So funny story… this weekend we had a little unexpected adventure. Henry noticed a quarter-sized irritant on the back of his leg sometime on Thursday. By Saturday evening, it had turned into this…
He had trouble walking because his entire leg felt like it was on fire. It’s probably best to mention we played about an hour of laser tag, which probably didn’t help matters much. The thing that concerned me was a) he sat out the last round of laser tag. Anyone who knows my husband knows that sitting out a competitive activity signals distress. And b) he was running a fever.
Rash, fever, pain. I wasn’t having any of that.
He very much wanted me to leave him alone and let him go to sleep. Instead I kept turning on the light, measuring his rash, feeling it for heat, taking his temp (which jumped 2 whole degrees in 1 hour), calling an on-call nurse, and finally calling a doctor friend. Said friend suggested a trip to the ER “sooner rather than later” for what he thought might be a skin infection called Cellulitis.
Without too many graphic details, Cellulitis is caused by any skin wound – an ingrown hair, splinter, insect bite, abrasion, etc. – that most commonly gets infected with the staph or strep virus. We have no idea why Henry’s developed – there’s no insect bite pattern nor has he been hiking through the woods (something they kept asking so watch out you hikers). Cellulitis is very dangerous when not treated. The infection will continue to spread, sometimes all the way to the bone and could develop into a more serious condition that eats the flesh.
Homey don’t play that. So to the hospital we went.
He’s now set up very nicely in a window bed at our local hospital on an IV drip of antibiotics and Tylenol for the fever and pain. It’s all very surreal. At this point, we aren’t sure how long he’ll be there. We’re hoping it will only be a couple days.
Approximately 2:00 AM on Sunday.
Incidentally, when I told the kids I only had to spend a few seconds assuring our eldest her father wasn’t on his deathbed. At the suggestion of making cards and a stop at the store for balloons the kids were actually excited at this random turn of events. Natalie suggested getting him new pajamas to wear at the hospital, Ryan suggested getting him a train. I suggested we start with cards, balloons, and snacks. So that’s what we did.
Comments (9)
Hope Henry feels better soon.
Yikes Cellulitis is an ugly bugger. Savannah got a skeeter bite that over night made her skinny stick leg HUGE, we were lucky enough to get it on time and was only on antibiotcs for 2 weeks. She was bite at school by red ants, her teacher was right next to her and had wiped all the ants off but she still was bitten a few times, within in 12 hours she had a nasty infection. She now has standing orders for meds at school if she is bitten again (this is not the first time its happened, just the fastest).
About 10 years ago, I had Cellulitis in my ear that spread to the whole right side of my face. I felt horrible and looked scary. Luckily, it went away quickly with antibiotics and rest but I have been terrified of getting it again ever since.
Hope Henry gets better soon.
Jen
Hope he is feeling much better. I would suggest taking him a good book to read but I also liked Ryan’s train idea. I am glad you ignored his “leave me alone” approach. Have a good day
Becky
Oh Honey….that is quite a story! Well, I am certainly glad that you took him to the ER, and that he is going to be ok. That is really scarey Leighann! It is amazing how quickly something like that can come on, and then spread so fast. Your life is never dull girl! I will pray for Henry’s quick recovery! I am sure the “Giant” will soon be good as new…so re-assure all of the little Hobbits! And you take care too! 🙂
Love, Linda
Oh yeah. I wouldn’t have left that alone either! I totally would have called the doctor friend too! Glad Henry is set up with IV antibiotics now!
So sorry to hear Henry was not feeling well. Hopefully the antibiotics have kicked in and he is on the mend. Good thing you caught it in time, a person can get very sick with severe cases of that. I liked that he had a smile on his face in the picture! He should enjoy every minute of being in the hospital…it’s the only place in the world where you get to lay in bed and all you have to do is press a button to get service!
PS. I think you might need to change your graphic at the top of your homepage…maybe you could add a nasty red welt to the Giant’s leg for the time being or at least a band-aid…..
yikes! that’s craziness!!! hope he gets better soon!!