Readers have been writing asking, "Hey, Merle Wayne Sneed!  What ever happened to your dream of a career in hand modeling?"


Timely question, dear reader.  In short, this.  Smooth skin for an old guy, eh?  Looks like botox gone bad or Joan Rivers after the latest.

If you have ever had to endure cortisone injections in a joint, you are familiar with a side effect known as cortisone flare.  It is usually benign and subsides in 24-48 hours.  Emphasis on usually.

Longtime readers might recall that I get monthly cortisone injections for a skin disorder.  Occasionally, an injection is required over my wrist joint because of the location of a skin eruption. (See left middle in the photo).

A career dermatologist that  I have become acquainted with these past few years denies the possibility of cortisone flare in my case due to *insert medical mumbo jumbo here*.

Anyway, last Monday, I got my monthly shots and by Tuesday afternoon, this photo shows the result.   Wednesday it was worse and Thursday worser.  So, I called the aforementioned dermatologist to seek some relief from the pain.

His advice was to use ice, elevation and limit movement of the affected area.  Actually, it was conveyed to me by his assistant, since as a doctor, he only speaks to the rabble by appointment.

By Friday, my thumb would not move and my wrist was frozen in place. Sleep was impossible.

I called my primary care doctor and got this sage medical advice, again via a lackey.  Use ice, elevation and limit movement of the affected area.  Call back if it fails to improve.

Improvement?  We got no stinkin' improvement.  I had become the one-armed man the Fugitive had it in for.

Monday I called my PBP back.  Ever been in voice prompt Hell?  I never actually reached a person.  After three tries, I just went to an urgent care in the neighborhood.

Oh, and I was able to get the gaping head gash fixed while I was there.  Did I mention the I tripped in the front of the urgent care place and hit my face on the front stoop?

Turns out that there are medications for these situations and I got me some.  My wrist swelling and mobility are much improved and I have been able to sleep, due to some narcoticy  they gave me.

All's well that ends well.

As for Dr. Dermatologist, we are taking a break.  Don't tell him, he doesn't know yet.







Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky