They're Back

So Katie and I were having a little foot-soaking session about a week or two ago and guess what I noticed??
That's right...
The warts are back.
And there are more of them!
I can't believe this.
I have never met such stubborn warts.
And now I know the pain of getting them burned off, so I'm scared of going back in. Especially since it didn't work last time. And there are more of them.
Waaaaahhhh....

Ouch

Cardboard Cut: like a paper cut...but thicker.

Happy Warts-Giving

I didn't put up any Thanksgiving posts this weekend, so now I am going to make up for it.

I am thankful for liquid nitrogen.
I am thankful to be wart-free.
I am thankful for cameras to document my journey through wart-dom.
I am thankful for blogs to share this incredible journey with you.

See that dark round cluster to the Left? That, I believe, is the wart. The rest is simply a blood blister from walking on a sore, recently-frozen wart. The two slightly wartish-looking things on either side were warts-to-be, nipped in the bud.
The other two full-grown warts on my toes departed silently in night, sometime last week.
So this crusty blossom was all that was left of the fiends.
It was looking very pickable...
So I picked it.
It came off quite easily.
My warts are gone! Hurrah! Hopefully I will never have warts again!

Chemical Wart-fare

Its been over 2 weeks now since I got my warts burned off at the walk-in clinic...more like 3. But the warts appear to have been defeated. They've turned black, and one has abandoned ship entirely. I'm hoping the other two will follow suit.
I am sort of wishing I tried the Apple Cider Vinegar treatment before I brought in the heavy artillery. I'm curious to know if there is an easy at-home solution to wart destruction.
Maybe I'll get a new batch someday and get a chance to try it out.

Random Updates, and a Helpful Trick

Update #1:
When I returned from Ireland, a few of my houseplants were, shall we say, in need of some TLC. Some (like my English Ivy...that's a post for another day) were beyond help, and I feared my Jasmine was among them. Once the dead branches were pruned, and the crispy leaves bushed aside, there remained but a few sharp brown twigs sticking out of the pot. You can see them in this picture. You can also see that it has been brought back to health, and three lively green shoots have sprung up since then. Its been a long journey, and I wondered if it would ever return to its former glory. This plant used to be quite bushy and frequently dotted with fragrant white blossoms. Well, today I celebrate because one of its 3 buds have opened, and I have a beautiful white bloom!
I am very happy.

Update #2:
Its been one week since I got (my warts) tortured at the walk-in clinic.
They are not nearly as sore as they were, and are now beginning to darken.
The doctor said they should be gone within 2 weeks, so they have seven days to skedaddle.

Ps. I hear putting Apple Cider Vinegar on warts is supposed to get rid of them...maybe I should have tried that. It might have been less painful!

Speaking of Apple Cider Vinegar....

Helpful Trick:
We get bombarded with fruit flies at our house every now and then.
And lately its been more now than then.
I've found a way to get rid of them, and it really works!

I got a shallow dish, poured in some Apple Cider Vinegar (the fruity smell attracts them), and covered it with plastic cling wrap. Then I poked holes with a fork.

The flies smell the vinegar, climb in the holes, and then eventually fall into the liquid and drown because they can't crawl out!

The picture shows the second batch of victims. The first batch was even more successful!

Warty Toe Woes

Remember my wart fiasco?

The battle has been ongoing for a couple years now. I tried Compound W, and I tried Oil of Oregano, and I tried...well, ok maybe that's all I tried, but these warts were resistant! And I'm not very persistent. I needed an assistant!

I took the step. I resolved to have them burned off at the walk-in clinic yesterday.
I called in the morning asking if there was any time for me to come in and get it done, and the lady assured me that there was plenty of room between 12pm and 1pm. I clipped my toenails, shaved my legs (sorry male readers, but facts are facts), and headed out.
When I arrived at the dimly lit waiting room, the beady-eyed woman at the reception desk told me quite firmly that there was no room before 3pm. Um...what? It's like 11am!
I put my name on the list, and decided to kill some time! Those warts were going down, if its the last thing I do!
Fortunately I got to meet up with my friend Rishelle, whom I haven't seen since her wedding in May, and we had a great visit over lunch.
I did some shopping, and generally just toodled around town until around 2:30, when I headed back to the clinic. The sign on the door read: Sorry! Walk-in is full for today. Good thing I had already put my name down!
I grabbed a cheesy magazine (there was very poor selection...I was disappointed) and hunkered down to wait.
I waited.
And waited.
Checked the clock. 4pm. UUUUGHHHH.
Annoying people sitting beside me.
Waiting.
Still waiting.
Everyone else is getting called in.
Finally! The receptionist called my name and led me down a narrow hallway to a examination room in the back. I sat in the chair and took off my sandal.
My foot was actually kind of disgusting. It had some weird black dirt on it, and various other goodies from walking around all day. Gross.
I frantically tried to rub it clean with my hand, and then when that proved unsuccessful, my purse. Haha...I know.
In the end, it was improved, but still looking like a dirty summer sandal foot.
If that's the way its gotta be, than that's the way its gotta be.
I resumed my waiting. After a long time, the doctor knocked and entered.
He was some kind of cross between a stereotypical grandfather and a mad scientist.
I showed him my warty foot, and he was like, "well lets see if these are actually warts, and not just callouses."
Ummm....excuse me??? I think I would know if they were just callouses!
He grabbed a little metal scraper and scraped at the warts until their full warty glory was revealed.
"Ah, yes," he said, "I can see the little black dots now. Those are definitely warts!"
Well now that we've got that cleared up...
"Have you ever had warts burned off with liquid nitrogen before?" He asked. "Its going to hurt a little bit."
Pain, schmain. I laugh in the face of pain.
The Doctor left the room and returned with a cannister, about the size of one of those old-fashioned milk cans. He twisted off the cap, and an eery tendril of wispy smoke escaped. I fidgeted nervously. He then proceeded to dip a large cotton swap into the nitrogen, until tiny ice crystals formed.
"Ok," He said, "I'm just going to freeze your warts, and hopefully they will be gone in about a week."
The swab swooped in and alighted on my bottom wart with a fearsome hiss.
At first it wasn't so bad. It felt a little bit like an ice cube.
Then it began to burn. Slightly uncomfortable.
Up and down, up and down, hiss, hiss, hiss!...I think the Doc was enjoying this a little too much.
My foot was getting sore now. The skin around the wart was more sensitive, and I was ready for this to stop.
"Yes, these are freezing very easily. That's good."
He dipped the swab a second time, and moved in on the second wart, on my toe.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Owwwwwiiieeeeee!
Hisssss! Hissss!
"Stop! Please! I'll tell you everything! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"
Make sure you never entrust any top secret national security information to me, 'cause I won't last a minute under torture.
After what felt like a very long time, the nitrogen cannister was resealed, the swabs thrown away, and my wounds bandaged.
I bid farewell to the sadistic Doctor, and hobbled out of the clinic.
My foot was tender, and the warts were stinging. It doesn't hurt like a major wound, just like those nagging burns that I used to get in school all the time, except this time its on my foot, and there's no way to avoid contact with it!
Because they are on my right foot, driving is a bit uncomfortable.
They are better today, but still sore. The large one on the bottom of my foot has gone all white, and the others are still swaddled with a bandaid, bit I assume they look the same.
Hopefully they will be gone soon! Its time this war was finished!

Some Pictures

Crappy shot, but this is my ruined hand. On my finger is a popped blister on a popped blister, and around my thumb is a fresh burn. above that is an old burn.

This is part of my room. I also have a closet, which you will hear more about in a later post.

the walls are paper thin, and I had no curtain, so my towel is the substitute.

This is the amazing view from the dining room deck...so nice.

this is the kitchen/dining room/some accomadations up top. as you can see its right on the highway, but there is so little traffic it doesn't even matter!

Knife Skills

One thing I was keenly aware of this year in school was my lack of knife skills. Some students are soooo good with their knives, they can make stuff look so professional without even trying. Me...well I try, but usually when I'm the one chopping everything is a different size and shape.
I put down "knife skills" as one of my practicum goals, because I want to get better.
Well, I've been chopping veggies ever since! Ok, not quite, but I am doing a lot more "quantity" than ever before! I had to cut up a case of butternut squash the first day...I don't know if you've ever cut up squash. I did one or two in my Soups station, and they are TOUGH. Tough skin. Well, if I thought cutting up one or two was hard, the whole frickin case was something else altogether.
I got a huuuge whopping blister on my right index finger.
The next day I cut up a case of carrots, a case of zuchinni, kale, and onion.
Today it was a case of potatoes.
I actually...no joke...have blisters ON my popped blisters.
Obviously my knife is not a prep knife.
You learn something new every day.

I have Monday and Tuesday off, so I am hoping to upload some pictures and post them. My ruined hands might be among the documentation.

Not for the Faint-Hearted!

The following images are disturbing to the extreme, especially if you are squeamish about WARTS!
However, I polled you guys last week to see if a post of this nature would be welcome, and I discovered that almost all of you are as sick as I am! What can I say, warts are so weirdly fascinating. Just don't youtube them, ok? Cuz Katie and I did that, and I threw up a little bit in my mouth. I'm just partial to my own warts, I guess.

Ok, so when last I documented the Warty War in November, I was using a bottle of stuff called Compound W. I would soak my foot and then apply this white liquid. It was pretty harsh, but it certainly reduced the size of the warts, even though it did take a lot of skin with it! Seriously...it was disgusting. My toes were peeling, red, and raw, and they would really hurt after being on my feet all day at school. This isn't even the worst picture of it. I didn't want to gross you guys out too bad.
At one point my smallest wart on one of my toes was sticking out, and all the skin around it had peeled off, so I picked and picked, until the wart came off.
Eventually my Compound W dried up, and my warts were still there. Even the one I picked off came back.
It was a time of deep despair.
I left them alone for a while, thinking maybe there would be a delayed result from the medication.
No such luck.

They started growing again, and I reeeeally don't want more than 3 warts, so when my mom brought home a little bottle of Oil of Oregano (which apparently cures everything from sore throats, to warts, to cancer...ok, that last one has not been confirmed....) I decided to give it a go.
The process is basically the same as before: soak the foot for 10 minutes, the wart will open up (it really does...like a flower. Gross!) and then put a little drop of the oil on.
It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't kill the skin around the wart, so its an improvement I think!
I was doing it regularly for about a week or two, and I noticed the wart started getting little dark specks in it. Naturally, I got the camera out and zoomed in. And then cropped and zoomed some more! Here is what I saw...prepare yourselves.
EEEWWWWWWWW!!! See all those little strands? Yuck!! Some are dark, and some are still white. I think its a good sign when they go dark.
There hasn't been much progress since this pic was taken, and one of the warts on my toes is getting pretty hefty, so it might be time to switch to a new treatment.

I hear apple cider vinegar works. And covering it with clear nail polish is supposed to suffocate it.

Hey, its worth a try!

Finding a fail-proof wart cure might be my life calling.

Close Cut

I'm so used to burns now, it never even crossed my mind someday I might do myself more serious damage. While julienning red peppers today I totally sliced part of my left thumbnail off! It was SO close to my thumb.
My first thought was, WOW look at that! I have to take a picture for my blog!
So I resisted the terrible urge to tear the rest of the nail off, so that when I got home I could let you all know about my near death experience. What a good blogger am I.

Burns & Blisters

I resurrect this poor neglected blog to inform you of a most tragic event.
Yesterday, whilst pan-frying a salmon fillet, my left hand was spattered with boiling hot butter. IT HURT. A LOT.
But...the show must go on. I finished the dish, and then rinsed my hand under cold water for a few seconds before completing the rest of the fillets. It stung, but it was bearable.
At the end of the day, as I was putting away my uniform and knives in my locker, I noticed a large, bulbous growth on my hand.
A blister!!
Ouch.
(Please note also the other red grease-burns nearby. They want your pity too)
I was nervous about this blister popping because it hurt a lot to touch. So I treated it gingerly, applying it with vitamin E when I got home (but I took the picture for you first), and being careful not to brush it against anything.
Then...of course...in a moment of forgetfulness, I put my hair up in a ponytail, and the elastic that had been on my wrist snapped across the finger and squeezed the blister ' til it popped!!

At least I didn't have to worry about popping it anymore! It got a little grimy from lint before I covered it with a band-aid, and it still looks pretty sick.
But it gets better: today I had to sear off my chicken ballantyne in hot oil. And guess what...that's right...I burnt myself AGAIN! On my RIGHT hand.
It didn't take long for a blister to rise to the surface. Not as big as the original, but puss-y looking nonetheless. I couldn't wait to get home and take a picture of it for you.
Unfortunately, as I was sweeping the floors during clean up, too much pressure was put on it, and it burst.
So now my hands look like I have a severe case of leprosy or something. Yay!
Just what I always wanted.

Wart War

During my summer at Homewood I made this disturbing discovery: two warts on my right foot.
Although I was given much helpful advice on how to get rid of them, I never did get around to it, and actually became quite used to the new additions. They were quiet, unobtrusive, and minded their own business. We got along just fine.
Until recently.
I noticed the other day they had added another to their tribe. A THIRD wart has sprouted on my middle toe, sort of nestled in a hidden place between two toes.
The whole secrecy of it has me all riled up. This uninvited guest is not welcome. I was fine with two little warts, but I've come to realize they've been plotting a hostile takeover this whole time...they were just waiting for me to become complacent.
(there is a little arrow pointing to the sneaky little wart...the other two are fairly obvious)

I've turned to Compound W for help.

Yesterday I applied the first coat. It turns them all white and fizzly. I hope it works.
Its time for the Warts to MOVE OUT!!!
I'll let you know how it goes.

(That's right...I'm subjecting you to another series of posts about grossness)

The Saga Continues

Since there are no one-year anniversaries to celebrate today, its back to the good ol' reliable story of my burn. Its always there for me.
As you can see, its healing up very nicely, and actually is hardly noticeable anymore.
Amazing how our bodies repair themselves, isn't it??
Now besides the burn on my knuckle, my grated thumb, and other various work-related injuries, I'm pretty much a picture of health.

The Picking Stage

There hasn't been too much excitement on the scabby-wound front these days.
Its slowly but surely healing up.
Today its been incredibly itchy! The flaking skin and scab are sooo pick-able.
So tempting...
My brother Hugo* used to eat scabs.
I think maybe he still does.
GROSS.




*Name has been changed to protect privacy

The Road to Recovery

I know you are all dying to hear the latest on my bloody wound.
Its a pretty exciting topic.
Today it looks sort of like a target with 3 rings.
The outer ring is a browny shade with a puckered inner edge, like a drawstring bag. Its starting to flake a little.
Then we have the exposed pink flesh of the middle ring.
And finally...
The Scab.
Its officially begun to form.
I am so proud. Its really come a long way in the past week.
Maybe tomorrow it will be completely scabbed over. Wouldn't that be something.

Evolution of a Scab

I've been putting vitamin E on my burn, hoping for improvement.
This morning it looked yellow and pussy and gross.
Then a scab began to form...
We'll check in tomorrow to see if I will recover, or if amputation is necessary.

ps. In actuality I have very slim, delicate wrists. They are not fat and pudgy, as this picture would have you think. Its the angle I tell you. A trick I say!

Occupational Hazard

I burn myself a lot at school and work, and I'm beginning to lose sensation in my fingertips from always picking up, touching, testing, and dealing with hot foods.
This past week I burnt my arm when it touched the rim of a stainless steel bowl that had been heated by a nearby element. I only touched it for a second, and I thought the burn was minor.
Yesterday I noticed it was very red and looked pretty scabby, so I thought to myself that I better moisturize it.
Well surprise, surprise-- I forgot!
And this morning at work suddenly it really started to hurt, and I noticed that the scab had fallen off! eewwww!!
Now its stinging like crazy, and wearing long sleeves really irritates it. Ooouch!