Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Things to do on a Friday night in a small town . . .

. . . go to the emergency room!!!

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Yep, that's right. Life is certainly never boring, I'll tell you that much. You see, it all started at the fair. Austin and I rode up to Des Moines on a Harley owned by our friend Craig, and camped with Craig's family in their motor home. Well, when the time came that evening to move the bikes from general parking over to the campground, I had changed from my jeans to shorts, but didn't think much of it as we were just going to move the bike, not ride it for an extended period of time. So we hop on and cruise up to the campgrounds, where the parking is very, very tight. Thinking that I'll just get off real quick so that Austin can maneuver the bike more easily, I slide of the right side (big no-no) and land my exposed calf right on the VERY hot exhaust pipe! It didn't take me too long to move from that position, but as I was trying to get away from the pipe, I turned and scraped the back of my thigh on Craig's bike's license plate holder!

The burn hurt like the dickens, but didn't seem too bad, so we just walked down towards the fairgrounds and got some ointment from the police officers on duty, which cooled it and formed a kind of second skin which protected it nicely. This is what it looked like that Sunday morning:
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It blistered and popped, and I thought that I was doing a fantastic job of keeping it clean. I put triple antibiotic ointment on it regularly and cleaned it out at least once a day with hydrogen peroxide, but by the end of the week, it was obviously infected and it hurt to even stand on my right leg for any period of time. By Friday night the redness of the infection had grown to an area of 8x11 centimeters at its widest and tallest points, and our friend Michael, with whom we were hanging out and playing games expressed his concern that it may be a Staph infection, and strongly suggested that we visit the emergency room immediately. This is what it looked like on Friday night:
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(The flash washed it out a little bit, but I've drawn a line around where the redness was.)
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(This one shows it a little bit better, but my calf just looked so defined in the first one, lol!)

Tyler and Emma went with us to the emergency room, and we were processed very quickly. The doctor said that even though it was not a Staph infection, it was very good that we had come right away because it was very infected. She prescribed an antibiotic and wrote on me with a surgery pen, instructing us to return if the infection spread rapidly in any direction, or if it was no better by Sunday night.
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Tyler and Austin waiting for our names to be called (we were the only ones there)!

Thankfully, the antibiotics are doing their job and the infection has decreased significantly. It's still a little tender, but that's to be expected. We were a little shocked at the price tag on six pills: $134!!! Thank the Lord for good health, because I cannot imagine spending that kind of money on prescriptions on a too regular basis!

I've been feeling kind of funky all week, and I wasn't really sure why, so I did some research. The antibiotic, called Levaquin, is reported to have the following side effects: Headache, difficulty sleeping, agitation, anxiety, back and joint pain, changeable emotions, depression, difficulty concentrating, disorientation.(source) Which is a pretty good summary of the way I've been feeling. Thankfully this is the last day I will be taking it, so I'm really looking forward to the weekend.

Sorry I've been MIA this week. When I would get home from work, I would just crash - terrible headaches and the trouble sleeping at night has made me very emotional and weepy. Next week will be much better!

Thanks for reading, and for sticking with me through the slow weeks!

16 comments:

  1. "OUCH!!!!!!!"

    Sorry to see such a nasty burn on your leg!! I feel your pain as I am looking at it. You are in my prayers, I know how it is to have "rough weeks." I also like to hang on to that saying; "This Too Shall Pass!!" Lets hope it does...right??!

    Hugs,
    Nene

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  2. Holy cow! That's some expensive medicine with some crazy side effects! I'm glad you went in to get it checked, though.

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  3. OUCH! That looked painful! I too hate how medicine makes you feel funky. I only take it when I have to also. Glad you're recovering well!

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  4. Oh Katy Lin! Ouch! I'm so very thankful you saw a doctor and that your injury wasn't any worse. We'll be praying for you!
    Sarah

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  5. Wow that looks like it hurt like heck! Holy ouch batman!

    You and your hubby are adorable!

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  6. Ugh! That's really unfortunate. Good thing you took the initiative to get it checked out... could have been so much worse. Hope you feel better soon. Rest up this weekend!

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  7. wow, that looks bad! good thing you went! Jen R

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  8. Goodness! I am glad to hear it is starting to heal. Burns are probably one of the most painful injuries! I hope you have a good, non emotional weekend!

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  9. Oh my...that's a bad burn! I feel your pain sister. I burn myself quite often when I bake...I'm such a clutz, anywho, hope you feel better soon!

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  10. Bless your heart! I'm glad the antibiotics are working! And I'm glad it wasn't staph, 'cause those things are boogers to get rid of. And yes, I just typed "boogers."

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  11. I hope it heals quickly for you. OUCHIE!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

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  12. I am sorry to hear of your injury an hope your wound continues to heal quickly.

    My dad has a Harley and I am terrified of doing just what you did on his bike. OUCH!!!

    This is my first time here and I wanted you to know I found you through Nichole at The Pumpkin Seed. I've enjoyed her Friday posts and decided I would like to join in the fun and tell the world why my husband rocks too. I hope that's ok and that you'll check it out when you feel better.

    I'm doing kind of a combo post with yours and Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta. Hope that's ok.

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  13. (((Hugs))) That's no fun! I'm so sorry that happened to you.

    My youngest (age 14) went on a ride at the fair this summer and came home with a concussion - E/R, CT scan, the whole thing. It took weeks for her to get over the headaches. The doctor said my daughter couldn't read for a month because it hurt her eyes when she tried - that was very tough for a girl who loves to read.

    I hope you'll be feeling better very soon.

    ~Susan

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  14. OUCH! I'm sorry! That looks really painful. I hope you're feeling better now.

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  15. Poor girl! That had to hurt like crazy! Glad you went to the doctor to have it checked out. Hope it heals quickly!!

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  16. I did the very same thing once when I was a kid. That burn scar stayed a good while but I expect at 10 it was a badge of honor. I'm glad you went on to the hospital because it could have gotten really nasty. And trust me, $134 isn't that bad for medicine any more. :( blessings, marlene

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