Doctor, Moronic Highway Work, Doctor
This morning I drove into Philadelphia to see the nurse practitioner at my plastic surgeon’s office about a possible hernia. Remember that ice storm we had a few weeks ago? Well, after scrubbing three toilets and two bathtubs, I went outside and helped the kids shovel the ice off the drive. I either pulled a muscle or herniated my abdomen. The NP and I are leaning toward pulled muscle because it has gotten better and she couldn’t palpate a bulge when I coughed. If it gets worse we’ll do a CT scan, but I’m betting it’s going to continue to get better.
On my way into Philadelphia this morning I noticed the Highway Department had one lane on the opposite side of the freeway closed so they could change the bulb in a street lamp. This shocked and angered me. Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the country, yet it’s highway system is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. There are only two lanes escaping the metropolis and when one of them is closed the traffic backs up for miles. So why in the world would they choose 9:00 on a weekday morning to do this stuff?? It’s totally insane. Last week when we drove to Philly for King Tut they were doing work on the freeway signs and had one of our lanes blocked. What should have taken us 45 minutes turned into nearly two hours. And now that I think about it, if we hadn’t gotten stuck in traffic Rachel wouldn’t have had to make a mad dash for a restroom, which means we would have still been in the car and I would have noticed the No Parking sign, thereby saving us $295, give or take a few bucks for legal parking. Maybe I should send my ticket to the Highway Department!
Then it was back to my dermatologist this afternoon. Twenty-one days of high dose steroids later and my vasculitis is starting to clear. I am of the firm belief the steroids had nothing to do with it. I think it just ran it’s course. Whatever. I don’t care. I’m just glad it’s going away.
I took my final steroid last Wednesday. That same day I noticed a couple red, itchy spots on the inside of my left arm. By Thursday I had a full blown rash from my neck to the tops of my feet. It looks like an allergic reaction to something – Heaven only knows what. He did two more biopsies to make sure it’s not the same thing with a different presentation.
Oy vey! Eventually my blisters will be completely gone, I won’t have a pain in my abdomen whenever I laugh too hard or sneeze or cough or move just the wrong way and I won’t be covered with this annoying rash. And I’m going to feel GREAT!
I can’t wait.
Sheesh.. Be careful with youself!
Hi Jen!There is nothing more uncomfortable than issues with your skin. There is almost no way to get relief! Hope your skin issues clear up sooner rather than later.Regarding the Highway Dept – I cannot think of why they choose the middle of the morning to do such things either. You would think that is *more* dangerous for them – but what the heck do I know? Common sense and all that…Take care!
I must say our highway department does have some moments of pure genius…like those rare occasions when they decide to work on the roads at night when no one–or at least only a few people–are on the highway. That being Austin has said, have some of, if not THE WORST, highway system in the nation for a city of its size. Who is in charge of this stuff & who put them there???A full-blown rash? Sorry to hear that…it’s not a stress rash, is it? Not fun. Argh. Whiny? You???? Mmmm…not so much! And if you were, I certainly wouldn’t begrudge you that right!!!Signed,The smart, lovely, magnificent Katybug 😉
“That being Austin has said, have some of, if not THE WORST, highway system in the nation for a city of its size. “Okay, what I MEANT was “That being said, Austin has some of, if not THE WORST, traffic in the nation for a city of its size.”That’s what happens when I don’t preview my post!!!Signed, The not-necessarily-so-smart-or-great-of-a-proofreaderKatybug
I was on a really high dose of steroids once, and when I came off of them I got a rash. It was awful. They said something about “rare” (which explains why *I* got it) and that sometimes your body takes a while to catch up to makeing whatever the steroids made them stop making? I have no idea, but maybe that is all the rash is for you?
I still have pain when I cough or sneeze. I wonder when that will go away?
Jenster, Thanks for that post on my blog. It came a great time. I am feeling discouraged. But, I am pressing on…Especially after reading about all the things you go through on a daily basis.I was on steroids for a week after my cervical fusion and it was terrible. I itched from head to toe. Felt like the rash was on the inside of my head, if that makes any sense. Hope you don’t have a hernia. Thanks for the support!
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! You need to be put in a bubble!
Good luck with all the medical stuff!As for the highway stuff, it seems that rush hour is the only time repair work ever gets done around here! Why, oh why????
Poor Jen! I’m glad things are finally starting to get better, but wow, one thing after another. Sometimes things are never easy or quick. I’m with you on the traffic thing. Here they’ve talked about cameras in construction sites, I suppose to keep drivers from being wreckless and dangerous, but when people already have at hour + commute, adding construction isn’t helping. I know, I know, most people choose to live that far away, but part of it could be it’s less expensive. Then to add to that time – talk about cutting into quality time and increasing road rage. Well, enough of my ranting. I live 2 minutes from work, so I don’t know what I’m complaining about LOL
Gotta love the DoT. The main highway near us is the Garden State Parkway and it’s been under perpetual construction since we moved to Jersey nine years ago. Especially when the idiots that be happens to be late in lifting the construction cones for the morning rush, what an eye opener that was. I feel you being stuck in a jam like that.
They closed a lane at rush hour TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB???? Oh, man. That is pathetic. I feel your pain.
That day will come! It will! Unbelievable about the lane closure. HELLO!