Well, yep, I decided to change Rheumablog’s look again.

I’m blaming it on spring. You know how it is: You just have to toss out the same ol’-same ol’ and try something new. Do some spring-cleaning. Knock down the cobwebs. Out with the old, in with the… well. You catch my drift.

The blog’s pinkish-cartoony-artsy look (the one before last) was nice, but it quickly started looking too cutesy to me. Every time I opened the page, I had to suppress a shudder. So I changed it to that rather serious, dark red theme a week or so ago. It was nice, but dull. So here’s the newest look. I do believe I like it.

But it’s spring. Don’t be surprised if I change my mind.

I just completed a second week-long prednisone dose-pak, hoping once again to demolish the damned hip bursitis once and for all. It didn’t. But there is good news. Several days after the that first round of prednisone, the returned pain started ebbing some. By the time I started the second dose-pak last Saturday, it was down to about half– roughly a four on the 0-10 pain scale.

Now, that’s something to celebrate! My bursitis pain remains at about half what it was a month ago. I hope that this last dose-pak, like the first, will also pack a delayed punch. Maybe the pain will drop a bit further down the scale.

Stranger things have happened.

I’m doing fairly well RA-wise, too. I have occasional twinges and mini-flares, but it seems mostly under control and the meds seem to be working as well as they’re going to. I’m good with it.

In other news, it looks like I’m going to be helping my aunt take care of my uncle three days a week. Uncle J is 80. He’s mostly blind and was partially disabled by a stroke several years ago, and it’s getting harder and harder for Aunt P to do it by herself. I’ll be cooking meals for both of them, taking Uncle J to medical appointments, handling a little light housework, and basically allowing Aunt P to get some much needed rest. She’s had to neglect her own health over the last couple of months, she’s been so busy with him, so this will give her some time for that, too.

It’s odd, the twists and turns life takes. While I’ve always known that one day, my Mom might fall ill and need me, I never expected that she’d need me for as long as she has. And likewise, I never expected that my favorite aunt and uncle would also need my help when they grew elderly. Being unemployed for so long has been hard in many ways. As the managing editor of a newspaper, I was accustomed to being in charge. I loved working with my reporters to hone and punch up stories and I loved putting the paper together each week from start to finish. I loved being busy. I work well under pressure. I loved being needed.

Mom is doing very well these days. Aside from the occasional gentle reminder about taking her meds and keeping herself hydrated, she doesn’t really need me anymore. But Aunt P and Uncle J do. They hold a very dear place in my childhood memories, so I’m pleased that I have the time and the ability to help them. To return some of the love they showed me when I was a child.

One more big news item: I’ve dropped 14 pounds! I’ve just 36 more to go to reach my fighting weight. I wonder if permanently lightening the load on my hips, knees, ankles and feet will have any real effect on the RA? My fingers are crossed.

Happy Easter, everyone!