Yowza Irina!!

So today's kinda a health update. Kinda. First of all the staph infection is a done deal. I finished up the medicine and the "angry spot" has diminished considerably. While there is still a "spot" there, it is small and certainly no longer angry. However ...

On debarkation day, I woke up with a small cyst on the back of my head, right about along the hairline close to my left ear. Frankly (and this may be kinda gross for some of you) it felt like a hard pimple under your skin (if you've ever had then, you know what I mean. If you haven't, use your imagination - it's about the size of a pebble, does not have a "head" on it, and hurts like the dickens if you touch it). Anyhow, I awoke with this on the back of my head, and yes, it hurt.

Of course once we were at the airport in Tampa, I contacted my most trusted physician, Dr. Google, to see what course of treatment to follow. We (Dr. Google, my fellow sufferer-posters, and me) decided that it was indeed a cyst. Some suggested mashing on it to make it dissipate. Which I tried a few times and decided the resulting pain was totally not worth it. I could feel the area around it getting tight, so I decided to let it be. I knew I was scheduled for a massage today, so I decided to give the cyst a few days to calm down before I went to see my favorite PA Jasen.

And so today I headed to see Irina, my current fave masseuse. I told her about my cyst spot, so she would be aware when I jumped to the ceiling when she touched it (it wasn't so much better today). Anyhow, she got the message, and then got down to work. And did she get down to work. I know she worked on other parts of my body - it's just the cyst part that will forever be with me.

It was not like that time Masseuse Doofus decided he would "mash out" the globby cyst on my back. Which resulted in that cyst getting bigger before I had my dermatologist cut the dang thing out. No, this cyst had nothing that could get mashed out. Instead, she worked on the "inflammation" that was around my cyst, occasionally pressing on the cyst and remarking that she didn't know what that was. And that I should go to the doctor if it didn't get better. Which I managed to hear in spite of my letting her know that yes, it hurt when she pressed on it. Which was probably the most pain in a massage I ever had since Masseuse Nazi did a "deep tissue" massage while I was on a cruise - and kept telling me to breathe, which would have been easier if he wasn't ripping my muscles apart.

The good news is that she did indeed get the inflammation out. And maybe improved the cyst. While is wasn't gone, it did feel better. Hopefully it will be all gone soon - but especially the next time I see Irina!!

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Today's blessings include: picking up Sam and Lindley at the airport; 90 minutes with Irinia