Because I thought I Needed Something New

To borrow a quote from my friend Terese, GOOD GRIEF IN A BUCKET.

My body and it's antics never cease to amaze. Want to see my latest adventure?

So this is my arm and my IV with antibiotics flowing, and my very red and swollen and painful middle finger.

It all started last Sunday, when I woke up to a strange aching in my finger which progressed with amazing rapidity to an unbelievably painful hot swelling. Which left me phoning my clinic's advice nurse at four AM. Ice and elevation and acetaminophen had caused absolutely no observable improvement. 

Who knew that dinky little joint at the end of my finger could cause such pain?

The next morning found me at the clinic, and after a doctors exam, sitting in the nurse treatment center getting IV Rocephin. An X-ray ruled out a bone infection or joint injury, which meant I had a cellulitis, which is an infection in the soft tissues.

Whew, I thought. This has got to get better soon.

Wrong. It turns out that the Rocephin wasn't effective against whatever beastie had taken up residence in the soft tissues in my finger. Over the next 24 hours, the redness and swelling had progressed down the full length of my finger and had sent out pink tendrils down towards my palm.

It never occurred to me to try to document this with a photo. I was too busy gritting my teeth and trying to ignore the increased pressure and pain.

So, on instructions from my doctor, I dutifully presented myself to an ER nurse; who took one look and exclaimed, "Yuk!"

As a nurse myself, I appreciated this brief but accurate medical diagnosis. I wanted to throw myself and kiss his feet in gratitude when he went on, "Would you like something for pain? Must hurt like heck!"

Another IV and a different IV antibiotic followed. Also an exploratory incision by the doc hoping to find a pocket of pus to drain, but no such luck.

It appears that Clindamycin is successful in the battle against this infection.

Yay for modern medicine! And pain pills!

Although I'm making real progress, I haven't completely healed yet. But I will behave myself and keep up the icing and elevation and antibiotics.

We SHALL conquer. 

My goodness. What's in store for me next?!