What kind of day has it been

[Language and “Ickiness” alert]

I’ve had this on my mind all day:

Why? Because of my right leg.

I got a cut or sore of some sort on my right kneecap oh, ten days or so ago. Didn’t think much of it; in fact, I don’t even really remember how I got it. But damned if it didn’t get infected. This was annoying enough…but it continued to get worse, to the point where I’ve now been nursing an annoyingly painful abscess right on my kneecap. Which means that the damned thing flexes every time I walk.

Actually, walking is fine; once I get moving, I can get around, although it’s a bit less of a perky gait for me than usual. Sometimes it’s an outright limp, even, but I can get around. Sitting is OK, too, although too long in one position and the abscess and the skin around it start to itch a lot. But what really hurts? What’s really painful? The transition from sitting to standing. That feels like I just dipped my leg in acid and then tried to clean the acid away with a rag dipped in napalm.

Oh, and did I mention the fact that the abscess is located directly underneath this nice big callous I’ve had on my knee for years? That makes it fun trying to draw out the pus filling the f***ing thing with heat packs. At least those heat packs feel good when applied…but they lose their heat too quickly. I need a USB-powered heat pack!

And things would really suck in a major way if my day job frequently involved doing tasks that have me on my knees for extended periods of time. Luckily that’s not…oh, wait. Yeah. Ouch.

So anyway, this morning The Wife and I noticed that not only is the abscess and the knee not looking any better, but the infection seems to be spreading down my right leg toward my foot. I was planning to call the doctor on Monday if I didn’t see any improvement by then, but this discovery pretty much bumped that notion way up the Priority List. So we were off to an Urgent Care place, where I was diagnosed with cellulitis, after the lovely PA broke my heart by saying, “I don’t think there’s any use in lancing that abscess at this time. We won’t get much out of it.” That had been all I was praying for…Cut that damned thing open, squeeze all of the shit out of it, bind me up, give me some antibiotics, and let me go heal. No dice…except for the antibiotics, which I got, first by IV drip and then by oral tablet.

(Oh, and today was my first ever IV drip. Never had one before.)

The Urgent Care place was very nice, although we won’t know until we get stuff in the mail just what was covered by insurance there and what wasn’t. I sure do like that bit of uncertainty, lurking out there in the wilderness, so a heartfelt thank you to all our Galtian Overlords who steadfastedly keep us Americans from just opening up Medicare to all comers! (Actually, not really. You can all bite me.) The RN was thrilled that my veins are big and visible in my arm, and I got the remote to a teevee with cable for the half-hour it took the IV to run in, all to myself. Too bad that out of 70 channels, there was nothing on. I’m so glad we don’t bother paying for cable at Casa Jaquandor. The only downside to my visit was that my half hour of IV drippage was interrupted by another RN who came in to grab some supplies for another room; on her way out, she left my door open. I hate that. If it was shut when you came in, it should be shut when you leave.

So yeah, the days lately haven’t been the best. And yet, I soldier on. Yay rah.

(Yes, I took pictures of my leg. Will I post them? I dunno, anyone want to see them? I’ve been living with the thing, so I’m not terribly grossed out by it, and it’s mostly redness and swelling, no nasty-looking discharge yet. I’m working on it, though. When I nap lately, I dream of nasty-looking discharge. Sweet, sweet pus-filled discharge!)

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