Below are some of my bloodwork results that have come back abnormal and remained that way while others showed improvement. 

On a sunny day, March 11, after doing my hair and make-up, I went downstairs to make coffee and then went into our library room to finalize my make-up and put on mascara. That is when I noticed, my eyes had a faint yellowish color to it. Why have I not noticed this before? Was it because I always did my makeup in the bathroom or bedroom and the lighting was different? I suppose so. I quickly asked my husband to take a look. He was hesitant, unsure if due to the amazing lighting we had that day from the sun shining into the library room could be the reason why my eyes looked that way. I send the picture to my friend. I send the picture to my sister and brother-in-law, but everyone agreed that they were not able to see what I saw. Maybe I am over exaggerating. I sent the photo to my brother. He was the only one that was able to see what I saw. I knew at that point that I was not losing my mind after all when he started to describe what he saw. I felt a relief. But I left it alone. Didn't thought much of it.

Another year goes by. Shocking to say the least. I thought by now I would be off all medications I was prescribed and walking down the path to find my old self. March 7, 2024, was my first visit of the year. By now, I am experiencing pressure and mild pain on my left ear which would last a few seconds. Until this day, I do at times feel the pressure and mild pain. But as I have said before, I will never go back, NEVER, to taking Prednisone.  I am still experiencing pain underneath my breasts area. Fortunately, all of the CT scans of the chest and CT scan of the ribs are normal. But I wonder what may be causing this pain every now and then. I am now experiencing a stuffy nose and congestion, which has been ongoing for a few months and doesn't seem to want to leave. I was told by my PCP to use Flonase since she diagnosed me with post-nasal drip. The Flonase did seem to help for the first 4 hours but then the usual stuffiness, congestion and cough would come back. I did also experience some crustiness on my left ear the cartilage part, sometime in January for about a week. I had to clean it and maintain it during that time period. In addition, I also began to experience some dizziness while sitting at my desk (I work from home). However, I was able to see a huge difference when on Humira. My ear no longer drooped, and the inflammation calmed down. My ear went back to its natural skin color. I do have say that I do not think my ear is at 100% compared to how it looked before because I can tell the difference, but I am happy with my end result, for now.  With all this going on, I am also anemic, as the Rheumatologist noted on the visit "Microcytic Hypochromic Anemia: Appears chronic per prior labs. Endorses heavy menses. Improvement per labs 2/27/24". That is another story to tell soon. This is also the day that I had to transfer from Humira to Hyrimoz. 

These are some photos when I was diagnosed with RP. You can see the changes that Prednisone did on me. The last photo shows a before and after to really see the difference. 

This is me, before getting the cartilage piercing. This is the person I would stare at in the mirror. This is the person I was use too that would smile back at me. This is the person that would wake up in the mornings with energy and no pain. This is the old me, who I really miss. This is the person that I used to be. This is the part of me that faded the day I was diagnosed with RP. 

As I mentioned on my last blog post, December 28, 2021, was when my PCP put in an ENT Referral. Let me tell you, the process was a painful one. When I first called the ENT office, it had selections, press a number for new patients (do not recall which number it was), and I did press it, which prompted me to leave a message with my information and a representative will contact me within 48 hrs. I left my information but out of desperation due to the pain and swelling of the left ear, also led me to contact other ENT offices for any immediate openings. While in the process of calling several ENT offices, I learned that NOT all ENT specialists specialized in ear piercing cartilage infections. Which was a bummer. I put an end to my desperation since I was getting nowhere. I waited to hear back from the ENT office I was originally referred too but nada. So, the next day, I called again, but being in so much pain I decided to select the option for established patients and was able to speak with someone. I explained my situation, my pain and the swelling of my ear and told the receptionist I needed an appointment ASAP. Which thankfully, she understood and helped me out. By, January 7th, 2022, I was able to finally see ENT. 

May of 2021, the special month where mothers all over the world, celebrate.....Mother's Day!!!!! I wanted to do something spontaneous something fun, so I made a decision to get my left ear pierced. Specifically, the helix and tragus. I called the piercing shop nearby and scheduled an apt. I went to my piercing appointment May 6, 2021, and I was very excited. The end result was........PERFECT. I was happy with the outcome. But little did I know, months from now, May 6, would be the day I would regret the most within my entire life. That decision was the day that led to the start of my journey with RP. :-(