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Stepped on a Nail: An Adventure (1 Viewer)

DAY 3 continued: (part 2)

It didn't take the PA long to determine that I have cellulitis. She says that she can switch antibiotics, but she is afraid that we might not have enough time to evaluate a new one. If the new one doesn't work, things would get much worse, and I would then require IV antibiotics. And I must admit that I had this same thought as well. Other option is to go to an ER for evaluation.

I feel like she leaves the decision up to me... whether or not to try a new antibiotic or go to the ER. I choose the latter. Off I go.

It is now 5:30pm.

 
Don't Noonan said:
Every time you post I can't help but read it like it is from Monty Python the Quest for the Holy Grail.  I keep waiting for you to say you fart in my general direction and that my mother was a hamster and my father smelled of elderberries.
Click to expand...


Quint said:
Indeed. It is a flesh wound, though I don’t think he’s had worse. 
Click to expand...
Bring out your dead!  Bring out your dead!...............But I'm not dead yet.

 
Tom Skerritt said:
Since you guys are not enjoying the story, I will just stop here. Sorry if I have bored you. 
Click to expand...
Ok well at least change the thread title if you change your mind so I know whether the new posts are related to Day 3 part C subsection 1 and not more belittlement from Chet.

 
DAY 3 continued: (part 3)

Off to the ER... a relatively small community hospital... maybe a 100-bed hospital, but a busy ER and a busy Women's Center. It is now 6:30-7:00pm. I have packed a small bag of clothes, toiletries, and my meds. Not sure yet if I will be staying overnight. My wife was out running errands, So I call her to let her know what is going on. I tell her not to do anything until I know my fate. As I limp into the reception area, it is impossible not to notice the number of people in the lobby. I would guess anywhere from 50-75 people in there. 'Holy ####!!' Well, I thought... let's get on with it!

I fill out paperwork and sit through the triage process. When the nurse asks me what my level of pain is... I respond with "between an 8-9." I'm hoping that with the presenting injury/infection and the level of pain, maybe I will be a more urgent case... and I will get called back sooner. I find an empty spot and take my seat. Gonna be a looooooong night. I am wearing a grey, drabby old pair of house slippers. They're not attractive, but they're pretty damn comfortable... and they can be easily donned and doffed. The pain at this point is pretty intense. And it would only get increasingly worse over the next several hours.

There is an older gentleman who is registering his wife, and they come in right before I do. This woman gets called back immediately. She must be dealing with something serious. A couple of hours after she went back, she had several family members show up in the ER ready lend their support. (thought that was nice) An old guy sitting next to me takes a call on his cellphone. It is obviously someone he knows and cares about. He has a very thick, rural, redneck accent... very normal for this area. And he is speaking loud enough for a 20-foot radius of people to hear. I don't remember the exact content of his conversation, but it was a bunch of personal stuff, and the whole thing starts to annoy me incredibly. I am exchanging some texts with my wife, giving her updates. My phone battery is at 15%. Not enough power to waste time screwing around on my phone. I want to save that for any potential emergency communications. My foot  begins to really hurt now. I want to elevate it, but I don't want to do that in this crowded lobby in front of all these people.

I find some open space at the farthest end of the waiting area... down a short hallway next to the bathrooms. I manage to arrange a couple of chairs together so that I can lean back in one chair and prop my foot up in another. It is throbbing. I take a pain pill. Massaging the foot helps to relieve some of the pain too. I sit... I wait.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tom Skerritt said:
DAY 3 continued: (part 3)

Off to the ER... a relatively small community hospital... maybe a 100-bed hospital, but a busy ER and a busy Women's Center. It is now 6:30-7:00pm. I have packed a small bag of clothes, toiletries, and my meds. Not sure yet if I will be staying overnight. My wife was out running errands, So I call her to let her know what is going on. I tell her not to do anything until I know my fate. As I limp into the reception area, it is impossible not to notice the number of people in the lobby. I would guess anywhere from 50-75 people in there. 'Holy ####!!' Well, I thought... let's get on with it!

I fill out paperwork and sit through the triage process. When the nurse asks me what my level of pain is... I respond with "between an 8-9." I'm hoping that with the presenting injury/infection and the level of pain, maybe I will be a more urgent case... and I will get called back sooner. I find an empty spot and take my seat. Gonna be a looooooong night. I am wearing a grey, drabby old pair of house slippers. They're not attractive, but they're pretty damn comfortable... and they can be easily donned and doffed. The pain at this point is pretty intense. And it would only get increasingly worse over the next several hours.

There is an older gentleman who is registering his wife, and they come in right before I do. This woman gets called back immediately. She must be dealing with something serious. A couple of hours after she went back, she had several family members show up in the ER ready lend their support. (thought that was nice) An old guy sitting next to me takes a call on his cellphone. It is obviously someone he knows and cares about. He has a very thick, rural, redneck accent... very normal for this area. And he is speaking loud enough for a 20-foot radius of people to hear. I don't remember the exact content of his conversation, but it was a bunch of personal stuff, and the whole thing starts to annoy me incredibly. I am exchanging some texts with my wife, giving her updates. My phone battery is at 15%. Not enough power to waste time screwing around on my phone. I want to save that for any potential emergency communications. My foot  begins to really hurt now. I want to elevate it, but I don't want to do that in this crowded lobby in front of all these people.

I find some open space at the farthest end of the waiting area... down a short hallway next to the bathrooms. I manage to arrange a couple of chairs together so that I can lean back in one chair and prop my foot up in another. It is throbbing. I take a pain pill. Massaging the foot helps to relieve some of the pain too. I sit... I wait.
Click to expand...
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LcOgvP6DFPQ/maxresdefault.jpg

 
DAY 3 continued:

Lots of people come in to the ER after I do. It seems like more people are coming in than are going out. Eventually the waiting area starts to thin out a bit. I notice the couple of people who came in right before me are getting called back. It is now 10:00pm. I AM NEXT!!!

30 minutes later I am called back. (and so much for the hope of getting called back sooner because of my status, I waited for nearly 4 hours!) I am ushered into a small exam room. But it has a bed and it has a television. I change channels until I finally settle on The Untouchables with Sean Connery and Kevin Costner. It is the bridge shootout scene at the US/Canada border. I am relieved to be able to put my attention on anything other than my foot. But I keep my foot elevated. The pain is not as intense.

Eventually the doctor enters... listens to the history... and performs his exam. He wants to take more x-rays, and then make a decision based on how these look. One of my fears is that either the nail penetrated into the bone... or that the infection has now invaded into the bone. In either case, osteomyelitis would be a serious complication. This would certainly require IV antibiotics, and could possibly require surgery to remove any affected bone. And if it cannot be contained, it could require further, more serious intervention. Thankfully the x-rays come back clear, and there is no infection to the bone. There is however, a still serious issue of cellulitis that has spread throughout my entire foot.

The original antibiotic that I was prescribed is able to prevent infection from Pseudomonas (a gram-negative bacterium). And while this was an important consideration, it was unable to prevent an opportunistic gram-positive infection that I am now dealing with. So the ER doc decides to change my antibiotic prescription, and I should hope to see improvement over the next 24-48 hours. He is also kind enough to give me another prescription for pain.

Before I leave, one of the nurses, with a pen, marks the perimeter of the area of infection. Assuming one takes their antibiotics as prescribed and it is effective... the area of redness should decrease in size over time. The perimeter of my infected area essentially contains the entire top of my foot... medial to lateral... and up to where the lower leg connects at the ankle.

It is now midnight. I am discharged. I pick up my meds at another nearby 24-hour pharmacy. This time it is a very nice, brown (Middle Eastern?) pharmacist who kindly fills my prescriptions much quicker than he could have. I am very appreciative of this dude. I'm pretty sure he feels the desperation in my presence. I take my new antibiotics... and I take some pain pills... and I go home to try and sleep.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
McJose said:
I was literally just discussing James Fenimore Cooper with my students and how he would spend page after page talking about a damn forest. 
Click to expand...
There is a rest stop in NJ named for him. I once spent 4 hours there peaking on acid waiting for the state police to show up to settle a dispute over $8 worth of gasoline while wearing a Sam Kinison costume. Not even kidding. 

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
There is a rest stop in NJ named for him. I once spent 4 hours there peaking on acid waiting for the state police to show up to settle a dispute over $8 worth of gasoline while wearing a Sam Kinison costume. Not even kidding. 
Click to expand...
Are you learning nothing from this thread? This story could have been stretched out over the course of several days, with a few pictures thrown in for good measure. 

 
Tom Skerritt said:
DAY 3 continued:

Lots of people come in to the ER after I do. It seems like more people are coming in than are going out. Eventually the waiting area starts to thin out a bit. I notice the couple of people who came in right before me are getting called back. It is now 10:00pm. I AM NEXT!!!

30 minutes later I am called back. (and so much for the hope of getting called back sooner because of my status, I waited for nearly 4 hours!) I am ushered into a small exam room. But it has a bed and it has a television. I change channels until I finally settle on The Untouchables with Sean Connery and Kevin Costner. It is the bridge shootout scene at the US/Canada border. I am relieved to be able to put my attention on anything other than my foot. But I keep my foot elevated. The pain is not as intense.

Eventually the doctor enters... listens to the history... 
Click to expand...
Over/Under it took an hour to get the history of the injury?

 
Tom Skerritt said:
DAY 3 continued:

Lots of people come in to the ER after I do. It seems like more people are coming in than are going out. Eventually the waiting area starts to thin out a bit. I notice the couple of people who came in right before me are getting called back. It is now 10:00pm. I AM NEXT!!!

30 minutes later I am called back. (and so much for the hope of getting called back sooner because of my status, I waited for nearly 4 hours!) I am ushered into a small exam room. But it has a bed and it has a television. I change channels until I finally settle on The Untouchables with Sean Connery and Kevin Costner. It is the bridge shootout scene at the US/Canada border. I am relieved to be able to put my attention on anything other than my foot. But I keep my foot elevated. The pain is not as intense.

Eventually the doctor enters... listens to the history... and performs his exam. He wants to take more x-rays, and then make a decision based on how these look. One of my fears is that either the nail penetrated into the bone... or that the infection has now invaded into the bone. In either case, osteomyelitis would be a serious complication. This would certainly require IV antibiotics, and could possibly require surgery to remove any affected bone. And if it cannot be contained, it could require further, more serious intervention. Thankfully the x-rays come back clear, and there is no infection to the bone. There is however, a still serious issue of cellulitis that has spread throughout my entire foot.

The original antibiotic that I was prescribed is able to prevent infection from Pseudomonas (a gram-negative bacterium). And while this was an important consideration, it was unable to prevent an opportunistic gram-positive infection that I am now dealing with. So the ER doc decides to change my antibiotic prescription, and I should hope to see improvement over the next 24-48 hours. He is also kind enough to give me another prescription for pain.

Before I leave, one of the nurses, with a pen, marks the perimeter of the area of infection. Assuming one takes their antibiotics as prescribed and it is effective... the area of redness should decrease in size over time. The perimeter of my infected area essentially contains the entire top of my foot... medial to lateral... and up to where the lower leg connects at the ankle.

It is now midnight. I am discharged. I pick up my meds at another nearby 24-hour pharmacy. This time it is a very nice, brown (Middle Eastern?) pharmacist who kindly fills my prescriptions much quicker than he could have. I am very appreciative of this dude. I'm pretty sure he feels the desperation in my presence. I take my new antibiotics... and I take some pain pills... and I go home to try and sleep.
Click to expand...
What did you do about your phone after it was at 15%? Did it go dead? Did you bring a charger and plug it in down the hall? Charge it in your car and risk them calling your name why you’re outside? 

 
WhatDoIKnow said:
When I was 10 I stepped on a nail playing on a wood pile at my grandparent's farm.  Kind or a right of passage with my family.  They had a big ceremony for me that evening as everyone watched mom put some Mercurochrome on the wound.

The end.
Click to expand...
Bo-ring.

 
WhatDoIKnow said:
When I was 10 I stepped on a nail playing on a wood pile at my grandparent's farm.  Kind or a right of passage with my family.  They had a big ceremony for me that evening as everyone watched mom put some Mercurochrome on the wound.

The end.
Click to expand...
What kind of shoes were you wearing? Did your mom have a white labcoat? What did the male nurse smell like? 

I gots ta know! 

 
The shoe brand/style determines the probability of an opportunistic infection being introduced by the nail. Plus, old, grey house slippers are comfy when your foot is swollen up like a ball park frank. It’s like you people don’t even read.

 
Johnny Rock said:
What did you do about your phone after it was at 15%? Did it go dead? Did you bring a charger and plug it in down the hall? Charge it in your car and risk them calling your name why you’re outside? 
Click to expand...
I had exchanged several texts with the wife throughout the evening. If I recall correctly, it finally ran out of juice right about the time I was discharged from the ER. And funny you mention my name getting called, and me not being there. I had to pee so badly, but I didn't want to go to the bathroom for fear of missing that call. So I sat there for four hours with an enlarging bladder.

 
brohan you have to chill with this story i cant take much more of this the twists the turns the ups and downs its not easy on a brohans ticker that is all i am sayin over here take that to the bank 

 
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