The Suckage Gets Worse

After my visit to the ER, the fever never went away. My throat improved a bit, but every day, and worse, every night, I faced either drenching sweats or bone-jarring chills. Then on Wednesday (three days after my ER trip) my left leg started to swell. By Thursday, I was having trouble walking on it. The fever never subsided. My appetite disappeared, although I was constantly thirsty. On Friday, I noticed a rash on my left calf. A week of 100+ degree fevers had me run down and, quite frankly, feeling like I wanted to die. I decided to go to the doctor.

Actually, I haven't had a family physician for years. So, I called a friend who is a nurse and asked for recommendations. I didn't hear back for hours. When he did finally respond, it was with a string of names, but no way to contact them. While I was waiting, I called my brother, who gave me the name, address and phone number of his doctor. That doctor saw me the same day.

When he looked at my throat, he said, "You got a strep in there!" I explained that the hospital did a strep test and it came back negative. He shook his head. When he looked at my leg, even I was surprised. The swelling had increased dramatically -- my left foot was about twice the size of my right. And the rash now encompassed my entire calf, ankle and foot. The doctor told me it was cellulitis, infected skin, probably caused by the strep infection, and he feared there might be a blood clot lurking beneath it. He wanted me admitted to the hospital ASAP.

Before I could check into the hospital, clot or no, I had to do something with Jake. So I drove home, picked him up and dropped him off at the kennel, stopped to get that week's comics and drove to the hospital.

The hospital stay is a blog unto itself, but long story short I was hospitalized for five days of IV antibiotics, a midnight ultrasound that confirmed I did not have a blood clot, a seemingly infinite number of blood draws, tests, pokes and prods. A few friends visited, notably my friend Mike who saved me by stopping at my house and getting my cell phone charger; Kiehl, who drove my truck home for me when I was discharged; my co-workers Ingrid, who saved my sanity by bringing me magazines and puzzle books, and Brian who offered to bring me non-hospital food; Duane and Tim, who hosted the New Years Eve party where I probably caught the strep (not their fault, of course) and my brother.

I was finally released on a Tuesday evening. I stopped on the way home to pick up the numerous prescriptions for oral antibiotics and glucophage. Kiehl and Mike kept me company that first evening, ordering pizza and watching TV with me. Wednesday we had yet another blizzard and I was afraid of hobbling into the office through the ice and snow. My left leg was still swollen and sore. Thursday I went back to work. Friday after work, I picked Jake up at the kennel. I seemed to be on the mend. Seeming ain't believing.

Friday night I started itching. By Saturday morning I had a rash everywhere: the palms of my hands, the inside of my mouth, everywhere. I called my doctor who sent me back to the ER for evaluation. A few hours later, I was admitted again due to an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. I've never had a drug reaction in my life. First time for everything, I guess.

Because Jake was at home, I had to arrange a way to get him to the kennel. The AWESOME folks at Alta-Vistah offered to pick him up if someone could let them in the house. My friend Mike agreed to meet them and get that handled. He once again brought me my charger and a stack of comics I had already picked up.

This hospitalization was shorter -- filled with just as many IV's, needles and tests, but only over the course of Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday. I was given different antibiotics, steroids and drugs to help alleviate the itching from the rash. Sunday afternoon I was discharged, though only through the efforts of my valiant nurse. Again I stopped at the pharmacy with prescriptions for new antibiotics, including one that cost $130. Ouch.

I haven't missed any more work and my doctor said yesterday that I am definitely on the mend. Tomorrow is my last day of antibiotics and steroids. The rash is greatly diminished, but still present and still itchy. I've lost 25 lbs.

So, 2011 is still The Year of the Suck But Not-In-A-Good-Way.

So Far, 2011 Sucks

/engage whine
So, I started the new year with a throat infection. Saturday morning I had a scratchy throat and felt a little achy. By night, the scratchy had been replaced with incredibly sore and achy morphed into shaking chills and a 101 degree fever. I figured it was just the flu and spent most of Sunday hydrating and sleeping. The sore throat progressed to the point that swallowing anything, even water, was painful. And worse, my uvula was swollen, making talking difficult and creating an ongoing gag reflex. Lovely. Still, I hate doctors so much, I figured I could tough it out. I ate nothing all day; it was just too painful.

Sunday night when I tried to sleep, I felt like I was choking. I started to worry that I might have strep throat and I know that's nothing to fool around with. So, a little before midnight I went to the ER at Akron General.

I was woozy during the drive, but when I arrived there was a sign saying they had free valet parking for ER patients. Great! That would save me a walk in the cold. When I pulled up, a security guard told me to park my vehicle myself in the parking deck a block away. So much for that.

I stood at the intake desk for probably 10 minutes before a nurse finally came to take my form. To his credit, he got me into an exam room pretty quickly. Of course, that's when the waiting began.

Long story short, it was a wasted trip. I was diagnosed with uvulitis, probably viral. They gave me a shot of a pain med/anti-inflammatory, but otherwise they did nothing but leave me alone in an exam room for long, long periods of time. They did a throat culture, but I still don't know the results of that. They gave me a prescription for Percocet. Then, they told me to gargle with salt water and stay hydrated. I was already doing that. I was finally discharged at 3:15 a.m.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that my condition wasn't life-threatening. But the ER was almost empty when I arrived and from the silence all around my exam room, I'm guessing it wasn't that busy. This is why I hate doctors. I will now have the pleasure of paying hundreds of dollars for this reminder.
/disengage whine

But hey, if the year starts out really badly, it has to get better, right? Right?