Lost In Damnation

Before I begin the requisite end-of-the-year posts concerning others, I'll take one last limp down a reflective path:


2011, for me, was a lost year. It began on a fairly decent note, but by June the ill wind of sickness and weird accidents made the last 6 months a blur of sorts, as well as another test of my patience; my sense of humour, and the ability to go forth once more under the surgeon's knife (and frightening-looking tools) for repairing broken bones.

In June-ish, I came down with the annual Bronchitis visit. But this time the dastardly dis-ease brought with it something new: a complete lack of energy unlike anything I have ever experienced. My legs felt like two heavy weights I had to drag around until – after tests came up with nothing – the Vampire-sucking the life out of me sensation miraculously vanished when I was hit with the next surprise!

A little gift from Mother Nature's pantry of horrid poisons brought yet another new experience I am amazed hadn't happened to me before this year. Have you heard of Chiggers? You know, those little insects that are a cross between a very tiny and not-very-nice spider and a mischievous mite. (The pretty vision in the above picture.)

When these little suckers-biters found my allergic-to-all-insect-bites skin, they jumped for joy and had a complete picnic all over my body. I'm surprised I didn't hear them singing with glee when they attached themselves inside my jeans during a quiet stroll in a once-thriving home vineyard, now withered dry vines and high, lifeless grass and weeds. By the time I realized I had a flurry of unwanted guests in my pants, it was way too late.

For the next month I was in the most agonizing itch-fest mingled with horrid-looking big red bumps that hurt like hell. I applied copious amounts of anti-itch creams; cortisone-based balms; Neosporin – you name it, I tried it. There were 25 bites moving from my hips down to my feet. If one scratched the 24-hour ferocious itch-spots, scarring and infection were promised by all the info I read about these odd creatures that found me so delightful to feast upon.

I cannot describe the side effects of these bites. Should you wonder if I'm falling into another Drama Queen act, I will assure you that I'm not overplaying the discomfort. Imagine a burning itch in 25 locations on your body that most medications could not curb…and no doctors could do more than provide more creams that did very little to stop the urge to literally jump out of one's skin.

I had never heard of Chiggers until this year, which is strange, as I've discovered that they are all over the area in which I was raised. While a very young kid all the way up to 19, I spent more time in the woods and in trees than in my room, so I have no idea how I managed to avoid being bitten by these rapacious critters. If you'd like a true gross-out, just Google "Side Effects and Images of Chigger Bites" and you'll know what I mean.

But, alas, the itching began to cease, although I now have a few scars that will be with me for the remainder of my life although I didn't scratch the itch, nor did an infection set in. The bites were Just. That. Bad.

A few weeks passed - pain and itch-free - before I awoke a few days prior to Labor Day with a very, very old Sciatica injury in full inflammation…which led to a fractured hip, a life-threatening blood clot, surgery, and now something suspicious lurking around my wrist from excessive stress from crutching around for two months. Results from a recent MRI are forthcoming.

And so it continues…for now. The best thing I can say about the past 6 months is that I haven't been a wuss in the face of lotsa crap this year. For that, I am grateful. I'd rather laugh about some of it, make light in a post, or, as I did with the hip situation, scream from the depths of my soul over the excruciating pain I had been experiencing.

Although I do share personal stories on this blog, I never expected to cry "Uncle" as I did…but, due to many private emails and a general sense of feeling supported throughout the hip replacement, I'm glad to have had more than a private journal in which to vent my feelings.

Thanks to all of you for dropping by over the months and for your either public or private messages here and on FB. I'm happy to make you happy, or to think, or to share when it's time to take a drink and close out the nonsense of what 2011 brought in the way of crazies.

Let's hope 2012 will be a healthier year for this blogger. If not, I may have to turn The Daily Flog Blog into a How to Handle Living Life In A Doctor's Office…or something as banal as that heading.

Image: A Chigger. Yikes!