it’s MY BLOG
It’s my blog and I’ll selfishly self-promote myself if I want to! (I mean, if a blog isn’t for self-promotion, what is a blog for?)
As you may or may not know, depending on how much attention you pay to the blog (and if it’s not much, I understand *sniff*), I am writing on the web editorial staff for Running Times Magazine. They just published my third article on their site.
Here’s a link to the newest article:
And here are the past two if you want to read them:
Other than that, I’d like to say Medrol is my friend and costochondritis is not a fun condition to have, but mine is much better today. (My xiphoid ((Xiphoid is Greek for sword.)) process ((i.e. the bony thing in the bottom of the breastbone, in the upper abdomen, between the ribs)) hurts!)
Ever try to tell people your xiphoid process hurts?
“What seems to be the problem?”
“Doctor, my xiphoid process hurts.”
“You think your WHAT hurts?”
“My xiphoid process. See I took anatomy in college, and I think that’s what hurts.”
(Maybe I was mispronouncing xiphoid or something?)
“Oh.”
If I say my abdomen hurts, then the doctor starts assuming it’s my stomach that’s the problem. If I say it’s my chest that really hurts, then people panic (something about chest pain gets people’s attention.) And the xiphoid process is not really the stomach or the chest. I figured if I said xiphoid process, they’d know what I was talking about, but apparently it just strikes them as odd that I knew what a xiphoid process is. Maybe I pronounced it wrong and they just didn’t want to tell me. Oh well.
So anyway score points for Jenny and her amazing memory — it turned out it is my xiphoid process that is inflamed. I seem to have the classic costochondritis symptoms — pain when you push on the breastbone.
I am even my usual self today; i.e. having trouble sitting still and eating everything I can lay my hands upon. I suppose you COULD blame the Medrol because those sound like steroid side effects, but let’s be honest … I’m always like this and when I’m not like this, I’m usually sick.
Tags: chemotherapy, hodgkin's, remission, Running, survival, writing
‘Tis the season for illness, and since you may become slightly immunocompromised due to the Medrol, some good ol’ fashioned hand-washing never hurt anyone.
Take care, Jenny, and stay well. :)
Thanks, Lisa. It’s a short course of Medrol, just six days, so hopefully it won’t kill my immune system. Last time I had blood drawn, I had a WBC of 7.8. Not bad. :)