I just got home from the hospital two days ago. I write this post in hopes to help anyone who is healthy or ill, and learn life’s lesson of the importance of going with your “gut” feeling, and obtaining a second medical opinion when in doubt.
To give a brief history…my situation started a few weeks ago. I was doing what many of us enjoy in life as a hobby; gardening. We had just brought home our lovely red cedar mulch to top up the gardens.
It was a beautiful, warm summer-like day, and I was wearing shorts. I sat on the ground and began spreading the chips around the lovely spring flowers that were beginning to come to life after the long winter.
That evening, my leg began to throb, but it looked normal and there were no signs of anything unusual. I felt that perhaps I had strained the leg from the way I was sitting, and thought nothing about it.
The next morning, I woke up to an extremely swollen, red left leg. The swelling was approximately 2 inches high and continued from my hip to my knee. I couldn’t get into my physicians office, so I went to the closest walk in clinic to have it assessed. By the time I got there, I was having difficulty walking and could barely stand on the leg from the pain.
When the physician saw me, I explained the events leading up to the swelling and redness and showed him my leg. He said that I was suffering from “shingles” and “cellulitus”, prescribed pain killers and two (2) antibiotics and told me to be very patient as this was something that would take weeks to resolve. He said it was good that I came so early after symptoms appeared and that it was very treatable, mentioning that had I come later; it may have been disastrous. I felt relieved.
I got home, looked it up on the internet and questioned the diagnosis after viewing photo’s of what it looked like. My leg looked nothing like the photo’s, but I patiently took the medications while suffered in pain, feeling comforted by the fact that I had been diagnosed and now treated by a medical professional.
After finishing the first batch of antibiotics, I contacted the doctor and told him there was no improvement and that it appeared the leg was getting worse. He assured me that I needed to be patient, that it would get better in time, and prescribed a second batch of antibiotics. While at the pharmacy, I showed the pharmacist my leg and asked for a cream to numb the pain that I was experiencing from my “shingles”. He looked, and said “oh yes, and handed me a cream”.
After applying the cream and continuing to take many pain killers and antibiotics, I visited my mother and showed her my leg. She immediately said that she was taking me to the hospital.
I owe my mother my life and am ever so grateful that I had such a good advocate. Within 5 minutes of handing them my health insurance information, I was ushered to the operating room, where they had immediately cut my leg open without any anesthetic or pain medication. It all happened so fast, and I squeezed my mother’s hand while squealing from the pain of the procedure.
Afterwards, I was admitted and remained in the hospital for a further 2 small surgeries and treatment for a few days; and am now home. The doctors and plastic surgeon at the hospital clearly said that I was wrongly diagnosed and that I could have lost my leg from the blood poisoning that was now throughout my legs, body and back. My official diagnosis is “leg abscess and blood poisoning from a possible spider bite”. Without being too graphic, my wounds remain open, need daily draining, further antibiotics, am now with severe water retention in the legs and ankles and need follow-up to doctors and a plastic surgeon for a possible future surgery. I have weeks of pain and recovery ahead of me.
I could write about the alien-like drainage and excruciating experience in length, however this blog is not about torture, nor meant to turn anyone’s stomach. I write this in hopes to help anyone who is healthy or ill, to learn from my experience. That life’s most important lesson is to remember that we only have one life and one body, and it is crucial to go with your “gut” feeling; get a second medical opinion when in doubt, and have a good advocate with you.
At this point in my recovery, although some people would be angry and sue happy over a wrong diagnosis, I however am the opposite. After reflection and inner peace, I feel ever so grateful to have a wonderful mother and family, and feel blessed that I did not have to have a leg amputation.
There are not enough words in the world to show my love and thanks to my mother, and my thanks to my brother who brought me laughter during my time of sadness and defeat. Family and love need to always be cherished.
Good health and blessings to all.
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