Hi, Everyone. I appreciate the concern I've gotten in the past few weeks. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond. I am frankly completely exhausted and don't have the energy to do much more than survive each day. I'm afraid I'm the one who needs shoring up these days.

My Shih Tzu has been sick and we don't know why yet. He's taking up pretty much all of my time. I hope to have answers in the next week or two. I have no idea if it's "fixable" or one of those "end of life" things. Not fun to contemplate.

I have also been dealing with a new problem that has not been defined completely yet, other than I'm "allergic" or "photosensitive" to all UV rays, whether that's the UVA/UVB of the sun or artificial lighting (includes computers). I love when you go to your primary doctor and ask "What is this?" and they don't have a clue but throw a drug at you anyway. Any area exposed to UV's gets a rash. It doesn't itch or anything. My first thought was lupus but the lupus antibody tests came back negative but I know that means squat, partly because I'm on inhaled steroids and partly because lupus isn't always easy to diagnose. I've only had the rash for a couple of months or so. I have other test results that sort of point in that direction. I won't know more for TWO more months when I see a dermatologist to define what this IS, instead of what it ISN'T!

Do you know that every vet's office has bright CFL lights in it?! Did you know that CFL's give off UV rays and can cause cancer?

So my life is hellish right now and I can hardly cope. Simply the thought of having to be covered up in my car or anywhere else in hot weather is daunting. I don't know when that will change. I hope you have all been doing well.



All my best,
Annie