Lymphomatoid Papulosis: GAME OVER!

It finally got the better of me. That's right the LyP has finally made it's mark on me and there's nothing I can do.

It all started with a day full of service calls on Tuesday. I was scheduled for every second of the day. I was already exhausted by mid afternoon, but I had two more calls to go. My foot (affected by the LyP) had the feeling of a twisting knife jabbing into the side of it. I was in some serious pain. By noon time I had noticed all kinds of yellow and green colors associated with the blister. It was ugly.

I finally hit my last service call of the day, and by this time I am barely limping along. After a few minutes there, the lady who's computer I was working on (Joyce Zollman) said that Dr. Woods was there. I asked her if she thought he'd look at my foot. She said "of course he would." Me being reluctant told her I probably shouldn't because he wasn't on duty and it would be very rude of me. She told me it would be no big deal and I had better go ahead. So she ended up asking for me, and he said he'd have no problem at all taking a look because he 'loved his job.' So without anymore reservation, I showed him. He was immediately startled and told me I had a serious infection. He (just like the majority of doctors) knew nothing about my condition which cased the blister, but could tell the blister in itself was seriously infected, in fact it was flirting with going into the bone. He told me to go to the emergency room immediately because I needed antibiotics to get a handle on the situation or I could end up possibly even amputating my foot. I took the advice seriously, and even Joyce said herself "when Dr. Woods says to go, you go, because he is a pretty conservative guy when it comes to this kind of stuff." I told her that I didn't want to end up paying and arm and a leg on something I could go in for the next day. She asked me if it was worth losing my foot... and I was like "NO!" So I took the advice, and went into the emergency room. After about a 45 minute wait with friend Chris Gamboa, I was seen by Dr. Powers. She, too was alarmed at the infection and said I had a choice to get the antibiotics in my system by a shot or an IV. I said, how about the IV -- and she said it would take much longer to do that. That is when Chris piped in and said "get a shot in the butt and get the heck out of here Levi!" I was reluctant to do so, but decided to go with the second option. What I didn't realize is when they showed up they decided not to give me the shot in my butt, but in my thigh. Plus, instead of just one thigh, they wanted to poke me in both thighs because of the amount of antibiotic they were going to inject into me. I sucked it up (being a veteran of the needle from my cancer days), took the shots and got out of there shortly before midnight.

The doc demanded that I stay home with my foot above my heart for two days. She said I was not to have a shoe or sock on it as it needed to dry out and start to heal. I asked her if this meant not going into work and being on my feet all day... and she was like "uh, yeah, that's exactly what I am saying." So, I stayed home all day Wednesday and will be home on Thursday as well hopped up on pain meds and a heavy dose of antibiotics to get well. After all, I have a wedding to film Saturday. This whole incident couldn't have come at a worst time as I am also moving out of my office space into my home. It seems everything is happening at once, but I am supposed to just rest and let my foot get rid of this infection. It has been a wild couple of days, but I am thankful for my friend Chris coming to the ER and staying with me. I am thankful for my mom and sister helping me out while I am laid up. I am also thankful for the fact that I had a stroke of good luck on a service call. Without such luck, could have left me without a right foot.

-LB

Lymphomatoid Papulosis

Try saying that ten times fast. Try being a patient of it. For those of you who don't know, I suffer from a condition called Lymphomatoid Papulosis (LyP). Here is a brief background of what it is:

Background: Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a chronic papulonecrotic or papulonodular skin disease with histologic features suggestive of a malignant lymphoma. The disease is characterized by recurrent crops of pruritic papules at different stages of development that predominantly arise on the trunk and limbs. The papules heal spontaneously over 1-2 months, usually leaving slightly depressed oval scars.

The term lymphomatoid papulosis originally was used by Macaulay in 1968 to describe "a self-healing rhythmical paradoxical eruption, histologically malignant but clinically benign.” Due to the typical waxing and waning clinical course, LyP was previously considered a pseuodolymphomatous inflammatory process. However, the classification system for cutaneous lymphomas has evolved rapidly, and, during consensus meetings in 2003-2004, the World Health Organization—European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (WHO-EORTC) classification grouped LyP among the indolent cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. The rationale for classifying LyP as a cutaneous lymphoma is its association with other malignant lymphoproliferative disorders; however, some experts hesitate to classify this chronic skin disease as a true malignancy because of its spontaneous resolution and benign clinical course.

LyP is part of a spectrum of CD30 (Ki-1)–positive cutaneous lymphoproliferative diseases (CD30⁺ LPDs), including LyP, primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL), and borderline CD30⁺ lesions.

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In other words, I have bumps and blisters every little while. Some come and go, some stay for months.

I have had Lymphomatoid Papulosis since I was 11 years old. And with only about 250 cases in the United States, you could say I am "one in a million." Though not a lucky one in a million. LyP is really Lymphoma's ugly cousin. Though it doesn't require most anything but some photo therapy, creams, or no attention at all, it is still a very painful condition. Right now I am int he middle of one of my worst outbreaks ever. I have a very large blister on the left side of my foot. It oozes and bleeds all the time. I finally went to see the local doc yesterday, and I was yet again referred to OHSU in Portland. I am still waiting on a phone call from them and trying to decide if I need to go back down there. Though it might help others down the road with this condition, my going to OHSU usually leads to a mis diagnosis of sorts (very common with this condition). The mis diagnosis usually reveals I have lymphoma, which is not the case at all. In fact, the lead oncologist at OHSU did just that three years ago. A needle biopsy vindicated me of any belief that I had cancer and/or it had returned from my original diagnosis nearly 10 years ago.

So by the first of next week I'll decide if I want to become a medical guinea pig again, or just tough it out and hope that it 'goes away.'

-LB

Engaged

Engaged, that's right engaged. It's a term I've been hearing a lot lately. Most recently, my very own sister, who was proposed to via a text message. Long story short it was actually really cool. Colby, my sister's boyfriend waited until he had cell service, and she did not. When they came back into service, her phone went off... with a text message reading "will you marry me?" My sister (thinking it was a joke) replied "of course," what she didn't realize is that he was serious, and busted out a ring. It was then she knew he was serious and said YES. I thought it was a really cool story. What caught me off guard was the text message I received reading "he asked, I said yes!" I was fairly certain of the subject, but just to be sure I sent a message back saying "what???" Sure enough, I was part of a mass text message my sister had sent out. This was immediately followed by a phone call of me chewing her out for not telling before EVERYONE else in her phone book!

My cousin JP is also engaged to be married next April. I am excited for both of them, also realizing that I am no where near ready for marriage. Nevertheless, I'll still be a cousin, brother, and brother-in-law to a growing family, who I am very proud of.

-LB

Fair Time

This work week was cut a bit short because of fair activities going on. Thursday and Friday I am creating the "plaquards" which are given to the buyer of the animals at the county fair. I have been doing it for over 7 years now. I do donate a portion of my time to the fair each year for this project. But by no means am I getting out of work -- oh no, this is a rather large project involving many hours. It is something I do enjoy doing, though.

Lately I've been out on the lake a lot. It seems everyone comes out of the woodwork each year and wants to go out and play on the water. This year has been no exception. Though, I will say most of them are my true friends and I enjoy being out there as well.

In this picture you see Lane Bailey, who started going out with us last year. He is probably one of the better wakeboarders around in the fact that he's not afraid to do some jumps and play around -- but also for the fact he's pretty much addicted to being on the board.

In the next couple of weeks I will be liquidating all the equipment in my office (that I will not use at home). It is actually quite a bit of stuff, stuff that I really can part with and not have to move into my home. I'll miss my office some, but for the most part not.

-LB

The Big Change

Hey folks, I am back again. Still trying to stay on top of things, which includes updating this blog as much as possible.

So, for those of you who don't know -- I am scaling down my business LB Productions. I have had an office in downtown Joseph for three years now. Though great to be out of my house, the overhead and expenses have not been great. I also have dealt with a great deal of stress since being in the office. The interruptions were almost constant, and I felt the quality of my services was declining because I was dealing with so much day-to-day drivel. Several weeks ago, I made the hard, but what I felt to be necessary decision to make the move back to my home. This is where my business started, and this is where my business could end. Not really, I'll always do my business in some shape or form, but it will continue to adapt and modify as time goes on.

So for the first time publicly, I'm going to tell you what has been going on. This has been happening in the shadows for the past several weeks, and as things become more serious, things become more of a reality. I have been perusing opportunities outside of Wallowa County. I have no intention of leaving here, until the absolute right opportunity comes along. I have gone to a couple of interviews now and even landed one of the jobs - which I had to turn down because it didn't offer nearly what I have here in Wallowa County with my own business. It could be 3 months or 3 years before this happens. Wallowa County will always be my home, but I can't turn down bettering myself -- however, with that being said - I'm not going to leave until all angles are reviewed and the opportunity is perfect.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty interesting to say the least. I did get through the dreaded Chief Joseph Days. Though, it was as awful as normal, I did survive yet another year. I've also been going out on the lake quite a bit. It has been fun, except for yesterday when a friend and I got into an argument. Long story short we are still friends, but needed to sort out some issues.

I hope you are caught up now! More later...

-LB