Whew - that was close

The past two days have been an even extra whirlwind because….. yesterday afternoon I got a call from the receptionist at the medical center telling me that she had an appointment for me with the dermatologist at 11:30 today! This goes back to last month when I did an online Cancer Care NS course on recognizing skin cancers (thought it would look good on the resume for Cayman Islands actually if you’re trying to make a connection to my day job). It was a good course with lots of photos and one of the sets of pictures showed a lesion which was very similar to one on the left side of my face. Mind you it’s been there for years but this is one of the risks of education as ’a little knowledge being a dangerous thing’. Nurses are notorious for ‘having’ whatever they’re studying currently (we used to be asked in nurses training what we were studying that week if we presented at ER) and we often self-diagnose then go to the family doctor for a second opinion. So, this is what I did. I was impressed that my GP agreed with my possible diagnosis and he hadn’t done the online course (mind you he reassured me that he’d done lots of other ones that’s why he was allowed to practice) but this also kind of alarmed me at the same time. A referral was made to a dermatologist (they’re booking for end of August now) with the note I’d travel and take a cancellation if able. So, there I was yesterday afternoon proving how flexible I can be. A quick call to a co-worker to cover and an email to the boss to explain my disappearance and Wednesday became a sick leave day just like that. We take many things for granted and although I wasn’t ‘freaked out’ it was on my mind as I made my preparations. A little reality check never hurts when you’re busy whining about relatively minor stuff.

The dermatologist was wonderful - very knowledgeable, and a great manner (rare combination sometimes in specialists) so it was a good visit. He tells me that these things are never guaranteed but a matter of percentages but it didn‘t look like anything to be concerned about. The problem with the spot being on my face is that although I don’t consider myself excessively vain, I do have skin that forms keyloids so I wasn’t thrilled with the thought of a biopsy. He suggested he could freeze it off with liquid nitrogen, it would look terrible for about 10 - 12 days and leave no mark. Will I be able to wear my snorkel mask as I’m leaving in 17 days ? I ask (I have my priorities straight now that it’s not a dangerous spot) and am reassured - yes of course. So, he just did the treatment right then (hurt like blazes as the spot was the size of a quarter) and off I went. Had a lot of burning and pain on the way home and now the local reaction is setting in and with the swelling and discoloration the area is 1.5 inches across and I can see it out of the corner of my left eye it’s so raised. This will be charming for interacting with the public. As it is folks run from infection control practitioners, this sure won’t make me any more welcome. I did get some strange looks at the Pandemic presentation this evening and by the time this thing really takes off it will likely need to be hid under a super size band aid. I had to ask for help from a clerk at the drug store as I was trying to view the spot with a lipstick mirror while holding up band aid packages to my face without touching it as it’s really tender - we decided that extra large was the best option. Apparently I am not one who would cope well with cosmetic surgery - best to find that out now I guess before I’m famous.

Anyway, the trip afforded the chance to hand deliver my prescription for a plastic lens to the dive shop and I picked up a disposable underwater camera (a necessity for Stingray City). One of the divers there told me his friend worked at Stingray City and said that arrogant tourists were rubbed with squid juice which caused the rays to leave hickies all over them - will have to be sure to leave my attitude on the cruise ship - I would have some explaining to do when I got home about total body hickies for sure! I picked up some last minute travel goodies at the drug store and stopped at Canadian Tire on the way back. Just happened to get distracted by Mark’s Work Warehouse and ended up with a stain resistant t-shirt (what will they think of next?) and two tank tops on sale. I won’t recognize myself (or at least my wardrobe) on my travels.

Made for a long day though and then to add on an evening event. Managed to catch Izetta though after the presentation and tell her to order me some cruise scrapbooking stickers to go with all those great photos I’m going to bring back, so not a complete loss. Now I’m thinking I need to get my carcass in bed but I’m guessing that the face isn’t going to feel great coming in contact with the pillowcase. Oh and exercising tomorrow with the face pointing down - great. Sigh.