I took a spill down some wet, wooden steps last weekend, while juggling an eager dog and a cell phone. The result: a minor abrasion on my lower calf and a few bumps and bruises. Just a typical array of dents and dings resulting from having one’s head up one’s ass. I shook it off, and didn’t miss a beat in my conversation. When I got in, I washed the abrasion, and, once satisfied that it was only surface road rash, didn’t give it a second thought.
Next thing I knew, I was on IV antibiotics twice a day (doh!). Three days after the slip, my ankle became red and swollen, and I developed a decent fever. I also couldn’t put much weight on the ankle. My wife took me to the ER, and the diagnosis was cellulitis, which seems to be a catch-all term for any type of skin infection. I'm beating it back, but I had an IV connector in my arm, and twice-daily IV appointments, for four days.
The experience has been a real eye-opener. I never would have thought that such a minor scratch could get so carried away, especially since I’ve always had a turbocharged immune system. In the future, I’ll take those ‘little scratches’ more seriously.
The ER I went to was (fortunately) very close to home - a small, local hospital. It was strange to see different people each time, and answer the same questions, over and over. Some of the doctors were really on the ball, but a few didn't seem fully in the game. I had a nice chat about Glacier National Park with one doc when she noticed my t-shirt. Most of the nurses were great, but a couple were of the surly lunch lady variety. I was forced to create my own morphed running diagnosis, and I essentially discharged myself once I saw steady improvement. I'll be popping pills for the next several days, but that definitely beats having a tube sticking out of my arm. :-)
My wife and I also provided impromptu technical support and computer advice to the medical personnel who seemed to gravitate to us when we had our computers out (they had wireless there!).
