The Morning After

This morning is the day after the US elections. I voted for Hillary; she lost fairly, and Donald Trump won. We can argue about voter suppression attempts, gerrymandering of districts, and the validity or not of the electoral college but in the end, Trump is the president-elect and the Republicans have control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

I'm disappointed my prefered slate of candidates did not win, but I've been voting for 30 years in various contests and am accustomed to winning some and losing others. That's not a problem.

For the first time, however, I am genuinely fearful of the outcome of an election. Never before has someone so blatantly campaigned on demonizing portions of the population for not being the correct religion, for not being white enough, for not being personally loyal enough, for not being straight enough, for not being male enough --and won. And never has someone campaigned with plans with of how he's going to deal with those people who do not meet his standards --and won. I don't remember another candidate for the presidency who bragged about being a sexual predator --and won. The man endorsed by the KKK has won the most important election in the most powerful nation on the planet.

And now this man will be in the White House, backed & protected by the power of the executive branch of the US federal government. The House and Senate are of his own party and will be only too happy to fulfill his whims --he did win an election so he has the mandate-- and the Supreme Court will soon be stacked with like-minded men rubber stamped by his friends in the Senate. There will be no checks & balances.

I fear what will happen to my friends & relatives on disability or retired with Social Security, those who get their medical care via Medicare or via the Affordable Care Act, and for my LGBT friends whose marriages are a specific target of the new administration. My own employment prospects may go very dark if various trade agreements are dissolved and trade wars are encouraged. My retirement plans are on indefinite hold until we see whether a recession results, and whether my savings will survive.

Until today, I had no particular reason to fear the future. Now I do.

The Hole in My Head

At this moment, I literally do have a hole in my head. My mother was right, finally & briefly, after all these years.

For as long as I can remember, I've had a relatively small soft bump just behind & above my right ear. Imagine having 2-3 toonies embedded in your scalp: it felt fluid-filled and slid easily against with the scalp against the skull so I knew it wasn't attached to or protruding from my skull. Since it was hidden by my hair, wasn't painful in the slightess and was otherwise irrelevant, I never worried about it.

About 3-4 weeks ago, it began growing. It's diameter grew another 50% or so, and it thickened to the point where it was a visible bump despite my hair. Indeed, after my last haircut, it was so visible and apparently disturbing that one person asked me if I needed help because I had been clearly beat up. Soon, it also began scaling over and began sporadic bleeding.

In the three days before my regular doctor could fit me in, the swelling reduced dramatically. In the end, it was about the size & thickness of a quarter, rough to the touch but still painless.

My regular doctor said it looked like a common wart, but referred me to a dermatologist for a proper exam and possible remediation. Monday, I visited Dr Stolar who repeated Dr Ward's wart theory, adding it could also be a keratosis. In any case, we agreed to remove it.

Within ten minutes, the area of my scalp had been anaesthetized, the wart/keratosis had been surgically removed, the area cauterized, some antibiotic ointment was applied to the wound and I was on my way home while the excised tissue was on its way to the pathology lab. Dr Stolar took a look at a few other skin irregularities across my forehead as a precautionary measure but said there was nothing of concern; being fair-skinned, he recommended either the SPF 2 billion or wearing a burqua when out in the sun, but otherwise carry on my life per usual.

At this moment, the area is still pain-free and I can feel the wound has scabbed over. I can wash my hair without concern. The healing process will take another week or so, but it feels odd not having a bump in that area any longer.