Eye Infection

I am a sufferer of chronic sties. At first I blamed myself- it seemed an obvious indication of poor hygiene and too much sticking of dirty fingers in my eyes. But then I paid more attention and kept my hands away from my eyes and started "washing" my eyes with baby shampoo, and while the frequency decreased, I continued to get them- in both eyes, on both lids, randomly.

I work in a facility that has a huge percentage of Puerto Rican (mainly) women, and since starting there 4 years ago I've learned a lot about food: I've learned the way(s) I like my Yucca cooked, the flan recipes that I prefer, and that there are many varieties of beans and many ways to prepare beans that my family never exposed me to. (That make beans D-lish-ous!) I've also learned a little about PR culture and one fact has been pointed out to me again and again: A sty means that you have "with held something from a pregnant woman." I've been accused of harming or with holding from people so often, that I have started embracing the reputation: "Look, I cannot give a pregnant woman everything she wants from me," I tease. "Some things just cross a line." wink, wink, nudge, know-what-i-mean?

All kidding aside, last year when I was pregnant I had the worst of my sties surgically excised in an un-covered by insurance opthomological teaching-moment (for the new resident) that I paid the cost of a new 22" flat screen TV for. Since then though- during the worst of my pregnancy and 5 months at home with the baby... really no sties to speak of.

When I returned to work, I got 3 in five weeks, and this week, I got a really nasty conjunctivitis. Katy and I've decided that this is (for some reason) how my stress manifests itself:

Kt: Maybe this is symbolic about your eyes, how you take in the world, what you see or are forced to see, how you keep or protect yourself...

T: Um... when are you going to be finished with that Eat.Pray.Love book?

Kt: Yeah, play dumb if you want, I know you buy into this stuff a little...

T: I think when I was dipped into the dangerous but protective river Styx, they were holding me by my eyeballs like a bowling ball.

Kt: You're not right.