Mom's and Wives can't be sick!

I was last on here 21 April, telling you about my husband. What I didn't mention was my ankle. I had a total left knee replacement March 2008, one year ago. Well this past week, as it started on Monday, my left ankle started to swell up. it has swollen up before so I really didn't think too much of it, kept going doing my normal routines each day. Well, by Wednesday, 22 April, my ankle was really swollen and hurt, so I called my primary doctor up so he could sign some disability paperwork for me, as I'm medically retired. I wanted him to see my left ankle too, and went to see him. He looked at my ankle and said that he wanted me to start wearing some compression hosiery on both legs. My right ankle was slightly swollen, nothing like my left ankle. I even had some redness around my ankle and top of my foot when he saw me. He took my disability paperwork and said give him until the end of the week to get it filled out, which I told him OK. My primary doctor told me to take the prescription he had written for the compression hosiery to the medical store and I did. I had no idea they had to measure you for these things. He also had ordered me the kind you wear with a garter belt, in silver color at that! I couldn't believe what he had ordered for me. I told the lady at the medical store, and I don't mean anything by this, but I said to her "Do I look like a blue haired little old lady?" She laughed and said that blue haired old ladies wouldn't wear the garter type compression stocking if they were for both legs. The doctor normally only orders the garter belt kind if you only have to wear one compression stocking on one leg, not on both legs. Remember he had wanted me to wear them on both my legs, not just one! I asked her didn't they come in pantie hose style and a tan or more 'human' looking color than silver? She said yes they do and I should call my doctor back up before she ordered them and see if he'll change it to pantie hose in a flesh or tan color. I called and got his nurse and she acted put out when I ask for a different kind, pantie hose, not garter things and flesh color ones, not silver. She then said to me "Do you want those in white?"I couldn't believe my ears, had she not heard me say flesh color or tan? I then told her "NO, not white, flesh or tan color". She said she would get the doctor to sign the new prescription and fax it to the medical store. What a hoot. I had no idea they had to measure you for these things and the cost. I almost fainted when the lady at the medical store said they cost almost $100.00 a pair! I couldn't hardly believe it. I am on medicare and have two other insurances, as I'm disabled. She told me that medicare wouldn't cover the cost due to I did not have any lesions on my legs. I still couldn't believe my ears. I asked her why..she went on to tell me that is the way medicare was set up, normally diabetics have lesions on their legs and that is the only way medicare will cover some of the cost. I don't have diabetes either. I told her I have other insurance, and she sad that should cover the cost, but she would let me know. I pray these things will last a life time! I normally ruin regular pantie hose the first time I put them on! I can't wait..then again, this is what I found out when I had to go to the ER on Saturday.
Well by Saturday, and in the meantime my husband's back is still killing him, my ankle looked the size of a good sized grapefruit! The redness went down to the bottom of my foot, almost on the direct bottoms of my feet. The top of my left foot was so swollen, all I could get on was a slide on pair of bright pink house slippers! The swelling had gone up half my leg to almost my calf by Saturday. I told my husband I wanted to go get it checked out but was afraid they would put me in the hospital. He told me to go anyway, and if they did, we'd come up with something. So it didn't take for me to hear that twice, as I was getting my purse and a list of my medications and headed for our little favorite hospital here in Wichita, KS. I drove myself to the hospital, as my husband's pain level is still quite high and he's taking pain medication for the pain of his pinched nerve, whether it's in his back or in his pelvis. He sees his neurologist doctor this coming Tuesday, 28 April. Got to the hospital and they called me pretty quick, and the nice female doctor came in the room and looked at my ankle and asked me how long it had been that way. I told her it had started the first of the week, but told her our situation at home, with my husband's pinched nerve and his horrible pain, can't walk or do anything for himself hardly, and we also have custody of our 7 yr. old granddaughter too. She felt my leg and saw it was warm, red and swollen. She said that she was going to send me down to get a test on my leg to see if it was a blood clot. So they did put an IV type needle in my arm and drew blood. They left the needle in so if they had to draw more blood they could. Isn't it wonderful that they do that now a days instead of poking several holes in you for blood like they use to. So went down for the test for the blood clot and came back to the room. They put me in a wheel chair to keep me off my sore ankle and swollen leg. I got back to the room and another doctor came in and said it didn't look like a blood clot but they were waiting for the test results. It came back finally and it was not a blood clot. The first female doctor that had originally came into my room in ER came back in and said that it looked more like an infection to her. She looked all over my leg and foot, even in-between my toes. She was looking for a cut, bug bit or anything that could have caused an infection to enter. Well she kept looking and finally I saw a pin sized hole in the middle toe on my left foot. She looked at the way the swelling was going and she said that was probably the spot where the infection got in my foot. She asked me if I had been outside working in the garden recently or did I accidentally hit my leg or foot. I told her I had been out pulling some old weeds out of last year's garden a little bit this past week. My 86 yr. old neighbor had offered to come do it, but I felt so bad that he had wanted to do it, so I had gone out Wed. and just pulled them up myself, but left them in a small pile in the garden area. I guess I should have gone ahead and put the dead plants,old leaves and garden trash in my neighbor's garbage can, as he had come outside and told me I could use his garbage can as ours was always full and his is just about empty each week. See our next door neighbor is 86 years old and last year (2008) his wife died one day before her 90Th birthday. He had been her care giver and he is very lonely right now and wants to just help out to keep busy. He hated being inside all winter and now it's warmer, we both love to be out in the yard. So I should have known that if I hadn't picked the old dead sticks and leaves up and put them in his trash can as he said I could have done, he would go out and do it himself! Which he did just that! He has a riding lawn mower and cut our grass for us Wednesday, as he did ask me if I didn't mind if he had done that. I told him no I sure didn't mind, as I don't think I could have stood on my foot that long to cut the grass. As it was, just pulling out the dead weeds and old left over dead garden parts almost did me in. I had tried to weed-eat around the little trees and house after he cut the yard, or I'm sure he would have attempted to do that too. I know he wants to help out and that keeps him going, but my husband and I do feel bad, due to his age and my husband (nor I) had cleaned up the old stuff from last year's garden sooner before his back, had started bothering him. Our neighbor Loren, loves doing things for people, so I guess it was OK for him to just do it for us. Well he did come over Saturday, before I went to the hospital and he told us he had gone out to the pile of old garden stuff I had pulled up and left there, and put it in his garbage can himself. He didn't want us to be mad he had done it, for he said he had an old 'manure fork' in his shed and it only took him three forks full to get it all in the garbage can! Of course we felt guilty, but hey, by then my foot was killing me and I just wanted to not think of having to go pick up trash outside. I just wanted to see the doctor and get my foot and leg looked after, it was so swollen and red. Oh yes, Loren's wife had to wear compression stockings too, so guess what, he brought me over an old pair of hers he still had. He said he hoped I could use them, cause he paid a lot for them too..'back when'. He said he paid right at $30.00 a pair 'back when', and I told him what the pair the medical place was charging now, a pair, $100.00!, Loren almost fell off the recliner he was sitting in. He said he knew they cost a lot 'back when' he had to buy them for his wife, but they had gone up a lot. Like I said,he has such good intentions, and he and I both don't like to waste perfectly good things. So I tried on one of the compression stockings and it fit my 'not so swollen leg', but I couldn't get anything on the left leg it hurt like all get out and there was no way I could get that darn stocking over my toes even. So I told Loren, thank you and he only stayed a little bit and said he had to go back home to watch a TV show. But it was very thoughtful for him to remember what I had told him that my doctor has said the first part of the week when I saw my primary doctor and he had ordered me to wear compression stockings on both legs. Loren is a good decent man, and he is a great neighbor. He attends a church, not ours, but he goes to one that the pastor had did the services for his wife's funeral, so he was comfortable at that church and knew everyone. We told him if he wanted to ever 'visit' our church, to let us know, we'd sure want him to come. But like I told my husband, even if you can't get out and go to church, God can still be with you. As it is the winter time, Loren can't get out on the ice and snow, so he doesn't get to go to church much, and he sits home and reads his bible. I told my husband that God will watch over us, no matter where we were.
Getting back to my ER visit. The doctor examined my leg and said she though I had either a staff or bacterial infection. She had wanted to keep me in the hospital to give me antibiotics through an IV. I told her she could do what ever it was she had to do to me to get my leg and foot better, but I could not and would not go into the hospital. I explained to her and the other doctor that my husband was home with a bad pinched nerve in his back and couldn't take care of our 7 yr. old granddaughter we have custody of. She has a lot of emotional problems and she probably won't understand if I was in the hospital and wasn't home. There her Daddy (papa) was laid up with a bad leg, and her mommy (nanny) had to go to the hospital over her bad leg and foot. So the doctor said she would have to give me an bag full of antibiotics in an IV there at the ER and I'd have a prescription to take home with several different kinds of antibiotics to take for the next 10 days. So that is how it all went. She told me that her and the other doctor went out to research my symptoms while I was getting the antibiotics in my IV, and that I had what is call "Cellulitis. It is a kind of bacterial infection of the skin that has a tendency to spread. That was how mine was acting, moving up my leg and down to the bottom of my feet. It usually involves the skin and subcutaneous (under the skin) structures, but sometimes even deeper tissues can be involved. The most common way for cellulitis to get started is through a small break in the skin through which the bacteria enters. There are usually symptom of pain (especially with movement), just like I had. It has swelling, redness and increased warmth, enlarged lymph glands may be present. I had almost all those symptoms that sort of gave it away. There may also be red streaks extending towards the center of the body - this is evidence of spread of the infections through the lymphatic channels. Cellulitis is potentially very serious because of the ability for it to spread to the blood stream or to other structures such as tendons and joints. Along with the antibiotics, you are suppose to apply heat, like using a heating pad, and rest and elevate the infected part. It is very important that you follow the directions very carefully or else you could have a big mess on your hands if you don't do exactly what the doctor tells you. I guess with an already sick/disabled husband at home and a 7 yr. old granddaughter, no wonder they wanted to keep me in hospital..Like I told them, we don't have any relatives that live close by that can come and help out. Of course you have friends, but you don't want your friends taking time away from their family or things they have to do to 'baby sit' you. Plus, mommies and wives aren't supposed to get sick. Who else would take care of the family like "MOM" does? The doctor at the ER made me promise to call my primary doctor up on Monday and get in to see him. I had not told her that all he thought I should do was wear compression stockings..in silver with a garter belt. You just wait until I see him Monday! Needless to say, he'll get an ear full. Why didn't he recognize this infection sooner? Maybe it wasn't swollen up enough or red enough when I say him for him to recognize it. Maybe I shouldn't be so judgemental until I give the guy a chance..right? RIGHT!
This is how my week has been going. It seems when it rains, it pours! Until tomorrow, or whenever I get back to having time to continue my "Life as it is"...but it's a good life. GOD gave HIS only son so we can have a 'good' life. I am blessed~I live in a great country that lets me decide what religion I want to be. It lets me attend the church of my choice. But I have that choice and I know that God is always with me, no matter where I am and what I'm doing. HE can be with you too, so let HIM into your heart today. Let HIM help you too.