Welcome back! *Anything underlined is specific information about the surgery or recovery process. This surgery, called a periacetabular osteotomy, comes exactly 2 weeks after my arthroscopy surgery for my labrum repair. Day 14: Second surgery day #2 It was another 9am arrival. I first signed off on my mom and dad being able to make… Continue reading Week 3: PAO Surgery
Welcome back! ** All underlined places are for those looking just for needed facts about this surgery. Day 7: My first day back at work. Again, it takes a village. I had to wake up at 5:35am, 20 minutes earlier than I usually do for work (I am a middle/high school teacher — Dance, Theatre,… Continue reading Arthroscopy Week 2
Disclaimer ** Some pictures may be too graphic for some ** I can’t lie and say I wasn’t nervous before going into surgery. My skin was a mess and I was afraid something was going to go wrong concerning my health. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how well everything went, especially how kind everyone… Continue reading Arthroscopy Week 1
Let’s cut to it — I’ve been struggling for a bit now. It’s been about 3.5 weeks of dealing with this harsh, and seemingly unwarranted, flare. First it was my face and neck, the usual places that give me trouble, and then my hands and arms got worse, the redness and dryness surging on pieces… Continue reading Requiem for a Quarantine
“This is the most impossible condition to explain to people because you see what’s going on on the surface, but you don’t see what’s going on underneath the surface.” – Janelle Norman, Preventable I am in awe that one year has passed since the launching of my documentary — of our documentary. So many voices… Continue reading Preventable Anniversary
Today marks my 5 year anniversary of starting Topical Steroid Withdrawal. To think I’ve carried this around for half a decade is mind boggling, but as a friend once told me, “perhaps you were born for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).” I’ve always wanted to believe that. And if I am meant to… Continue reading Inevitably
My fingers have been itching to sit at this laptop and configure words that may possibly, eventually, make something of all the clatter and noise inside my head. I’ve been thinking about the Topical Steroid Withdrawal community a lot. For two, really two and a half years, I had toiled over a documentary that I… Continue reading 20/20 in 2020
I was looking for an outlet tonight and I started to scroll through a slew of memes and quotes (naturally), and funnily enough, one told me to grab a cup of hot chocolate. I quickly remembered that I had a random pack of cocoa mix sitting in my bag from work. I snatched it up,… Continue reading Just as I Am
This month is Eczema Awareness Month. Years ago I never would have believed such a thing existed. Who needs awareness about eczema? Having lived with TSW, Topical Steroid Withdrawal, for over 4.5 years now, my view has drastically changed. Millions of people are stricken with eczema and there is such a large stigma around it.… Continue reading The One Worth Knowing
“And when that doesn’t happen, you heal yourself. You find strength in things other than people. You find energy in your solitude, you find hope in your daydreams. You build yourself up, tell yourself that you don’t need anyone to save you, that you don’t need anyone to steady your foundation. But you do.” As… Continue reading The Juggle Struggle
Found in Reverie 