Saturday, July 19, 2008

Leaves of Three, Let It Be

If only I had remembered that ditty as I was helping my niece pull weeds in the backyard of her Asheville, NC rental property during our recent vacation. I was trying to be helpful. She warned me as I was working by the tree that I was getting into poison ivy, but I had gloves on and long pants with socks so I thought washing my hands well would take care of it. How wrong I was. Days later, after returning home, I noticed a strange red welt on my calf. I didn't figure it out until it spread, and blistered and started looking like some horrible skin condition. The itching drove me to the doctor who prescribed an antibiotic and steroid cream which I lathered on as often as I could. Still no relief. In fact, things were progressing.

I haven't mentioned that at the peak of my outbreak, we packed and moved from Oakland to Roseville, east of Sacramento. My husband's retirement led us to a place that is more affordable and quieter to live. And we have a community here already because we have kept friends from our time living here in the '80s. For some reason, we decided it was a good idea to rent a U-Haul and get a couple of friends to help us with the move. When we arrived, the temperature was 96 degrees but because we have simplified so much, it only took three men 30 minutes to move everything from the truck into our new space, a two-bedroom apartment.

The poison ivy wasn't getting any better, so I found a new doctor at the Roseville Kaiser and when I saw him, he told me I needed a steroid shot. Which I took gladly. It's now three days later, and I'm just beginning to notice some improvement. I have a renewed respect for nature and I'm remembering back to a day many years ago when I drove off to college -- with a case of poison ivy. My boyfriend at the time (who later became my first husband) and I had gone to the State Park for a going away picnic and chose a very inopportune spot to throw our blanket down. I wonder at the connection between the poison ivy I had when I left home for college and the poison ivy I have now as I move away from my children. A strange coincidence.

I do know I will be much more careful the next time I take a walk on a trail and I'm going to religiously study what poison oak looks like.