Emma's Way

I like talking to Emma these days. It's like talking to what I imagine a normal person is like. She isn't complaining constantly about how tired she is, about how Sven isn't pulling his weight (no, Sven was pulling his weight and hers), about how someone had slighted her in Little Oslo, the town of 256 people.

She is actually trying to take care of herself.

She knows how hard, if not impossible, it will be to give up smoking, but she's still trying to. Her doctor told Emma that they weren't seeing any good effects at all from the physical therapy. In fact, it made Emma's oxygen saturation levels go down and that is not a good thing. At last, Emma has agreed to use oxygen when she's sleeping and she says she wakes up raring to go. This is nothing short of a miracle, because it usually took Sven threats of electric cattle prods to get her going in the morning.

I told her about the book I'm reading on Bipolar Disorder. How to recognize the manic, or rather, hypomanic (All new! Brought to you by Popeil! The all new hypomanic!) when it arrives. Usually with Edgar Winter on the soundtrack and AC/DC and Aerosmith. I know. Me? Aerosmith? Get the hell outta heyah.

I told her that the last time it hit, I was able to stop the roller coaster before it turned into the subway to Hell.

She said, "I don't have a problem with that anymore. That Lamictal stuff is just great. I don't have those highs and lows anymore. I still get irritable but that's why I've got clonazepam." All God's psychos got clonazepam.

She swore about how wonderful it is and today, I looked it up.

The Lamictal Rash.It is feared more than a full-blown manic episode. And I can sure as hell see why.

It can make your skin fall off.

Oh, yeah, we meant to tell you. And actually, we do if you read the package insert. You see, your epidermis can sometimes just slliiiidde right off the mucosal layer of your skin. Ouch!

They go one to give survival rates for The Rash.

If 10% of your skin falls off, you've got a pretty good chance of making it. Although the treatment for it may disable you. Like, if it falls off your feet, ankles and shins. It might kind of bind up your ankles.

If 30% of your skin falls off, you are in deep doo-doo. Survival rates for this are not good at all. I've seen pictures. You don't want to.

I remember Emma being concerned about it when she first started taking it. She made harsh jokes about it, which meant she was scared. But I think if your skin is going to fall off, it does it in the first couple of weeks.

Me? I'd rather just keep reading the book and working through the exercises. Although prone to wee cancers on my face, I like my skin and intend to keep it around as long as I can.

Oh - total bill for the surgery: $2,312.25. And it hasn't been approved yet.

Life is just a chair of bowlies.

Life's too mysterious. Don't take it serious. But this Lamictal stuff I'm taking very seriously.