep interfering with any pity party I want to throw myself) is that I’m getting off the steroids.

After a month of Prednisone I finally started tapering off them.  Two and a half weeks ago.  Only two and a half weeks to go.

Tapering is not a fast process people.

My neck and face have stopped looking like a weirdly drawn anime creation, which is lovely.  Not back to normal yet, but at least the generally accepted facial geometry has begun to be reflected in the mirror.

And more importantly I’ve lost the majority of the major mood swings and massive irritation (oh, hell, I’ll be honest… it wasn’t so much mood swings as near murderous rage) I was carrying around.

Yesterday a car did a major illegal/annoying/dangerous move that totally impacted me.  And I did not have the urge to ram them with my vehicle.

This is progress people!

(oh spell check – you amuse me…. auto corrected “stabby” to “shabby”  Totally not what I meant spell check.  You are just lucky I’ve put the large stabby knife down…)

I’m being tested for a kangaroo virus… And how was your day?

Insert joke about kangaroo’s carrying the virus in their pouches here.

So I’m on week six of a migraine.  Which is less fun than it sounds.  Various doctors ask me what has helped in the past, and I say “I’ve never had a migraine before.”  Because I haven’t

Today I saw a new doctor, who I liked very much.  MRI(s) ordered, blood drawn.

And, yes, officially one of the things I’m being tested for is the Q virus, which is in fact carried by kangaroos.  Also by cattle, goats, dogs and cat.   Though mostly in New Zealand.  Which is not where I am.  So the odds are low.

But still – officially being tested for a kangaroo virus.  So that’s sort of cool…

The One Where I Blather About Rhinopharyngitis and Bananas

I was feeling sorry for myself for having a bad cold, and missing out on all sorts of fun this week, when two pieces of banana news reminded me that my life is pretty good even with the mucus factory in my head.

Banana Item #1:

So much better than flowers! 

This is a banana cream tart.  Made by my friend Ann.  Who is going to culinary school.  And who delivered it to my house. Yes, I got to eat her homework.

Banana Item #2:

Banana Flambe.

Not the tasty culinary school kind (Though Ann, if this ends up on the class rotation, I’d love to try that!)  Nope, I’m talking about Banana Boat, the popular beach cologne sunscreen line, is under recall. Because of a what the company is calling “adverse effects” caused by the sprays.

“Adverse Effects” in this case refers to the fact that their product may potentially ignite on the user’s skin if they come into contact with a flame before the spray is completely dry.  Which has happened FIVE times.  So, yeah, recall.

Of course if you read the warning label on their product it says “Flammable: do not use near heat, flame, or while smoking.” The first listed inactive ingredient is denatured alcohol. So it’s always been flammable, they knew it was flammable, and now they are recalling it for be flammable.  Well, not really.  They are recalling it because the spray bottle  shoots out more sunscreen “than is typical in the industry for continuous sun care sprays.” The product takes longer to dry — and remains flammable until it’s completely dry.  And also because, duh, FIVE people caught on fire.

So basically we’ve all being lying in the sun covered in a flammable substance.  Like lighter fluid. Hmm.

Might be time to dump the sun screen
and bring back the big hats and cover ups.