Warning: Not for the squeamish
It's been a strange week for me. I've been sick with a very bizarre illness. I usually like to keep my illnesses quiet for my mother's sake. I don't like to make her worry, but I am better now and this story is just too interesting to keep to myself.
It all started with a little tiny dot on my side. It must have been itchy, but I don't really remember. I'm often scratching so it didn't really stand out, except for the fact that it kept growing. It took about 4 or 5 days before it really went wild, but on that last day it went from a couple inches wide to a small dinner plate sized, red, itchy, swollen, hard area of weirdness. I went to Grant and Sandy's to see what Grant thought (he's an Advanced Care Paramedic and quite handy to have around!) He told me it looked like some sort of bite that I was having an allergic reaction to. He told me to load up on Benedryl for the night and recommended I get down to the clinic first thing in the morning. Thankfully I had my wonderful friend Dana visiting for the week, who took great care of me. I ended up having a bit of a fever that night and some nausea, but otherwise was ok.
The next morning the doctor poked around at my ever growing red side and had me do some blood tests. The tests came back saying I was having an allergic reaction and had an infection.
The fever continued for a couple days accompanied by a general feeling of awfulness. I started feeling better after a few days, but other weird things started happening. The first and most alarming was pain in my lungs. If I wasn't laying down my lungs hurt, as though I had been coughing constantly for a few days, which I hadn't been. Next my hands and feet started swelling. A day later I woke up with a swollen face and with incredibly itchy tiny blisters all over my swollen fingers, and small cold sores in the corners of my mouth. My finger tips have been feeling strange, as though they are callused, and this morning I noticed that there are some blisters coming through.
(Just a warning to those of you who are squeamish, you should probably just stop reading now.)
The lump on my side was quite large, hard and painful. I was able to relieve some of that pain, by opening it up and squeezing out a large amount of puss. Gross, I know, but it felt better almost instantly. I had to do this a few times over a couple days.
The redness and swelling is almost completely gone now. What is left is a small hole in my side. Yes, you read that correctly I said HOLE. Apparently the infection ate away some of my flesh! Don't panic, I know what you're thinking, 'A hole in your side can't be good.' but apparently it's not even all that uncommon in skin infections. Tonight I flushed it out with peroxide (yes it hurt) which was very strange. I actually had to stick the syringe tip INTO the hole and then squirt the peroxide in.
All in all I am feeling great now. I figure a few more days and all I will have left from this weird illness is a small scar on my side.
It was kind of fun (in a sick sort of way) to have a new symptom every day. Every morning Grant, Diana and I would gather on the porch as I had my 'show and tell' of the newest weird thing happening.
I still don't know what bit me, but all in all it was the most interesting illnesses I have ever had.
Hopefully you didn't read this email while eating your breakfast! Once again, sorry if I grossed anyone out.
Peace, love & bubbling peroxide,
Rachel
It all started with a little tiny dot on my side. It must have been itchy, but I don't really remember. I'm often scratching so it didn't really stand out, except for the fact that it kept growing. It took about 4 or 5 days before it really went wild, but on that last day it went from a couple inches wide to a small dinner plate sized, red, itchy, swollen, hard area of weirdness. I went to Grant and Sandy's to see what Grant thought (he's an Advanced Care Paramedic and quite handy to have around!) He told me it looked like some sort of bite that I was having an allergic reaction to. He told me to load up on Benedryl for the night and recommended I get down to the clinic first thing in the morning. Thankfully I had my wonderful friend Dana visiting for the week, who took great care of me. I ended up having a bit of a fever that night and some nausea, but otherwise was ok.
The next morning the doctor poked around at my ever growing red side and had me do some blood tests. The tests came back saying I was having an allergic reaction and had an infection.
The fever continued for a couple days accompanied by a general feeling of awfulness. I started feeling better after a few days, but other weird things started happening. The first and most alarming was pain in my lungs. If I wasn't laying down my lungs hurt, as though I had been coughing constantly for a few days, which I hadn't been. Next my hands and feet started swelling. A day later I woke up with a swollen face and with incredibly itchy tiny blisters all over my swollen fingers, and small cold sores in the corners of my mouth. My finger tips have been feeling strange, as though they are callused, and this morning I noticed that there are some blisters coming through.
(Just a warning to those of you who are squeamish, you should probably just stop reading now.)
The lump on my side was quite large, hard and painful. I was able to relieve some of that pain, by opening it up and squeezing out a large amount of puss. Gross, I know, but it felt better almost instantly. I had to do this a few times over a couple days.
The redness and swelling is almost completely gone now. What is left is a small hole in my side. Yes, you read that correctly I said HOLE. Apparently the infection ate away some of my flesh! Don't panic, I know what you're thinking, 'A hole in your side can't be good.' but apparently it's not even all that uncommon in skin infections. Tonight I flushed it out with peroxide (yes it hurt) which was very strange. I actually had to stick the syringe tip INTO the hole and then squirt the peroxide in.
All in all I am feeling great now. I figure a few more days and all I will have left from this weird illness is a small scar on my side.
It was kind of fun (in a sick sort of way) to have a new symptom every day. Every morning Grant, Diana and I would gather on the porch as I had my 'show and tell' of the newest weird thing happening.
I still don't know what bit me, but all in all it was the most interesting illnesses I have ever had.
Hopefully you didn't read this email while eating your breakfast! Once again, sorry if I grossed anyone out.
Peace, love & bubbling peroxide,
Rachel
Hey Rachel, here's hoping the Lord has returned you to full health...no more peeling fingers?
ReplyDelete