Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Another Teeny Tiny Update

Wow it's Monday night (well, in less than half an hour it'll be Tuesday in good old Texas), and guess what? I had the funniest thing happen to me.

Well, it's not funny, and I don't like bringing this up too much because it makes me feel like I'm craving attention or whatever, when I just wanna share this story because it's strange and rare...So basically, I have class on Mondays and Wednesdays, in the evening, so my usual schedule for those days is: work, yoga, school, cereal (for dinner). Well, Monday went by alright and good, then Wednesday came around. Work, yoga, bug bite?, school, cereal. Yes, bug bite. Bug bite? Whatever, bug bites are no big deal, right? WRONG. On my short walking route to school, I felt a slight pinch on my right ankle. It must be a small piece of tree/wood or a rock that just hit my ankle, I thought, I'll check it out once I'm inside the building.

I make it inside, and guess what? It was neither woodpiece nor rock. A small circular black bulge was stuck to my right ankle. As I looked more closely at it, I realized it was a bug (an unknown type of bug at that!), and I compulsorily flicked the little monster away. No second thoughts on it whatsoever...until I got to class and realized that the bug had left a very red and puffy mark. That's when I thought of the possibility of a tick. Could a tick have attached itself to my poor ankle and stolen some of my blood?? I couldn't focus in class because I kept thinking about ticks and Lyme disease and that bullseye mark that shows up when a tick bites you.

I calmed myself down and decided the bug bite would die down and disappear by morning. ONLY NOT. In fact, not only had the bug bite become redder and puffier, but the reaction had spread throughout the top of my right foot and above my ankle too! It was a horrid sight. My right leg looked bigger than my left leg, and I was NOT cool with it.

But still, I convinced myself that it was probably nothing, and that if my foot wasn't better by Friday morning, I would go to a doctor. Hahaha, right. When I got home, my mother noticed the mutant foot, and by the time we picked up my younger sister from school, we headed straight for the emergency room.

I've visited the ER lots of times before, but never as a patient haha. I was terrified. And of course, it was busy at that time of night, so my mutant foot was last on the list of important patients (I guess strokes and broken bones are more important?). While waiting, and when finally taken to one of the exam rooms, I had the pleasure of being some sort of morbid entertainment for a couple of nurses, who marveled at the sight of my mutant foot. After another hour of waiting, the assigned doctor came in, prodded the mutant foot, and said blood would have to be drawn, to make sure there wasn't infection. One of the nurses from the earlier entertainment session came in to take my blood, five test tubes in all, all while calling me "pumpkin" and "sweetie."

Long story short (sort of), we waited another hour, doctor came back in and said the tests came back normal, but to be on the safe side he would prescribe some antibiotics. I assumed that since there was no mention of Lyme disease, there was no risk of it happening at all. We got the prescription and left by 2 in the morning.

Later during that Friday morning, I decided to do research on the antibiotics I had been prescribed, and GUESS WHAT? That antibiotic is used to fight LYME DISEASE! It was a flabbergasted moment for me: of all the people in the world, of all the things that can happen to us, I was at risk of Lyme disease! I started laughing; I felt like those people on those Mystery Diagnosis shows.

Anyway, I know I can't say with 100% certainty that it was a tick that bit me last Wednesday, or that I do in fact have Lyme disease, but like the doctor said, just to be on the safe side, I'm taking those antibiotics. I do however wish that he could've mentioned it, you know? He could've been like, "So, uhhh, the blood tests came back normal, which is good, but your description of the bug and your mutant foot's reaction leads us to believe that you could contract Lyme disease. It's a very minimal chance, but just to be on the safe side, I'm gonna prescribe these antibiotics." See how much calmer I would have been?

Oh well, my foot's better now and I can't wait to use it in all its capabilities once more! Hello yoga and hello social life! :)

2 comments:

  1. Well you've learned your lesson. Never look up your medication. I'm glad the tests came back normal, even if maybe with a slight chance of lyme disease. I would say I think that if the doctor thought there was enough of a likelihood of Lymes he would have told you, but I would also have said that the nurses wouldn't find the mutant foot amusing.

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    1. I guess the mutant foot was an interesting sight to see, but I am totally over my "fifteen minutes of fame" in the ER and ready to use my normal foot in normal ways.

      And I will never learn my lesson: I always pry into things and learn hard truths and news hahahaha.

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