Get Comfortable, This Is A Long One! But A Good One....

I've said it before & I'll say it again, never ever tempt the universe by complaining, "things can't possibly get worse", because things can always get worse. So, about three weeks ago I woke up with a nasty patch of, well for lack of a better term, "CRAP" on my face. At first, I just figured I was experiencing an allergic reaction to something. So, I popped some benadryl. After that didn't work, I went to the doctor. Like always, the doctor was on vacation, so I had to see the nurse practitioner, who told me that I had a staph infection on my face. She prescribed a topical antibiotic cream. I used the cream religiously for about a week with absolutely no improvement. So, the day before we left for DisneyLand, the nurse practitioner called in an oral antibiotic. Again, no improvement. Well, the day after we got home from DisneyLand, my spinal cord started tingling & feeling like it was on fire. Then I realized what was going on - I am no stranger to that burning sensation - I had the same feeling when I had shingles back in 2005!!! Quick SideNote: Do you have any idea who gets the shingles? I'll tell you who - The elderly & those who have suffered a trauma. While I would classify my rest-stop incident with Angelina as traumatic (see previous post), I don't exactly think it qualifies as such on an objective scale.

Anyway, when I woke up the next morning, I made an appointment with a different doctor to discuss my shingles. BUT before going to the doctor, I had to pick up my mini-van from the Chrysler dealership, which I had dropped off the day before to have the "tail light situation" examined. I showed up at the dealership about 9:15, found a customer service representative & requested my car. The gentleman took down my name, left for about 5 minutes, came back & said, "Ma'am, you're car is not here". WTF? Really? Clearly, I disagreed with him & suggested that he look harder. After about 15 minutes, the Chrysler man returned & actually asked me the following question: "Are you sure you left your car here?" I may have two kids & I may be a little frazzled at times, but even I can't misplace a freakin' mini-van!!!! Finally, after about 30 minutes, a search team of 10 men located my Town & Country. Needless to say, when the doctor diagnosed me with shingles about an hour later & asked, "What are you so stressed about that you are getting shingles at your age?", I responded, "You have no idea." BUT wait, there's more!!!! The doctor prescribed me the anti-viral medication Valtrex to help speed up my recovery. You know, the cool drug that is always being advertised on TV to aid those horny folks suffering from genital herpes, who don't want to infect their partners. FYI - All of this chaos occurred on the same day as Angelina's school's "Fall Festival" - an event where I had to volunteer. When I dropped off my prescription at Walgreens & the lady asked when I needed the Valtrex, I told her that I needed it IMMEDIATELY because I had to get to a Fall Festival. I don't even want to know what type of booth she thought I was working....