More Lip Service

My dermatologist was able to squeeze me in to have my lip zapped on Wednesday. Even though that is my favorite pickleball day, I just wanted to get on with trying to get my lower lip healed. Even if that meant making it worse to get better.

I'm no stranger to the torment of liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy), having had many spots frozen on my skin over the past 30 plus years. But I have never had my lip treated with it, and was warned that it would hurt and look bad for at least a week. I figured that was one way to help me along with my class reunion diet - less likely to eat if your mouth hurts, right?

It did, indeed, hurt like a son of a gun when she froze the two spots on my lip. It brought tears to my eyes for sure. Maybe that's why it's call cryotherapy? But once that settled down, the pain has not been bad at all. It is difficult to eat without bumping the sores, and my lip looks horrible. It looks so bad that when I had to do some errands yesterday, I wore a mask. There was no reason for the people in the bank or stores to have to see that mess. I'm hoping it looks better over the next few days, and I'm really praying the zapping does the trick. The doctor did warn me that sometimes it takes two tries! 

The best news I got at the doctor's office is that my biopsy from July 29th came back negative. So at least I don't have to schedule an ED&C for the spot on my right shoulder. Now if the lip behaves, I won't have to go back there until my 6-month appointment in January.

lip cryotherapy

Friendly Visit

Some friends from St. Louis came to visit us last week following a conference they attended in Asheville. While it is always a bit of work to get ready for guests, it also motivates us to quit procrastinating and get some jobs done around the house.

National Whitewater Center

It was fun to show them a bit of what we love about living in this area. First and foremost is our house, with the lovely view of Mountain Island Lake. While it was a bit hot, looking out back at the lake is always refreshing. 

We took them to the U.S. National Whitewater Rafting Center, as that is unique to Charlotte and a short drive from our house. The Center is a 1,300-acre outdoor recreational and athletic training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and ice skating.

There are also numerous trails for hiking in addition to biking, aerial sports including an obstacle course, and multiple zipline options. Newer additions include a dog park and Wildwoods, a play area for children. The Center has a decent cafe, and we had lunch there while watching the activities on the water course and the zipliners flying by above.

The second day we drove up to Grandfather Mountain where it was at least 10 degrees cooler than the Charlotte area. At one point the temperature dropped to 68! Unfortunately it was cloudy, so the view wasn't as stellar as it normally is. It also started to rain, so we got back across the metal bridge in case of lightning. We stopped at a fun restaurant for lunch before driving back to our house.

Grandfather Mountain

On the way back we drove through a couple of cute little mountain towns. Once back on the highway south, we found a produce stand on the side of the road. I was able to pick up a peck of peaches. After our guests left, we made thirteen and a half jars of peach jam. There is a lot of sweetness in our future!

peach jam

What's Up, Doc?

biopsy

Yesterday was my regular six-month checkup with the dermatologist. She froze one spot on my right cheek that has been continually peeling. Unfortunately, she also saw a spot on my right shoulder that she felt should be biopsied. That wouldn't have been too bad except it is right where my bra strap sits. I am highly sensitive to any adhesives, and I've yet to find any bandage that does not make my skin break out in an itchy rash. While the wound doesn't necessitate a bandage, the fact that I have to keep it smeared with vaseline and its location make it impossible not to keep it covered for a few days.

But I was most interested in hearing what the doctor thought about my lip situation. I showed her a photograph from when it looked its worst, and she does not think it is due to cold sores. She believes it is severe lip damage. I don't know what caused it to react so extreme as I wear a big-brimmed hat if I am going to be outside, as well as Z-Block on my lips. 

She wanted to use the liquid nitrogen on my lip, which she said would hurt and look bad for about a week. As we have company coming today, I did not have her do it. She said just schedule it when it's convenient for me. When would that be? When is it convenient to have your lip look awful for a week, and have issues eating and drinking??? In the meantime she called in a prescription for an ointment that should at least make the lip feel better until I can get that done.

Our community brought in a gal from the Carolina Raptor Center yesterday afternoon to talk about their organization as well as raptors we might see in our area. She was great and very enthusiastic about her job. What I wasn't expecting is that she would bring three birds with her. She also had talons, a small skull and bird wings to show us. It was a wonderful presentation, and well worth missing our normal Wednesday pickleball session.

Carolina Raptor Center