Doing Better Today

I went to the doctor this afternoon thinking they were going to repack the incision again since they said on Sunday that they would probably have to do it again, but they didn't need to!! i was so happy. so he pulled out the packing and my leg instantly stung so bad when the air hit it. then he poured some peroxide in there and that felt so nice. aaaahhhh! then he told me that the infection looked a lot better today and that he did not have to repack the wound!! i was so happy. it is a staph infection and though i will get the official results back tomorrow, he believes that it is a resistant staph infection (MRSA) which is why i needed to be given more antibiotics because the first one wasn't working alone. i will know for sure tomorrow. Keeping my leg up for these past few days has really helped and i have been taking my vicodin to take the edge off the pain. He gave me the go ahead to shower (YAHOO!!) and to be more active but still take it easy. no more having to lay in bed all day!! He bandaged the wound up again and i can change the bandage every day. I'm so glad it's not packed any more. that part really hurt and while I'm still sore tonight and everything, I'm not in as much as pain as i have been this past week. anyways, that's my update. if anything changes, i have to go back in but let's hope that i will continue to get rid of this infection and that the wound will heal nicely. this has been quite the mess. i have never experienced anything like this before but i have learned a lot about staph infections. Just so you know.... Staph infections and MRSA (the resistant kind) are becoming more and more common in North America due to the fact that we overuse antibiotics and our bodies are not able to fight off infection as they should. I have been on antibiotics three times in the last 5 months. also, back in the day staph infections used to only be found in hospitals. like doctors spreading the bacteria from one patient to the other or using yucky instruments. this still happens, but the staph bacteria, especially the MRSA strain is carried in 30-50% of humans and so the over use of antibiotics in this country causes us to become infected more. also, there is some debate as to how you can get an infection. it can come from the inside out, or from scratching a bite or a pimple, or even a tiny scratch on the skin. it also can be super dangerous and spread really quickly. people can die from staph infections. I have a friend who i have turned to during this that experienced a staph infection when she was younger. she spent over two weeks in the hospital and had to have her wound packed (like me) and be on tons of antibiotics for a very long time. she was very helpful and sympathetic to me because she knew the type of pain i was in and i appreciate her for that. it's always nice to talk to some one else that has been through something similar. especially since i felt like a freak for awhile there. anyways, if staph goes untreated or spreads too quickly it can infect your blood, organs, skin, etc. it's really just crazy. one thing i have learned from this whole experience is that i will never scratch a bite again and if i do..... i will clean the crap out of it fifty seven times a day with antibacterial soap. another thing is that doctors don't always tell you that you have a staph infection. they might just give you antibiotics and have it go away. for me, i waited to go to the doctor a couple days and so i was well beyond the point of antibiotics and that's why i had to have it drained. but remember that it only took a couple days to get huge. if i ever see anything like that on my body again, i am going to rush to the doctors office for treatment. this has really been a nightmare and i don't wish it on my worst enemy. it was very painful and really kind of scary at times knowing that at any moment it could turn into something even more serious. another thing, i will be dealing with this for awhile. even though I'm feeling better and the infection is going away, i am going to be having pain in that area for awhile as my incision heals and the nerves get better. not sure when i will be able to start doing the wii fit again, but i hope it's soon. i have missed it but i definitely need to make sure the infection is completely gone out of my body before i start that again. and i guess I'll need to wait until my leg feels better too. i hope it does soon. thanks for every ones concern. it was a very interesting, painful, frustrating thing. mister studly was so great helping to take on all the responsibility of the house and kids since i have been in bed since Friday!! he did a great job and thanks to my sister for helping out as well. I'm on the road to recovery!! seriously, i am just so glad they did not have to repack it today. i was dreading that so much!!!