to hell and nearly back

aaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiii! that's a scream, in case you weren't sure how to interpret it.

people, if there are ANY out there still - I have been gone on a long long trip to an ugly place. I'm on my way back, but just BARELY.

first it was work. a certain person who has a great deal of influence in my worklife went INSANE. yes. I say this absolutely. for weeks, my worklife was in the crapper. I was working long hours without breaks, and dealing with razor-sharp emotions that I had no way of relating to, or anticipating. thus, I danced the wondrous balancing act of tip-toeing on eggshells around lunatics. seriously, if the economy weren't so bad (and I wasn't so lazy about shopping the 'ole resume around), I would have bailed. BUT, I made it through the long tunnel of despair, back into the light of my cube. rumor has it this person has gone all nice because of a certain amount of fear in respects to job-security.

I'd been looking forward to vacation for a half-year! many of my high school friends turned (or are turning) 40 this year (not me! next year...), so we decided to all get together at the Clemuel Ricketts Mansion of Lake Ganoga.

the day had finally come, John and I packed everyone up into our little car (Henry, Gummi, Gary) with all of our stuff for a week, dropped the doggies off with Grandma and Grandpa, then headed north for fun!

there was only one little issue - my face was all itchy and pulsating, and just slightly puffy. we suspected poison ivy, but weren't sure what it really was. the day before, I'd been out with the hedge trimmers (men hired to do our hedge trimming); I was explaining to them how everything should look, but I wasn't really touching much of anything, so you know, didn't think about contracting a rash from my gesticulations. but alas, there my face was, pulsating. John and I stopped to buy some benadryl on the way to our vacation destination, and I didn't think any more about it. I got a little weirded out by the fact that my sunglasses left little blisters on my nose, but I was ready to have a great time, and didn't want to get all negative about a couple of little, slightly oozy, blisters on my face.

we were stunned by the beauty of the house and grounds, had a great time greeting our friends, watching the kids interact, etc. I stayed up late, took two benadrly before bed, and figured I'd wake up all normal and ready for more vacation. you know that feeling you get when you regain consciousness and you can tell something just isn't right? that's how I felt when I woke up, and I was bracing myself for something on the way to the mirror, but I wasn't sure what to expect. I got situated in front of the looking glass and rubbed my sleepy eyes to find that my face had sort of inflated on the right and left lower sides. after a brief discussion, John and I decided to leave Henry at the house and go in search of a clinic. we ended up at the Wilkes Barre General Hospital. they gave me a dose of prednisone and sent me on my way.

I still managed to have fun that day - we took Henry to the lake, went to the beach, played ball, croquet, lunch, dinner, etc. and again, I turned in late, took two benadryl before I hit the sack, and hoped for a great morning. hahaha, cruel fates! when I woke up, my right eye had swollen shut and my entire face had puffed up like a big poori. with practically no discussion, John began throwing stuff back into bags and single handedly packed me and Henry off home. I ended up at the Abington Emergency Room (after dropping Henry off with Grandma and Grandpa), where I learned that there isn't much that can be done for poison ivy, and that it gets worse and worse before it gets any better. I got a way higher dose of prednisone, but was told to go home to wait it out. I spent days in a haze of benadryl, and I'm back at work now, but my arms, neck, waist, and legs are covered in a seriously ugly (and itchy) rash. it's been over a week since my initial exposure, and there are few signs that anything is really getting better.

oh poison ivy, I'm not sure how I managed to avoid you through 8 or so years of field work, but I would like to never incur your wrath again! no more hedge anything for me!

btw, is prednisone and high doses of benadryl really safe for developing fetuses? the doctor said, "well, it's not optimal, but..." is that supposed to inspire confidence? of course it didn't.