I really want to go to Emerald City Comicon, but I cannot justify it this year. There are a number of different reasons, all of which could stand alone, but when I put them all together I had slowly been coming to the conclusion that it would just be too difficult and dangerous for me to go this year.
The straw that broke the camel's back was the report from my doctor that I need to stay on my current dosage of prednisone for another three weeks at least. This dosage causes wild mood swings, horrible memory dumps and some physical issues that are hard to ignore.
In addition, the main medication will be hitting its maximum near the day of the panel, which would mean I would be at my most immune suppressed. I would have literally no immune system at all - at a convention of thousands of people during a time of a particularly bad flu AND other potential illnesses. Even a slight cold could kill me. Not a good idea in general, not a good idea in specific.
My body has been very weak, and trying to arrange for a wheelchair, keep myself close enough to a toilet to be comfortable, and have all my medications nearby would be a logistical nightmare I can't see myself accomplishing with the Calvinball brain I've currently got.
Continuing my streak of going to every ECCC just isn't worth my life.
Fortunately, my mother-in-law has offered to come take Eric's place as caregiver so Eric can still attend the panel and maybe a couple of other events, if he's lucky. That way I won't feel guilty about keeping him away and I'll be able to feel like I'm there in spirit. Her offer took a huge burden off me, and now I can rest a little easier about the whole thing.
I'd been leaning toward not going for the last week, mostly because I recognize how much it would take out of me. It wasn't until learning that I can't taper further off the prednisone that I really felt like it was going to be too much. While each problem can be overcome, and I suppose I could still enjoy myself a little, I think I'm better off staying home with Dr. Inkwell and concentrating on getting better.
In other news, I received another package from Elayne - this time a couple of reusable face masks that I can wear out in public when I go for blood draws and such. They have a cosmic design and are big enough to cover the Campbell Soup Kids' face and make me more comfortable about being out. They just need a good wash before wearing.
Dr. Inkwell got a postcard with a cat drawing and "Keep up the good work!" which makes me happy. And I got another card from a friend, so I'm feeling supported.
Yesterday was nice, I was able to rest when I needed, and got things done as well thanks to the amount of rest I got. Overall, a good day, even if I had to make the hard decision.
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