Indoor Camping

Friday, May 06, 2005

What Happened to You?

Charlie grew up in Florida without the benefit of sunscreen. Being an outdoors kind of guy, he says he had a constant sunburn. He owned a boat and he liked the beach. If he didn't live in Oregon for most of the past couple of decades, he'd be dead. He's got pre-cancerous melanoma all over his face.

There are lots of things he does to stop the growths. All of these things are painful. One year he had to put efudex on his face every morning for a month. It felt like constant bee stings, he said. To add to the pain, he had to do this treatment when we were in Florida, helping his sister when she was dying of cancer.

Now he goes in every year for a chem peel. That is, he should go in every year for a chem peel. Last time he did it, he timed it perfectly so all the pictures of him at his son's graduation were quite scary-looking. You're at your worst after a week, when the skin is red and brown in spots and peeling all over. You have to keep the skin moist, so you look like you have a coating of vaseline on top of the whole thing. It's an ugly mess.

That was two years ago exactly. If it were up to him, he'd wait another two years. I made an appointment for him so he'd have a spot-free face before he started his new job.   I made one for me, too.

I grew up in California and was also often out in the sun. I didn't use sunscreen, unless baby oil counts, which I'm guessing only counts in the wrong way. So far, I haven't paid dearly for my High School tan, but the dermatologist told me it wouldn't hurt to have a chem peel, too. My sister has to have them all the time, and she wasn't tan during High School, nor did she use baby oil. You should see the things they have had to remove from her skin. A chem peel seems a lot easier. I do what I'm told.

Bee stings sounds like a walk in the park compared to what I got on my face. The doctor kept saying, "It's taking really well." She even told Charlie, "Your wife got a really good one. Sometimes they really take well. Her's took well."

I don't know what that means. All I know is that she couldn't go more than 25% because my skin is so sensitive and absorbed the acid so well. Charlie's face is like leather, the Doctor said, so she started with 35% on his. "Nope," she said during the application. "This isn't working. Your skin's like leather. There isn't even any pigment, it's so damaged. We're going 50% on you."

I asked him when his was done if he felt any pain. He didn't. I had to lie back and relax and just let the bees keep stinging while he drove. He acted like nothing happened. He even stopped by Home Depot to pick up a few things on the way home. I stayed in the truck and read "Candy Freak," by Mark Almond to keep me distracted. If I thought about Caravelles and marshmallow bunnies, I didn't think so much about my searing face. How could he have double the acid wash percentage and have enough wits about him to buy gfi outlets?

That was yesterday. The General had to work last night and wanted us to stop by to bring her Starbucks. "No, wait," she said when she looked at both of us. "You'll embarrass me more than usual. I'll skip the Starbucks. It's worth it if you please stay home, okay?"

I painted closets while my face absorbed every drop of liquid in my body and saved it in my face. I swear I can hear sloshing when I shake my head. It's so full of water, it's weeping. I don't even recognize myself. I'm red, I'm shiny, and I have a really big face.

Charlie and I decided our faces weren't going to keep us inside, so this morning we took a little run. He ran; I rode my bike. It'll be one year tomorrow since I ran, thanks to plantar faciitis. Don't run when you're injured. There's a reason why they tell you that.

Bikes can go a lot faster than runners, so I'd speed up and race around a loop while Charlie ran. The fog and cool air felt great on my tomato face. The bugs I caught didn't feel so good. I caught a lot of them, being that my face is huge and there's this sticky plastic vaseline stuff covering the surface.

Charlie caught a few bugs, too, but not as many as me. When he returned, though, he walked through the garage right into a spider web complete with owner. The web and spider stuck on his face.

Sunscreen would have been a lot easier.

A little help? [] 1:29:11 PM