Date: 2010-06-25
From: Home- New Jersey

To: Home- New Jersey
Miles today: 0.0

So, I realize haven't updated in a while. Sorry! I was AT HOME in New Jersey- that's how bad my ankle got. I can't realize I didn't write any of this: so, I had a second visit to the doctor (walked there, on my bad ankle of course), and she told me she was going to have to CUT IT OPEN. (The infection) This thing was painful to lightly touch. So she went off, got a scalpel and all that, and after giving me no anesthetic, proceeded to cut very slowly and deep into my infected bite. It was EXTREMELY painful. And then she said "now for the painful part" (!!!!!!). I thought she was JOKING. But no. She had to squeeze this thing, and she did- it was so painful that I almost blacked out and fell off the bed/hospital table thing. So, she wrapped my ankle up, and I had to lay down for a couple minutes before I could stand up without passing out. So she prescribed more painkillers and told me to come back in two days for a follow- up appointment with another doctor.So I spent the next day and a half trying to get the bus to Charles Town to fill prescriptions and get more food, and my foot started to really swell, and, two days later, I came back up to the doctor. The doctor who came in to see me too a look at my swollen foot and said "You have health insurance, right?" Oh wow. You NEVER want top be asked if you have health insurance. I kind of laughed and asked why. She said she was "concerned" about my ankle, and then went off to get the head doctor for a second opinion. Also, never a good thing. She told me I had two options- book a bed in the hospital for an IV antibiotic, or book a bed in the hospital for surgery. I DEFINITELY thought she was joking. So I called home and told mom what she had said, and decided immediately that I would rather be home for any medical proceedings than in West Virginia. So my dad came down and got me within three hours, brought me home, and my mom took me to the emergency room (as directed by the doctors in WV and my family doc).So I waited in the emergency room, watching a weird black and white tv show about a doctor who was turning her patients into zombies (good choice, emergency room), and there were only two or three other people there. (As it was the friday of memorial day weekend, I guess the family fueds hadn't come out yet).Finally, I went in to be seen. The doctor on call said, yes, it was bad. Yes, I shouldn't hike for a while. No, I don't need surgery. Wahoo!!!So I spent the next week at home and visiting my family doc. And I started to get really sick, which I thought was from the infection. (By the way, I got the results of the infection blood work- it was MRSA, and extremely antibiotic resistant form of very painful staph infection) My family doctor decided to take blood and run a test for lyme, and it turned out to be positive. So I had MRSA AND Lyme. UGH. Spent the next week watching The Simpsons with a fever of 103-104. Sick. Literally.Anyway, I finally finally got better after FOUR weeks of not hiking, and four days ago, went back to Harpers Ferry and hiked out. Well guess what? It is HOT AS BLAZES now. It was terrible. And I managed to walk into a bees nest (good job ShLep, ya really know how to have fun) and got stung four times. It was way too hot to sleep. So I came back home. And I'm either going to flip up to maine, or up to Vermont. Need some elevation and cool air! We'll see, and I'll keep you all posted...