Engaging

17 August, 2007

Joint Tap

The doctor didn't go as well today as i expected. Here is the walk through...

WARNING: This post is a bit graphic.
I woke up this morning and the knee didn't feel any worse, I thought if anything it was better, so I decided to go into work. I made it about 2 hours before I noticed how much my knee was swelling and was hot. I called the doctor's office and found out that my doctor (who I knew was in Chicago for a conference)'s partner could see me at 12:45. Justin took me over to their office. The doctor came in and right away he knew the infection was still there. He told me he was going to have x-rays taken and fluid removed from the knee. The x-rays...obviously not bad. The fluid....oh there aren't words to describe the pain that is involved with that.

Here is the description...the nurse came in and put what Justin described as the "Puppy wee Wee Pad" under me. Then they came in with a cart of tools. Numerous needles, tubes, vials and sprays. It seemed like I had to wait like 30 minutes, just think about what was about to happen. Finally it was game on. They sprayed the outer side of my right knee with this numbing stuff (that is such a lying name...the stuff did next to nothing!) and then said he was counting to 3 and then sticking. 2 second later, he stuck. And did he stick. A 4 inch needle into the inner part, under my knee cap, into the joint synovial sac. And then he dug and prodded. and I think tried to kill me. It was unbelievable painful. Out came some blood, some joint fluid and all sorts of gunk. And a continuous river of blood pouring out of the hole in the side of my knee.

Finally it was over and Justin and I had to take the fluid/blood concoction over to the Outpatient Lab at the hospital. Now I have to wait. In the next 48-72 hours I will get a phone call from the doctor letting me know if the infection spread. If the infection spread into the joint, then I under go emergency surgery. UGH!

My doctor's receptionist emailed him right away to let him know what was going on. She just called me back and let me know that my doctor is pretty concerned and that he went ahead and booked me into his first surgery slot on Monday. He is hoping that if the infection has spread that I can wait until Monday morning for surgery, so he can do it instead of having this other guy, who I've only met once, do surgery on me. I also have his cell phone number to call and talk to him at any point this weekend. I think that is amazing. So unlike a doctor in a big city. Their office feels very like a small town.

Now it is just a dreadful waiting game. I am not allowed to be away from my cell phone or go outside of cell phone service.


UGH.

Posted by F.C.G :: 4:37 PM :: 0 Comments:

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