The other day I looked in the mirror and discovered that I have a weird red, scaly, dry patch just above my right eye. It doesn’t hurt or itch or anything, it just looks a little weird. Also, two days ago I accidentally scratched it and it was terrible. I don’t really know what it is but I am pretty much convinced that it is going to take over my entire face, slowly at first and then more aggressively as it builds confidence. I will go to sleep Rebekah and wake up the next morning in a new form: LizardRebekah. I was informed by my friend Beth that if I in fact turn into a lizard my cats will cease to recognize me and will probably eat me because cats eat lizards. She knows this because she lives in Arizona.
Okay, okay, okay, so maybe I am overreacting. But seriously, where did this thing come from? I woke up one day and there it was! So I did what I always do when something creepy happens, I broke one of my “Rules for Life.” There are, up until this point, only three Rules for Life although a new one can be added at any time. I have actually been working on a rule concerning the consumption of airplane food (it should never be eaten!) but I haven’t managed to get the wording exactly how I want. Anyway, the existing Rules are as follows:
1. No fighting in the car or other places from which you cannot make a speedy escape.
2. The nose is an out hole. The only exception is for the use of Neti Pots and Nasonex.
3. Never diagnose yourself using the internet because you pretty much always get diagnosed with some form of cancer.
Obviously, I broke the third Rule for Life. I always, always, always break that rule. It’s like, I simply can’t help myself. One time* I ate beets and was convinced the next morning that the fact that my shit was a weird color was due to the fact that I was obviously dying from some sort of stomach cancer. The internet agreed. I wasn’t, obviously, but I really scared myself. I was about halfway through dialing my parents’ house to tell them about my life-ending illness when I remembered dinner. Come to think of it, I should probably make a rule about setting some sort of reminder following the consumption of beets.
Anyway, so I broke the rule and I started looking through WebMd and it doesn’t say anything about a dry skin patch slowly taking over my entire face, maybe even body, and morphing me into a lizard. It mentions psoriasis which is scary but that doesn’t come on the face. It mostly impacts elbows and knees and hands and stuff. Also, eczema. Same thing. So I have come to the conclusion that either I have a new, fatal skin disease that has never before been diagnosed or else it is just a dry skin patch caused by exposure to the elements. I will put lotion on it and see what happens. In the mean time, my cats will be locked in the closet.**
*I am being really generous saying this happened one time. I think that this panic happens about 50% of the time that I eat beets. Embarrassing, but true.
** I am totally kidding about that. I love my cats, even if they do want to eat me.
franklyrebekah 
My Friends. So Happy About Them.
23 JanHey guys. I know I just wrote yesterday and normally I don’t post two days in a row but this is a special occasion. Before we go any further though, in order to understand what is about to happen here, you really ought to read the post from yesterday. It’s not long. Maybe 500 words? It will take you all of like 5 minutes. And it’s sort of amusing.
This sentence is the link to the post from yesterday.
Okay, so, in response to the post from yesterday I got the best comment I have gotten so far in over two years of blogging. It was from my friend Elizabeth. I read it 3 times, one time to the friend I was out for dinner with last night who’s name is also coincidentally Elizabeth although she goes by Liz, or Lizzie, depending on who you ask. I laughed each time. So, without further ado, here is the comment:
“I have the least comforting responses to this EVER! But first I’ll just say that your dry patch sounds just like the one I have on my arm at the moment, and mine is definitely just a result of the dry, wintery weather. I think some serious moisturizing will fix you right up. (expert opinion, obvs)
“That said! You just reminded me of so many things! Or two, really. When I was 16, I woke up one morning with a strange rash-like thing going on all over my face. Throughout the day, it crept down my neck, covering me in red, scaly spots. Within a few days, it had covered my entire body. I went to three different doctors trying to figure out what it was. Finally, a grouchy old dermatologist correctly informed me that what I had was psoriasis, and that I could easily be covered in it for the rest of my life. By this point, I had it from scalp to toe, smack in the middle of my high school years, three months after I met my first boyfriend (who was on vacation at the time but would soon come back to spotted lizard girlfriend). Dr. Terrible Dermatologist followed up the possible life-sentence by trying to assuage my sadness—”you should be thankful! If you lived during Jesus’ time you would have been thrown into a leper colony!” I think it was time for that guy to retire.
“I only spent six months covered in what’s called “guttate” psoriasis, thanks to the diligence and excellent treatment of a different, caring doctor. But it’s part of my genetic makeup, so there’s always a little worry that it’ll come back. So far, so good.
“Google image it! It’s one of the only skin diseases I’ve googled whose images are pretty well reflective of reality. What I had looked like most of the pictures that pop up—bright red spots crowded together against a backdrop of pale white skin.
“My psoriasis did start on my face, but it was nothing like you’re describing, which I hope helps you feel better. And since I realize that what I’ve written thus far probably in fact makes you feel worse, I’ll spare you the second thing you reminded me of.
“Now you can write a blog post on rules for being a good friend! When your friend tells you she’s worried she has something terrible going on, don’t talk to her about how it reminds you of this one time when you were worried about the same thing and it turned out to be true!! But… um, I think it’s a good story. And I really think you just have a dry patch on your forehead.”
Okay, it’s me again. Anyway, as an update, I woke up this morning not looking any more like a lizard than I looked when I went to bed last night which is to say not like a lizard at all. Except for the one spot on my face that has in fact gotten smaller. So, lotion is the answer. Also, I did google image guttate psoriasis and it looks terrible. I was really taken aback by the number of photos focusing on people’s derrieres. It looked in a few of them like maybe sitting would be out of the question? I once had a rash on my ass that made it impossible for me to sit on my right buttcheek and I have to tell you it was wildly inconvenient. That experience is the reason why I don’t get flu shots and also is a story for another day. In summation, I am glad that I do not have guttate psoriasis and I feel badly that my friend Elizabeth had it especially during high school. But I am kind of glad that I have this dry patch on my head which I subsequently wrote an anxiety-fueled blog post about only because I received that comment from Elizabeth which made me smile. My friends are so great.
Tags: blog comment, friends, funny, gutatte psoriasis, humor, lizard, psoriasis, stories