Hives and Hope

In July 2021, right before I went out of town for a few days, Kenn showed me that he had developed a few hives. We talked for a bit, but couldn’t come up with any ideas on what might have caused them. When I got back home, the hives were still an issue and were starting to worsen. He made an appointment with our GP who gave him steroids and a cream to put on the hives. No relief. Another trip to the GP resulted in no reduction in hives so Kenn was referred to an allergist. I am so thankful for the allergist; she is wonderful!

The first thing the allergist wanted to do was a full allergy test. However, that involved Kenn taking no antihistamines for seven days. He tried, but was unsuccessful. After two trips to the emergency room when his lips swelled and he had difficulty breathing, the testing was shelved indefinitely. Then began the process of finding the right mix of medications to get Kenn itch and hive free. The next couple of months were pretty miserable for him. Along the way we accidentally discovered that nylon seemed to make his symptoms worse. Do you have any idea how prevalent nylon is in clothing, etc.? Neither did we. Most of Kenn’s clothes were of the “wicking” variety which are predominately nylon. We had to replace his entire wardrobe and all of our towels and sheets, but the change, in addition to the medication, started to make a difference.

It is now 2023 and Kenn has been dealing with idiopathic urticaria, hives of an unknown origin, for almost two years. Earlier this year he was able to wean himself off of most of his meds while remaining symptom free for a few weeks. Then, the itching began again and he had to start increasing his dosages again. Thanks to a recommendation from one of my coworkers, Kenn contacted the allergist to see about scheduling an allergy test. So, last Wednesday, April 26th, Kenn had to cut out all antihistamines for seven days in order to have the test. The first couple of days were relatively easy, after that the hives, itching, and his usual seasonal allergy issues gradually worsened each day. Then yesterday, the day before the test was scheduled, he woke up with swollen lips and a number of hives. Since his lips were swollen, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to go another day with no medication. We went to the allergist office as soon as it opened only to find that she was at a different branch. However, the admins sent her a message and told us to wait for a call back. We left to run some errands and got a call in less than fifteen minutes saying that if we could get to the other office, the doctor would work Kenn in. (Have I mentioned recently that she’s awesome?) Forty-five minutes later, we were in the office and the allergy test was underway.

This is what an allergy skin/scratch test looks like

I think we both would have cried if the test had shown that he had no allergies. It may sound wrong to be hoping to find a problem, but when that problem may lead to a better treatment for an existing condition…🤷‍♀️So, what were the results? Kenn is allergic to all three types of pollen: tree, grass, and weed. Living in Georgia means that he is exposed to all of them twelve months out of the year. Seriously. It never gets cold enough here to make all plants go dormant so allergy season here is year round. Where do we go from here? Kenn will begin receiving allergy shots in a couple of weeks; the shots are designed to desensitize an allergy sufferer to their allergens. Of course, the allergist can’t promise that the allergy shots will completely clear up Kenn’s hives, but she is hopeful. There’s a good chance that Kenn’s constant exposure to his allergens eventually became too much for his immune system to handle and it reacted in the only way it could. We understand that the shots will take time to become effective, but we are still looking forward to discovering the impact that they will have. (Oh, he also has a slight allergy to eggs and egg whites, but it’s not at the level of severity as his pollen allergy.)

Here’s hoping that you too have some happiness and hope in your week – preferably without getting “scratched” by multiple sharp, pointy objects!

Friday Funnies

Nyx, our black cat, is sassy and full of cattitude. I call her our “house panther with kitchen specialization” because she’s fairly aloof unless we’re in the kitchen. The kitchen is her happy place and when we are in there, she is rubbing against our ankles and vocalizing.

I adore my ceramic cow; it was a gift from my oldest sister several years ago. My cow has been been chipped and broken and glued back together. However, the thing that may do it in is the cat. Nyx periodically fixates on my poor little cow and insists on chewing on the tips of its ears. Among the many things I shouldn’t have to say to the cats, “Stop chewing on my cow!” tops the list.🙄

Most of our cats have several nicknames in addition to their real name; Nyx, however, does not. However, after her latest assault on my cow, I have decided her new nickname shall be Salty Heifer.🐄🐈‍⬛

You Haven’t Changed A Bit!

When Kenn’s aunt died we, of course, attended both the visitation and the funeral. When we arrived at the funeral home for the visitation, I was surprised to see a guy I haven’t seen since we graduated from high school forty-three (!) years ago. I recognized him immediately and turned to tell Kenn “Look, it’s Scott!” (Kenn and I attended the same schools from third grade.) Just then, Scott turned and saw me. “Linda? Hi! You haven’t changed a bit!” We spoke and hugged and then Scott turned to Kenn, held out his hand, and said “And you are?” At this point, I was next to Scott so he couldn’t see me smirk. Kenn shook Scott’s hand and said “Scott. Seriously? I’m Kenn. We lived in the same neighborhood and rode the bus together.” There was a little awkwardness and then laughter all around.

Of course, all of us have changed. When we graduated, Scott’s hair was blond; it’s now gray. I’m heavier than I was then and my hair is much closer to the blonde side of the strawberry blonde spectrum. Admittedly, Kenn has changed more than Scott or I. In his teenage years, Kenn was so skinny his ribs showed and his hair was down to his shoulders. Kenn’s ribs no longer show while his hair is much thinner on top and is rarely more than half an inch in length.

Image courtesy of depositphotos.com

Now for a different scenario. A couple of years before I retired, I was walking down the hallway in my office building. It was late in the day and there were few people around. As I approached a man headed the other direction he said “Hi Linda”; I smiled, said “Hi” and continued on my way. I didn’t think twice about him knowing my name because I supported the entire organization so a lot of people knew my name. Then I heard from behind me “You don’t recognize me, do you?” I turned and studied the man and no, I didn’t recognize him. He finally said, “It’s me – Doug!” I could tell his feelings were hurt. Y’all, Doug and I had worked together for twelve years when I was in a different part of the organization. I had not seen him in at least ten years at the time of our hallway meeting. The last time I had seen Doug, his hair was brown and it was now white. Hair color change aside, I didn’t recognize him until he gave me his name and, only at that point, could I start to see the man I knew in the one in front of me.😬

Now, I wonder what it is that makes us see someone and immediately say (or think) “You haven’t changed a bit!” and yet, in a similar situation not even recognize the individual? Any ideas?

At Last

Well, this isn’t the post I was planning for today, but that’s the joy of blogging – I can always zig when I was planning to zag. Today, I’m musing about weddings and music. Kenn and I married in 1986 and we were among the last of our friends and acquaintances to wed. One of the most popular songs for weddings during that period was There is Love, also known as The Wedding Song. Now, don’t get me wrong.There is Love is a beautiful song and you can listen to my favorite version by the Captain and Tennille HERE. The only problem was, we heard this song at so many weddings, it got to the point where we’d get the giggles as soon as it started playing. Since most people don’t appreciate people snickering during their vows, we would attempt to swallow our laughter and hope that people assumed our tears were due to the occasion and not our reaction to the music.

Over the years I’ve also come to associate the song At Last with weddings. (The Etta James version is probably the best known.) However, earlier today I was watching the episode of Bones where the main characters, FBI agent Seeley Booth and forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan married. Cyndi Lauper (yes, that Cyndi Lauper) played a small recurring role as Avalon the psychic. Cyndi/Avalon sang At Last at the wedding and I. Was. Floored. She absolutely knocked it out of the park.😮 A little research showed that Cyndi also recorded the song; if you haven’t listened to her version, I hope you do. It’s wonderful.

However, thanks to The Big Bang Theory (the tv show, not BigBang the K-pop group) Kenn and I now get the giggles whenever any version of At Last plays. Barry Kripke, a recurring character on The Big Bang Theory, suffers a speech impediment which causes him to have problems pronouncing the letter L. When characters Sheldon and Amy Farrah Fowler (finally!) get married, Kripke performs At Last at the end of the wedding. Kripke’s version will now and forever be my favorite version of this song.

The song is near the end of this video

What songs do you associate with weddings?