Is That A...What Is That?

Hello and welcome to post number three in my re-dedication of all things blog related. I know I said I was going start focusing on the here and now, but I was looking for this video

and I stumbled across this picture:

What the hell is that? You might be asking yourself. Well no, that it's not a sponge that has been used to soak up hot chocolate, that is the sweetest carpet we have ever had in an apartment; oh and on top of that is my back after I suffered an allergic reaction.

I was at work a few years ago (4 I think) and my fingers were moving a bit slower than usual. I felt swelling in the fingers for a day and by the end of the first day I couldn't clench my hand into a fist because my hands felt so swollen. I could see that my hands were swollen slightly, but it felt like it was more interior. The second day, while at work, my fingers starting hurting as I clacked away at my keyboard and my hands were noticeably inflated. I was also starting to get red marks on my arms. I continued to ignore the problem and on the third day there were more red spots on my arms and now on my chest, neck, and face and now there was a lump in my throat that was making breathing uncomfortable (but not inhibiting my air supply at all). It was on the third day, when I could no longer take the pain in my fingers from using the keyboard that I decided, this is probably something a doctor should see.

I told my boss I was taking off and I made an appointment for the following day with my family practitioner. On the fourth day I was as you can see in the picture. Almost my entire body was like that, but I will spare you the pictures revealing my behind (which are incredibly reminiscent of pictures my parents have of chicken pox on my butt when I was a kid).

I barely had the energy to get into the car to go to the doctor. I could barely stand up. I am not sure how I made it to the office, but I eventually ended up in a doctor's office with my shirt off, showing the nurse practitioner my back. She proceeded to call everyone in the office into our room to look at it. When the doctor came in to look at it, he drew in a large breath, letting it slowly leave through his teeth and simply said, "You are not having a good day today are you?"

Until earlier that week, I had never suffered any allergies other than some seasonal congestion. They had no idea what was going on with me and asked every question they could. They said it could be valley fever, hay fever Guanaria (I laughed at the impossibility and Pia was thrilled and it wasn't, let's just get that out of the way right now), or any number of other things. Tthey shot me full of steroids and told me to bathe in Epson Salt. They took blood to send to a tests and let me go with more prescriptions than I could count.

The next few days were itchy. My mom wondered why I wasn't at work and when I told her allergies, her immediate reaction was, suck it up and get to work you loser. When she came over and saw me, she understood a bit better. I went on short term disability for two weeks and basically just laid in a cold bath the entire time.

The picture doesn't show it well, but those red marks are significantly inflamed. I felt like I had things growing on my back, like a Mogwai that had just gotten wet (Gremlins people, holy crap, pay attention).

It turns out that I am severely allergic to Bermuda grass, and pretty allergic to just about everything else on this earth, including potatoes, strawberries, wheat, and about a million other things.

It was just so weird that I lived for 25 years eating copious amounts of potatoes at almost every dinner and nothing ever happened, and then one day my body just decided to let go.

I recovered just fine and have only suffered one other occurrence, at my brother's wedding (which was held in a back yard, covered with Bermuda grass).

Here is to hoping I return tomorrow with more (hopefully less painful) stories.