Immunotherapy - Five Months In

 In short - immunotherapy has been a life changer for me!  

From November, 2022 to July 2023, I had six cysts/abscesses on various parts of my body. Obviously, I knew it wasn't normal and figured it had something to do with autoimmune, but it was only recently that I saw a commercial about something called Hidradenitis Suppurativa - according to the website it is a skin condition that causes lumps in places where the skin rubs together such as the groin, buttocks, or armpits. I had them in all three of those places (armpits twice) plus the right lower leg and the gum of my mouth.  It is the result of inflammation.  

The cyst/abscess on the lower leg became infected after it ruptured and then advanced to cellulitis.  

Besides dealing with the abscesses, I also had three UTI's during that time span.  

Most of these infections caused my whole body to react and would cause intense vomiting and fevers.  

The only time I sought treatment from a doctor is when I had the cellulitis and, looking back, this seems insane to me!  I really don't know what I was thinking because now that I look at it through a different lens, any of those infections could have easily turned into something life threatening.  

The out of control psoriasis was another depressing and embarrassing issue. I watched as the psoriasis advanced up my legs, up my arms, and up my whole back.  My feet were also affected, but that was not new - my feet had been bad for about five years already.  The itching was horrible and it was embarrassing to show any part of my skin and have white flakes of skin fall off constantly and everywhere!

I am ashamed to think about how bad I let myself get and only started getting treatment because I ended up in the hospital with such severe inflammation that it was affecting my heart. 

My first dose of Methotrexate was at the end of July.  Since then, I have not had any more cysts or abscesses, no vomiting (other than medication related a couple of times), and no fevers.  I have had one UTI about a week after I stopped taking probiotics/prebiotics for urinary health so I promptly ordered more and take them every day. 

And my skin...

July

September

December

So very thankful and grateful!  
 

Halloween Horror Nights 2023- Rating Two More Houses

 Since I am not rating the houses as a countdown this year, I am trying to rate them in the order we would walk through them (yes, we had a system).  The order may not be 100% correct, but it is close. 

On to the houses...

THE LAST OF US

This house was based on the video game ( and HBO series) by the same name and, honestly, the least favorite for me.  Since I didn't watch the series or play the video game, the house really had no meaning to me.  It was, however, a pretty popular house with others and the one that consistently had one of the longer waits for us.  In fact, factoring in the wait time vs. my overall interest in the house, I wouldn't have minded skipping this house some nights (but we didn't).

The premise is a post-apocalyptic drama.  A global pandemic destroys  civilization and a hardened survivor takes control of a young girl who may be humanity's last hope. Score: 3

Image from Google

Image from Google

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS UNMASKED

Lurking beneath the streets of Paris are the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Invisible Man aka Jack Griffin. 

As you enter the house you see a full moon and light raindrops sprinkle overhead.  A police man on the bridge above warns everyone to clear the streets due to murders in the area. The rest of the house has you walking through the catacombs, the streets, and the Opera House in Paris.  

There were several rooms in this house and while it seemed a bit disjointed, I loved the Paris theme and scenery.  That bumped up the score for me.  Score: 5 

Image from Google

Image from Google

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

Those were the five houses toward the back of park.  

Up next: The remaining five houses which were all in pretty close proximity in the front of the park. 

Halloween Horror Nights 2023 - Rating the Houses (The First Three)

 This year I opted for the full event express pass, which did not include Saturdays.  It also did not include parking, but thankfully, CJ got free prime parking with his annual pass.  

I don't recall exactly how many times I went but am thinking it was around 7-8 times.  We hit all 10 houses every time except one. 

Instead of rating the houses in order of least to favorite, I am going to give them a number rating of 1-10.  There really were not any ones this year but, in my opinion, there were no tens either. 

CHUCKY: ULTIMATE KILL COUNT

The first house we would hit was Chucky Kill Count.  While not a favorite, I find the backstory (or premise) of this house amusing.  The house was divided in two parts/buildings with a very short walk outside dividing the them.  

Chucky was coming to HHN so Universal created a house to promote him, but Chucky is unhappy with the house because it is lame, fake, and no kills actually take place. So he takes over creating the second part of the house and uses it to increase his kill count substantially by killing anyone who enters it.  Score: 4 (average but entertaining).

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

Stock Photo from Google

Stock Photo from Google

DR.ODDFELLOWS TWISTED ORIGINS

When you enter this house, you are entering a 1930's-era circus.  Dr. Oddfellow has invited you to his big top for a late-night show that is  not for children. The circus acts are actually outrageous murders.  I guess this house comes with a backstory for Dr. Oddfellow that includes a motive - he is essentially collecting souls to gain immortality.   Score: 7 

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

THE DARKEST DEAL

When you enter this house, you immediately meet a down and out musician who strikes a deal with the Collector (of souls). As you go through the house, the musician's popularity rises until the end, when he has to fulfill his end of the contract and face an eternity in the underworld.  This house is very similar to the "Devil went Down to Georgia" song. 

This house was a conundrum for me.  I loved the story line and I think I would have enjoyed the house a lot if it hadn't been for one thing - it was way too dark for me.  I  walked into a couple walls, a prop, and actually got lost to the point where I couldn't move for a few seconds...which seems like an eternity when you are blocking all the people behind you!  It got to the point where I would just hold onto CJ's shirt and honestly, had I not done that, I would have encountered another wall and walked into a table.  Score: 6 (I would like to rate it higher, but it was hard to enjoy when I was so nervous about not making a fool of myself).  

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE