I'm here, really I am. I get messages with knocking sounds attached to them, just making certain that I am on the other side of the internet/world and not down some hole. Nope, still here.
I was not here YESTERDAY because I decided that I really missed the inside of a hospital. What's that you say? Not AGAIN? Yeah, I know. This time it had a lot to do with the fact that we had tree cutters here, taking down about 12 dead trees, and a dude with a Big Weed Whacker taking down the last of the grasses. Trying to put some money into the community and taking care of our forest...you know, trading YARN for FIREWOOD, essentially. (anyone want a lot of firewood? We have Propane!)
Short story, long...after the first day of tree cutting, I tottered down the hill, inspecting the WOW factor of so much light where there had been so much dark, tree-wise. I had my ever-present shop apron on over my shorts and coming up the hill I felt a little zap on my right leg, swatted at it and got a full-on dose of poison from whomever it was that decided to sting me. I hot footed it up to the house to douse the sore with Benadryl and just kept getting the pulsing ZING of the poison in there.
Two days later, the swelling was the size of an American Football and the initial spot was beginning to blister. Uh oh. I sent this picture to my daughter, who immediately caught her hair on fire, enough for me to get Rod to take me to the Roseville Kaiser ER.
I KNOW! Ewwwwwwwwww. This is what the nurses said when I got whisked right in to a bed. I thought that it was just a surface thing and would be waiting for a long time. They call this cellulitis and they were worried that it was actually a staph infection because by the time I got to the hospital (one hour from here) it was a lot worse. I got a GIANT shot of antibiotic in my arse and then the doctor numbed me up so that he could take a needle sample to see if there was something brewing under there. No, thank goodness. The ER nurse who admistered the shot was freaking me out, intimating that what I had was more than a hornet sting and that we might have to put me into QUARANTINE. Hmmm...scary. The bottom line is that this morning, the football was gone and the icky poo, although looking nastier because of the needle invasion, is going to heal.
This lesson is...if you get something happen to you that looks like that up there, go to the doctor. Serious stuff. They stopped it just in time to keep my lower leg from blowing up.
Now then, part two of this post will be all sweetness and light. Promise.
Oh Lisa, that really was an eeewie. Glad you're on the mend. The way bodies react to insect toxins can be just amazing, trying to reject it. Take it easy and I'm sure you'll be back at it soon.
Posted by: Paula D. | July 26, 2009 at 02:17 PM
Ee-YOWIE. Glad you got it taken care of!
Posted by: AlisonH | July 26, 2009 at 02:40 PM
OMG!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes! I'm really glad you went and had that taken care of. YEOUCH.
Posted by: Knit Witch | July 26, 2009 at 06:36 PM
Holy Cow, Lisa - that looks painful and scary! Thank goodness you went to the ER asap. I'm glad you're okay now.
I think maybe all your PNW friends need to circle around you at Sock Summit and maybe burn a smudge stick around you or something...
Posted by: Denise | July 28, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Good grief!! I think you've used up your owies for the year, though, right? Done now, right?!
Glad you got it taken care of in time. It is making my toes curl up.
Posted by: Mother Chaos | July 28, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Yeah, I have enough of this stuff. Healing is slow but steady and so I am glad that I dodged the bullet. :o)
Posted by: Lisa S | July 29, 2009 at 08:04 AM