Nature's Castle

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~John Muir



A rainy Saturday. A free afternoon. My girlfriend and I decide to go shopping and have lunch. Lunch involved a carb and fat laden order of fried onion rings, loaded cheeseburger, and a DQ Flurry. Shopping involved...sporting goods.

Big Lots yielded a budget pleasing candy assortment for a church Halloween project and a stash for each of us. Assorted scented candles, discounted DVDs, and decorative housewares held our browsing attention for awhile. Finally asking an employee we were told, "No camping supplies."

Across the road was a sportsman's store. Passing the athletic wear and hunting gear, we located camping supplies in the back corner. Once again, cha-ching paydirt--tents on sale. I bought one, a four-person occupancy. (Room for me and my autoimmune trio.)

We decided to set the tent up to see how difficult it would be. My front room wasn't quite large enough, but it was bigger than hers. In the process of our Amish-style tent raising, we thought the tent was missing a piece. Back out into the rain and the sportsman store we went. Enamored with my tent, my friend decided to buy one for herself.

Just when I think my SPS is going to behave, as I am clinging to the purse on her shoulder for balance, walking in the rain, and holding my tent box; it starts to slide out of my arm, triggering my back to do the familiar lock, quiver, almost fall down. In panic mode, I call out; she stops, takes my tent, and we somehow manage to awkwardly lumber back to the car, safe but soaked again.

She does a quick inventory of the contents of her tent before she heads home. I decide to try to put mine together. (Menacing background music.) After two sugar hypos, some awkward SPS moves trying to anchor a 4-man tent on carpet in limited space, I have a "loose" idea what my nature castle will look like, admiring the shiny fabric.

Excited, I can envision the healing silence of nature, taste the crispy melted marshmallows, hear the pop of a crackling fire, and picture a plugged in coffee maker for morning java. Camping within my comfort limits of SPS, I anticipate winter exploration in a warmer climate with friends.

To be continued...

Copyright © 2011

The SPS Circus

“We are in the same tent as the clowns and the freaks-that's show business.”
~Edward E. Murrow

September was my fall tour, visiting all of my specialists in four weeks with a grand finale--my scheduled booking at the oncology clinic for my monthly infusion of IVIg. Complimentary concessions included crackers and juice to toast my yawner of a performance due to a double dose of pre-poke Benadryl.

Before my Benadryl rendition of Goodnight Sweetheart, I tried some impromptu stand up or "biz" talk with the other acts in the backstage waiting area. Several have been on the healthcare tour too long. Road weary, homesickness for the life left behind was visible in their tired expressionless eyes.

My SPS circus...a Looney Toons unrehearsed and unscripted saga. Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare diagnostic albino elephant fills the small tent while dancing monkeys of thyroid and type-one diabetes disrupt the animal entourage with their unpredictable antics of hypos, fatigue, and annoying the elephant.

I am the one-person star of this show, an unskilled trapeze artist swinging dangerously in the spotlight without a net as the ringmaster (the specialist of the moment) thrills onlookers with a booming voice revealing the mysteries of my lab work. All is well. I execute the transition with grace and feigned skill to applause.

Quickly I donn a clown suit to juggle symptoms and meds for my multiple diagnoses as I try to remain balanced on a unicycle of normalcy. Losing my rhythm, I fall to be drenched by the stalking midget of failure in continual pursuit with the dancing monkeys.

My fall tour was a success. All my labs were good with no mishaps in my performance even though unicycle balance is often compromised in daily practice. My ringmasters were very pleased with my overall performance.

In my daily juggling practice, I notice the addition of a couple of small batons (symptoms) not familiar to my routine. As my labs and follow-ups were good, there wasn't much concern. As I told my endocrinologist, I do not want another dancing monkey (underlying diagnosis) to sneak in while we are focused on the elephant. An ANA, antinuclear, antibody test was ordered and it came back positive.

Many healthy people will have a positive reading, but my immune system is not healthy. It will be weeks before my booking with a new "ologist" for further exploration of this development, so in the meantime--I will continue my daily unicycle practice avoiding the midget in pursuit, keeping the dancing monkeys at a distance, while calming the albino elephant with meds.

On with the show!!

Copyright © 2011

Who Am I?

"I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind." ~Casting Crowns

This is one of my favorite songs and defines the most important aspect of the many nuances that define me. I am His.