Monday, May 11, 2009

I'm not laughing anymore

I am really cheesed off now. It has gone beyond funny. Having endured six months of discoid dermatitis which necessitated an emergency visit to Singapore as I looked worse than the Elephant Man, I now have a new skin inflammation to register. Two nights ago I woke up with a major swelling on my left elbow and a really uncomfortable pain. My friendly Khmer doctor has diagnosed cellulitis, usually caused by bacteria entering the lower layer of skin and having dermatitis means I am prone to getting it. This skin problem is common amongst the elderly and as I'm fifty later this year, that must include me. In rare cases, it can become what the media term 'flesh-eating disease' so I'm religiously applying the solution the doctor has prescribed as well as antibiotics. My legs and hands are still carrying the legacy of the original skin inflammation (discoid dermatitis usually affects adults in middle age) and as it can be triggered by heat, wind, dust, sweat, insects and so on, living in Cambodia is a sure way for it to recur. Hallelujah, not.

I'm off to Kep by the seaside tomorrow as a friend is getting married in her home town of Kompong Trach, and Kep has the nearest decent guesthouse. Just going for the ceremony and party, then will stay 1 night in Kep and return to Phnom Penh early Wednesday morning. Should be a good one as the weddings I've been to in the provinces before are a lot less formal and usually more fun. I'd better take my dancing shoes (and a sling for my arm).

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