Yet Another Spider Bite Update



My left leg, one year after the spider
bites. Healing, but ever so slowly

 It's hard to believe that it's been one year since I was bitten multiple times on the leg by a spider as I slept in my bed. Next time I take the sheets off the clothesline, I'll give them a good shake before putting them on my bed!

This is how my leg looks one year and 2 days after the spider bites. It still itches insanely, and nothing seems to help. The hydrocortisone ointment prescribed by my doc does zilch. The Vitamin E seems to help a little. But the itching still remains.

Of greater concern is a series of health issues preventing me from doing the most mundane daily tasks. The back and leg pain are mostly to blame, but significant arthritis in both feet and lower spine are the biggest culprits. The good news is that I'm in physical therapy three times a week, and a battery of docs and specialists are probing into other health issues. I've been poked and prodded, X-rayed and ultrasounded, had bone scans and mammograms, had my lungs tested and my privates inspected, had my meds played with and other meds rejected.

I am heartily sick of it all. Well, not all of it. I do love the physical therapy, even if they make me work hard. It takes a huge chunk out of my day, but after 2 hours of intense stretching, heat and electrotherapy, muscle massage and isometrics, I walk out of the PT clinic as loose as a goose and feeling like a wet noodle, and my pain greatly reduced. Except earlier this week we overdid it and I ended up hobbling out of the clinic with a strained muscle in my leg. I'm back to hobbling around on crutches, but subsequent therapy has helped a lot.

Still, I'm just such an optimistic person that I am enjoying each sunrise and each sunset. And every time I start to feel sorry for myself, I see someone so much worse off than I am. It makes me grateful for what I have. And that's the secret to a happy life. Gratitude. And a glad heart.

Spider Bite Update

Exactly 10 weeks ago I woke up in the morning and discovered 10 spider bites on one leg, and another bite on the other leg.  The bites never hurt, and it didn't wake me up when that sneaky spider bit me, but man, do they ever itch!  Worse yet, after 10 weeks they are only now beginning to heal.  In the meantime, I look like I have leprosy!  Check it out.  I got those bites on September 7 and they look as bad now as they did that first day. 

I now go to bed with a flyswatter, and I'm jumpy as all get-out.  I keep beating myself black and blue because I feel a little prickle and then I yell and slap at it, only to discover it wasn't a spider but a corner of the blanket touching my arm.  I hate closing my eyes in the shower for fear one will pop up out of the drain or land on me from the ceiling.

Have you ever been bitten by a spider, and if so, how long did it take for the bites to heal?  From what I understand, all spider bites are poisonous, but most are a very mild poison.  It's the brown recluse, the hobo, and the black widow spiders that are dangerous.  I leave them alone when they're outside, but if they come inside, it's all out war!

Blessed are the Friends

This is a post about Susan Wiggs. (Photo on the right)

But first, let's talk about me. *g* Despite the fact I'm the perpetual optimist, I've been feeling a little down lately. The medical things are getting to me: pending hysterectomy, extreme pain (cause unknown) in my right thigh, constant coughing from allergies . . . and an I-don't-care-you're-just-a-number medical system. Yesterday, I made yet another phone call to the clinic trying to find out if my referral to a specialist had gone through. They had initially said it would take 2 weeks. It's been over 2 weeks. I found out they hadn't even started on it. As I told them 2 weeks ago, this needs to be done ASAP, since I'll be losing my medical insurance in the near future, and I want to be sure my hysterectomy is covered.

So how does Susan Wiggs figure into the picture? Well, she may not be able to build a fire under the medical system, but she sure can do things to make you feel better. Susan is a person who always manages to lift my spirits. She did that today when I opened my mailbox and saw a long, skinny package. What the . . .? And then I saw it was from Susan. Now, Susan has this quirky mind that always seems to come up with the perfect gift at the perfect time. The Screaming Monkey Christmas gift had my family in stitches. My Doberman Nova's favorite chew toy is a big green rubber thing, courtesy of Susan. The Rubber Thing has since been commandeered by Asterisk, my Boxer pup. That's Asterisk above, with the Rubber Thing. (And yes, she is sitting on Nova) BTW, a suggestion from Susan was the trigger to my naming the pup Asterisk.

So when I saw the package was from Susan, I started to laugh, knowing it would be something quirky and fun. By time I got back to the house, I'd torn off the brown paper and discovered . . . a BugZooka! (Where does she find these things???)

What's a BugZooka? Well, it's basically a bug disposal unit--a long vacuum tube that sucks up insects. Better than a flyswatter, because it doesn't leave splats on your walls or ceilings. You can either set the bugs free outdoors, or dispose of them some other way. I get these humongous hairy spiders in my bathroom that hang out over my sink or shower, keeping me from my ablutions for fear of them landing on my head. I don't know what kind of uber-spider they are, but Raid has no effect, even when sprayed directly on them. I find that exceedingly scary. And using a flyswatter is out of the question. I tried that once and it left an extremely gross mess on the ceiling. Now I have an effective means of dealing with uninvited critters in my house. I can't wait for the yellowjackets that invade my house every fall and terrorize me and my pets. Zap! Gotcha!!!

On Things That Go "Plop" in the Night

For those of you as old as I am, do you remember the "You Bet Your Life" game show where Groucho Marx would waggle his cigar and eyebrows, saying, "Say the secret word and win $100"? Then a stuffed bird would drop down from the ceiling holding a sign with the secret word written on it.

Well, last night as I was going to bed I had something drop down from the ceiling directly in front of me, and it wasn't a bird with a sign. It was a honking big spider, and it was descending rapidly, coming to a stop inches from my face. I nearly walked into it. I let out a huge scream, which made the spider jump and begin climbing hastily back up its rope. I dispatched him between the covers of two DVD movies, which was the closest thing at hand. No way was I going to let a monster that size hang around in my bedroom and crawl on me as I slept.

I know people who go out of their way to gently escort spiders back outside, and I say good for them. Really. I mean it. As much as I loathe spiders, I leave them alone when outside--where they belong. In my house, it's a different matter.

Now with colder weather here, and fall just around the corner, I'm suffering through the annual spider migration into the house. I hate it. The most alarming are the huge hairy black ones in the bathroom. They pop out of bathtub drains or hang out on the ceiling, scaring the daylights out of me. My scream reflex gets a workout when they startle me. And I hate, hate, hate going down the hall or through a doorway into another room, and walking into a spider web, usually right across the face.

I wish I knew how they got into the house. Anybody know? And how, for heaven's sake, can they get into the plumbing from outside???