Hi, friends. I’m sorry to have been sort of MIA these past few weeks. I hope y’all had a fantastic Halloween. ❤

Here in the Hippie Hut, I’ll begin with the good news: our beautiful daughter’s 19th birthday.

It was so much fun getting to celebrate our sweet Sara Bug at her Halloween themed party (though I still can’t believe she’s 19 already). ❤

Sara had work on the day of Halloween – and I’m in the midst of quite the flare still – so it was a lowkey, studying at home sort of holiday this year.

This past week, Sara Bug also got to vote in her first big election, which was super exciting.

Finally, because it’s the little things – and I’m a big kid – as I report every year, one of my favorite things at Christmas when I was very little was when my Grandmother would give me my Lifesaver Book – so I was so stinking excited when Bug found my first Lifesaver Book of the year and I can’t say how dear it is to me that she knows each year why I need one as soon as they are sighted. ❤

(I love you and miss you, Grandmother. ❤ )

I am so grateful for my people and I am truly blessed. ❤

Unfortunately, in difficult news, this flare has not left. Actually, it is as intense as ever – and I’m finding that there seems to be an RA and a CRPS component to it. It just doesn’t want to let go or let up.

(Though I am absolutely covered up with schoolwork as we are approaching the end of term – and the stress of a class situation that I will be writing about when this term is over certainly isn’t helping – I still plan to write this weekend for CRPS Awareness Month as I do each year. I am having some breathtaking pain issues with my right ankle in addition to all of the other “regular” flare pain, and it has really reminded to share about this disease that is so foreign to most people as it is thankfully relatively rare.)

As bad luck would have it, last week I had an incident that wasn’t related directly to my flare, just to my fragile veins from years of prednisone therapy, where I barely bumped my leg in the shower, causing a vein that I will have to eventually have to have removed (but, as you might imagine, I am not looking forward to more surgeries) to rupture and bleed profusely for several minutes. I was trying to apply pressure, contain the bleed, and get myself covered and robed to call for Sara to come help me with supplies because I needed to get my leg elevated quickly and wrapped.

(Nothing like having a major medical situation when you are completely buck. #fixitjesus)

It was a mess.

I will spare y’all the pictures of my bathroom looking like a crime scene – and requiring a crime scene level cleaning effort once this was all sorted (oh my word) – but here is my leg after the madness. #goodgrief

Finally, because of the much higher than usual doses of steroids in an effort to break this flare – and especially since I am already immunocompromised and all kinds of end-of-term student stressed as well – it was predictable that I would get sick.

Yesterday I started with a nasty headache and sore throat and the snots and body aches and even more fatigue (which there seems to be no bottom to. good grief.).

Thankfully, my Covid test was negative and my snuggle buddy is doing his best to help – at least keeping me laughing. He is the best. ❤

There is nothing to do now but hunker down with lots of cold meds and Vitamin C and warm blankets. We have a cold front coming through and my joints are definitely making me aware of it as I’m sure all of my fellow spoonies are predicting the weather as well.

The rest of this evening as well as Sunday are filled with schoolwork – but tomorrow will be a cozy football day snoodled up with my better half which is always one of my favorite days no matter what my body is up to. ❤

Finally, as I mentioned, this weekend I’ll share my annual CRPS Awareness Month post – and then we move on to one of my favorite happy traditions I plan to continue here on The Autoimmune Hippie: daily gratitudes posted up through Thanksgiving Day.

I am so ready to start celebrating the holidays. Leggo. ❤

Be well, everybody. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Grace and Blessings.