On the RA front, I am in between two concurrent treatments with Rituxan, with the next one scheduled for Tuesday. With RA it is hard to tell what is going on with your body -- seeing as there is a lot of pain every day, it is hard to tell if a new pain or symptom is a new problem or just the RA. For the past few months I've been having tingling in my face, which can be from pinched nerves or vasculitis associated with RA. I have neuropathy in my arms and legs already, but the facial stuff is new and feels really strange. For the past week my left leg feels weak and unstable -- a shooting pain coming from the hip zinging down to the foot, and a feeling like the leg will give way. I realized I was walking without lifting my left foot yesterday. On Wednesday morning I walked to work (no biggie, we are talking about 300 steps, here) and found my legs got really weak and I had to stop a few times -- they just would not go. It was scary. Now I walk my dogs along the same route later in the day and do not have difficulty like that -- pain, yes, but not freezing up. This was weird. Hopefully it was just the morning stiffness that comes with RA, concentrated in the hips, but since it hasn't happened before, it is a concern. Am hoping the second whollop of Rituxan will beat any remaining inflammation back into submission and I can go about my business without having to be concerned about new "weird things" that happen.
Day by day, these "weird things" happen and it is hard to tell if it is "just RA" or a new set of issues to deal with. I belong to an online Facebook group for RA and know I am not alone in this quandry of wondering if something is a worry or can be ignored. People post stuff all the time -- rashes, swellings, drug side effects, infections, etc. -- all sorts of fun things happen from this disorder. It is helpful to know what others have dealt with so that the little things can be ignored. In any event, it all is a pain in the butt and saps energy and effort towards doing things that need doing. There, that's my complaint!
On the creative front, I am hoping to complete the beading step of my skull today which will be so exciting! Then it is on to the background. It is coming together in the background of my head, too -- am thinking the skull might be a giant applique rather than hanging in front of another piece. I am interested in exploring the possibilities of quilted relief -- building layers of quilted things and combining them into one piece. In college I worked a lot with this idea, but got away from it when embellishment took over. I'd like to explore the possibilities of doing both. Here's an example of a fabric relief sculpture.
So much to do, so little time!! Where's that house cleaning pod? I could go get a cup of coffee and come back to a sparkling house...sigh!
What will you make today?