“Oh, Hey, it’s the Fat Neurotic Guy Again!”
October 1st, 2009Dr. Visit Confirms Hysteria
o
I only have two regular physicians. Fortunately for me, one is a dermatologist. The wound on my ankle seems to be resisting Neosporin’s efforts, so I’m going in to see what the doctor can do for me.
This is somewhat different from my customary doctor visits. Generally, it works like this: I respond to some horrible thing that happens on a Friday night by 1) going to the ER, 2) waiting four hours, and 3) paying $5000 for $100 worth f treatment.
More
I guess my doctor thinks I’m the biggest wuss on earth. First I went in to see if a freckle was melanoma. Now I’ve paid for an office visit for a scrape that wasn’t infected.
A few years back, I read that infected wounds turned yellow, with red borders. That’s what I have going on right now. And the wound has been giving me pain since it got inflamed on Tuesday, so I figured something was not right. Now the doctor tells me he doesn’t think it’s infected. He still gave me a better antibiotic. It’s called Mupirocin. How can an inflamed wound that leaks yellow fluid not be infected? I need to pay more attention when I watch House.
I guess I seem hysterical, but Miami is full of horror microbes because of immigrants from places like Haiti. I know a guy who got MRSA from a little injury on his ankle. Can you believe that? How many people in Indiana or Nebraska know someone who had flesh-eating bacteria? People here get drug-resistant TB. This is not a normal city. I got scraped in a church full of Haitians, so I was nervous.
I never know how to react to medical problems. I had a kidney stone, and I stayed home and did nothing, and it worked out fine. Then I had this ankle thing, and I decided to go in, and it appears to have been a waste of time.
I could have been spending my time learning how to park the truck. I believe I’ve managed to hit the center of one parking space out of twenty or thirty tries. This thing doesn’t have a turning circle. It has a turning arc that never becomes a circle, because there isn’t enough room.
A bunch of stereo junk arrived from Crutchfield. I could go put the speakers in the truck. The stereo in the box is going back, and the new one won’t be here until tomorrow. I look forward to installing the rear-view camera. I want to have some inkling of what goes on behind me, and right now, I don’t have one.
Parking is the only drawback to this truck. Other than that, it’s a dream vehicle. Comfortable. Relatively quiet (inside). Capable of absolutely anything that doesn’t require turning. Efficient. Powerful. And it scares Miami drivers even more than an INS van. It would be nice if it were three feet shorter and a foot lower, but you can’t have everything.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Still praying for you, your sister and your dad.
October 1st, 2009 at 5:32 PM
Remembering you and your sister in prayer.
.
If the truck were three feet shorter and a foot lower, people would not be near as nice as they are now.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:21 PM
Steve, you took appropriate action. For that type of injury, it is a good idea to be examined by an expert and to get the best remedy. That isn’t neurosis, it’s common sense. I am relieved that you went to a doctor.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:32 PM
And it scares Miami drivers even more than an INS van.
.
How about getting a magnetic door sign that says “INS”…best of both worlds.
.
Glad you don’t have an infection and still praying for your sister, your dad, and you. Any updates that you can talk about on the MRI? (I know people can get touchy about their medical information, so I’ll gladly accept “no comment” and keep praying).
October 1st, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Steve, for future reference.
The signs of infection in a wound like you describe on your leg would usually cause the normal tissue around the area of the wound to turn red and inflammed looking. It would usually feel hot to the touch and often you would see swelling in your lower leg or foot. Sometimes the red inflammed part will run in streaks up your leg. This may be really painful or it may just be uncomfortable like a sort of “tight” feeling in your leg. There may not be a lot of drainage at first, but later it will have a whitish yellowish pussy look to it. Then it will have that typical odor like a really old man with very poor fitting dentures and horrible oral hygiene.
You were right to get it checked out because the infection may not occur until a few days after the wound happens and you’re right, there are lots of really weird germs hanging around waiting to infect us.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Yellow weepy fluid from a scrape generally = plasma. I used to sell that stuff for gas money.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:29 AM
In a socialist country, you’d have to see a shrink for an anxiety prescription to help you through the months before you could see a doctor who knows anything about infections.
.
http://tinyurl.com/ydj2gxd
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 AM
On big trucks with longer wheelbases and 4WD it’s not a “turning arc”, it’s more of a “turning parabola” based on the turn entry velocity…where you go from severe understeer at moderate speeds to severe oversteer at idle speed (did I mention also leaving $2 worth of tread rubber on the pavement for every 90 degrees of total vehicle rotation?)
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:30 AM
I get the yellow-tinged weepy seep-through from scraps or sunburns (it dries crusty), it is plamsa and unrelated to whether or not there is infection.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 AM
On the other hand, a Bobcat can turn on a dime.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 AM
I used to drive a Honda Prelude with 4 wheel steering. Lots of fun and it could make a U-turn on a 2-lane street. I don’t know why something similar didn’t catch on for lwb trucks.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:02 PM
“On the other hand, a Bobcat can turn on a dime.”
And a pretty solid-looking frame. You can’t discount the intimidation value of driving down the street with a bulldozer scoop in front of you.