IF I HEAR ANOTHER 'LEG UP' JOKE, I'LL SCREAM!!!

Greetings from Oschner Hospital and Clinic!!! It’s been awhile. As many of you probably already know, I ended up Sunday night in the ER with a serious (little did I know HOW serious) case of cellulitis!

The check-in nurse took one look at the leg and said “we’re going to put you into a room right away!” And, they did. I was looked at by no less than 4 doctors before being admitted to the hospital.

Since Monday I’ve had some experiences that are remarkably similar to those of H2. Oschner, like Tulane, is a teaching hospital. I’ve had my gaggle of IDDs, IMDs (internal medicine), KWMs (surgeons), Burn Specialist, Dermatologists, and I’m sure I’ve missed a couple.

This past 9 days has been interesting, to say the least. First IDD put me on killer antibiotics. The leg is still swollen and getting more and more discolored. Their plan was, however, to let me go home with antibiotics as soon as I stopped spiking a fever for more than 48 hours.

A CT scan was performed try to determine just how deep and where the infection is. The KWMs come in every day, twice a day, to have a look see. They decide the infection is not deep, so they will stand by, in case they are needed. Swell!

Meanwhile a blister the size of a softball has formed on my shin. The doctors opt to leave it, as it is a natural protection against infection. So what do I do coming back from the CT scan?? Trying to slide from the gurney into bed I end up ripping the blister wide open. There is no feeling, so I don’t realize what I have done until I feel my left foot (the good one) laying in a puddle on the bed. YUCK!!

Since then it has been pretty gross, as the leg continued to drain, constantly.

Throughout all this Linda and the kids have been wonderful. They’ve visited, brought flowers and cards and balloons, Linda spends the nights here with me. H2 take her place last night so she could go home and get some real sleep. Ellie’s folks have been amazing, checking on me every day, brought me beautiful flowers and a really nice card.

Ricky T was instrumental in bumping me up the list when I was an add-on for the CT scan, saving me hours of wait. He also brought me sodas and coffee!

Fr. John was good enough to stop by and give me the Sacrament of the Sick. Fr. Joseph came by a few days later to pray with me. Archbishop Hughes called twice to assure me of his continued prayers. Deacon Jerry stopped by and also has been checking on me by phone.

A special thanks to Big J, Dr. Bob, and RB for visiting. Thanks for the au Lait! It’s always great to see friends at a time like this.

One big problem I have is when I need to do… uh… you know… number 2?! I have to get out of the bed onto a commode chair which means that I have to drop me right leg down and put weight on it. Every day it gets more and more painful until for the last two days I could not stand to put ANY weight on it and ending up getting a shot of morphine each time to help kill the pain.

Last night the surgeons stopped by after I had gotten back from an MRI of the leg. They looked at it and told me that they taking me into surgery in the morning! They said that although the MRI still didn’t show any deep infection, they felt it imperative to get ride of some of the bad skin and also take a sample to be cultured. So at 8AM this morning that is exactly what happened.

I’m now back in my room, getting ready to watch a movie, but wanted to bring everyone up to date. Don’t know how long I’ll be in the hospital, but the doctors say I’ll be housebound for at least 3 weeks after I get out.

My sincere thanks to everyone who has prayed for me, wished me well or thought about me in any way during this time. May God’s abundant love wash over you!!