A Quiet Week Ahead (and Why I Might Be a Little MIA) 💜

Content note: medical testing, seizures, chronic illness. Nothing graphic, just honesty.

Please pace yourself.

Welcome back to the Den.
The lights are low. The noise is optional. Nobody here expects productivity as proof of worth.

This is The Crippled Cryptid.
A soft-lit corner of the internet where disability, chronic illness, service dogs, and everyday survival exist exactly as they are, not prettied up for company.

If you’re new here, hi. I’m Sky.
Professional cryptid.
Unwilling amateur cyborg.

Currently we’re preparing for an echocardiogram, followed by a three-day EEG that will, quite literally, be glued to my head. Your ghoul is not thrilled. Quite the opposite, actually. I don’t like things touching my head or my hair, and this is going to be doing both of those things.

I live in a haunted meat suit with a questionable warranty, spend a lot of time in Bed Jail™, and am almost never alone thanks to my medical alert service dog, Luna.
Part guardian. Part shadow. Part “absolutely not, you’re sitting down now.” Followed up by a very stern, “Who the fuck told you that you could ignore me, mumther?”
Yup. I taught her to be a sassy little thing. It might be a problem. But I’m stubborn, so maybe not. Maybe I need that kind of attitude directed at me.

This week is going to be quieter than usual.
There will still be regularly scheduled programming, but not many extras.
If there are extras, they’ll be beamed in from Snapchat, TikTok,  Instagram, or directly from Bed Jail™ itself.

This space exists for weeks like that.
For showing up gently.
For rest without guilt.
Even when I’m trying to convince myself that I should be doing more. I really need to stop doing that.

On today’s menu: a quiet check-in, a little honesty, and whatever energy we have left.

Hey ghouls,

I know I normally save this kind of thing for Saturdays, but this week is going to be the kind where the medical bullshit seeps into everything. And no, sadly I don’t just mean one or two phone calls here and there. I do mean everything.

On the 4th, I have an echocardiogram. Starting the 6th, I’ll be doing a three-day EEG. It’s finally time that we hopefully get this seizure situation figured out. I can’t promise it means I’ll be kicking Keppra to the curb, but your ghoul can hope, right?

I’m tired of the Keppra and all of the side effects it invited into my life without asking first. I mean honestly, rude.

For anyone who’s never had one, yes, it gets glued to your head, and no, it’s not nearly as fun as it sounds 😅. I’m laughing, but that’s mostly so I don’t start screaming. If you didn’t know this about me, my hair is one of the only things about my body that I actually like. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it. The idea of electrodes and glue being put in it makes me deeply unhappy.

Especially since my MCAS is not a fan of adhesives.

By that, I mean that my body goes into self-destruct mode when adhesives are placed on me. During the 6-day continuous heart monitor, they gave me a whole bag of hateful glue dots (skin/allergy safe sensitive adhesive dots) and even those had my flesh bubbling up and peeling off. So, you can only imagine how unexcited for this I am.

I’m doing my best to get in touch with my allergist ahead of time so we have a plan A, B, C, and all the way through Z and back again in case my body decides to reject this whole thing at all costs.

I don’t know how I’m going to feel about it.

I don’t know how Luna is going to feel about it either. She’s a very good girl and normally doesn’t bother any of my medical equipment, but this is entirely new for her. Someone coming into the house. Strange smells. “The Bad” lingering all the time. It reminds me a lot of when I had the six-day continuous heart monitor. She was a trooper through the whole thing but, I don’t know if I can be.

And I don’t know how the Yard Yeti and M&M are going to feel about it or handle it.

I know they’re adults. I know I’m not the only one carrying this. But I also know they both have medical trauma too. Not like mine, not in the same way, but having a loved one who’s disabled and constantly going through testing isn’t easy. It puts work on them. It weighs on them. That matters, even if they don’t always say it out loud.

I just wanted to give a little heads-up that I might be quieter than usual here on the blog and on socials while I navigate all of this. Luna will, of course, be holding down the fort with her usual charm 🐾✨.

Even when it’s a slow or difficult week, I love knowing this little corner of the internet exists. A place where we can share the highs, the lows, and the in-between without having to make it inspirational.

I’d love your help keeping the Bed Jail™ watchlist interesting while I’m glued to electrodes.

What are you watching, reading, or listening to that you think I should try next? Drop your suggestions below and I’ll add them to the rotation. Don’t worry about streaming platforms. We have all of them, courtesy of T-Mobile 💜

If today felt heavy, thank you for carrying it with me.
If it felt familiar, I’m glad you stayed.
If all you did was read, that was enough.

This week may be slow.
It may be sticky with electrodes, appointments, and waiting.
But the Den stays open, even when I’m horizontal.

Returning cryptids, welcome home.
New cryptids, pull up a chair.
The Lunatic Café is open. The rules are flexible.

You belong here.
Love you. Now say it back.

-Sky

© The Crippled Cryptid
Disability, honesty, and a little chaos.

(And a little bit of dog fur for morale purposes.)

🔗 https://linktr.ee/skylanarissa
There’s never pressure to donate. Reading, sharing, or simply staying is more than enough.

If you’d like to support the long, slow work of staying alive, stable, and mobile:
💜 https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-skys-journey-to-health-and-mobility