Chemo and Cold Sores Don't Mix!

Nice, right? And before it's through, the little one on the
right connected with the big one on the left... UGH!

So it's the end of the school year. Time to say goodbye to my little darlings. Also time to print all of the graphs I've made on them throughout the year to put in their portfolios, put together their portfolios for next year's teacher, shred all of the work that can't be sent home and doesn't go in the portfolio, check their cumulative folders and add my notes and reports, pack up everything in my room so that it can be cleaned, pack up the center of the pod so it can be cleaned, get everything signed off on and turned in so that my summer can begin. Did I mention that I still have kids to teach while I do this? Needless to say, I get a little stressed at the end of the year. And when I get stressed, I get a cold sore. Every year at this time, I get a cold sore!

This time, it started a little early because my last round of chemo was the Thursday before the last day of school. So there's 4 days of school left, and I'm only going to be there for 2 of them. ACK! So the lovely thing starts to bubble up on Wednesday. I start a counterattack with Abreva (I swear by that stuff!) and things are going like normal. On Friday, I get a little circle on the right side of my chin. It doesn't look or feel like a cold sore, so I leave it alone thinking I scratched myself. By Sunday, the thing  is taking over my face (though it was only half the size that it is in the picture... eesh!) On Thursday, I go for my normal bloodwork and my white count is way low again (0.7, which explains why this thing got so bad), so I have to see the doctor. She sees the growth on my face and prescribes Zovirax.

Let me tell you a little something about Zovirax... First off, if we hadn't met our deductible for the year back in February, I wouldn't have gotten it. It normally costs $507! So I'm thinking this stuff is going to have my face cleared up in the next day or so. Boy, was I wrong! It's a pretty thick cream, but when you apply it to your face, it turns watery and drips. Well, if you know anything about the virus that causes cold sores, you know that it's extremely contagious. So the drips cause it to spread. Now not only is it on the front of my chin where it started, but it's spreading across my chin and under my jawline! Me? NOT HAPPY! I finally get it to stop trying to take over my face, but it's not getting any better. Two and a half weeks after the first appearance is way more than I can handle, so I take matters into my own hands. I take the hottest shower I can handle and get all the crusties off, then I cover every pink part of my face with Neosporin. Basically my whole chin and under my jaw are slimed with the stuff. And guess what? It worked! It's only been a few days, but I haven't had that nasty, crusty mess or the pain that comes with it. I'm very pink, bordering on red, and I sometimes remind myself of a clown because it's all under my mouth, but I am a much happier camper than I was a few days ago.

Now I'm just waiting, waiting, waiting. PET scan next week, though, which means I'm closer to knowing what's next!