Pages

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Living with Lupus: the Blink Book Tour


Logo from this blog.

After returning from the Blink Book Tour, I thought to share how it went regarding my physical conditions. It's fascinating that my mind regularly returns to believing my body isn't ill. It convinces me I can push through a rheumatoid or lupus flare...until the door opens, and I'm blasted low.

With a stop in Memphis cancelled, the tour took me to Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Tempe. The latter was 104 degrees, with blazing sun. Basically, I hid in the shade and shadows until I could be escorted from one event the next. Under a huge hat.

 
Here I'm waiting inside while Jonathan, Jill, and Lisa wait on the patio for our car. I enjoyed the pool at night and camped out between appearances in my room. Twice the door opened to lupus, and I was reminded I was on tour not by my own strength. Thankfully, the door closed before the death eater could suck the life out of me. (Thank you for the image, J.K. Rowling.)
 
My companions were kind, speaking up for me. They'd request to be driven to the front door so I wouldn't have to walk across a sunny parking lot.  
 
Because of Sjogren's Syndrome, I kept my eyes closed during the flights and went through vial after vial of tears in dry Arizona. My eyes still looked like cranraisins. So that's something to try to solve. Restastis helped, but I returned with a bleeding bladder and can no longer take the prescription.
 
That's pretty much how it went down. By grace, I was sustained on the edge of the knife, comforted by travel companions, and invigorated by readers. Let's see how ALA in Vegas goes at the end of the month. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to get my crinoline through security.

No comments:

Post a Comment