Too close a call

I got sick.  We're talking terribly sick.  Ever had a kidney infection?  They're not fun.  And, this kidney infection was spreading to my blood.  Even less fun.  I'd known for a short while that I had a bladder infection.  No big deal, right?  I'm sort of prone to them, so I decided to take care of it on my own.  I had some leftover Septra (an antibiotic) from a previous bladder infection.  So, I took the full round of antibiotics.  But it didn't get better.  In fact, it actually got worse... much worse.  Turns out Septra's expiration date is not a joke.  Don't worry -- it's not toxic.  But as it ages and expires, it actually loses its potency.  So, I had some weak antibiotics.  Sure, it probably killed some of the baby bacteria.  But it certainly allowed the stronger bacteria to grow, thrive and multiply.


So by last Thursday, I'd had as much as I could handle.  The symptoms of the bladder infection had all but subsided, but I was facing excruciating pain in my side and back.  Having been there before, I immediately knew that I had a kidney infection.  I continued through the day, hoping I was just imagining things.  When I woke at 3:00 in the morning with the baby, I knew that I'd let it go too far.  I went to work in the morning, because lately I've missed a little bit of work.

One of the reasons I self treated is because of the local clinic.  First, it is short staffed and over worked.  Second, it took 8 weeks to get my children in to update their immunizations with the additional shots that Nevada requires (a whole different conversation).  So, I figured that it was going to take some time to get me in.

Suffering from a considerable amount pain after getting to work, I called the doctor.  I explained to the scheduler that I was certain that I had a kidney infection.  She asked if I wanted to be seen right away.  I indicated that I would prefer to be seen that day, but if they couldn't accommodate me, I understood.  She took my number and told me she'd call me back after she'd had a chance to speak with the doctor working that day to see if they could squeeze me in.  She returned my call about an hour later and I scheduled an appointment to be seen in the clinic at 3:30 that day.

I continued to work, sit through court and go through the ordinary motions of my day.  However, everyone around me could tell that I was just not myself.  The pain I was suffering was extraordinary.  My face was pale.  I was clammy and disheveled.  By lunch, I'd had as much as I could handle.  Erick came and took me to the emergency room.  By the time I arrived, my fever had reached 102 degrees.  I was in so much pain that I could not think straight and was terribly disoriented.

The staff at the hospital admonished me for having allowed the infection to proceed so far, but were kind and understanding otherwise.  They immediately put me in a room, took blood and did other tests and started me on intravenous antibiotics.  They did a CT scan to rule out kidney stones and additional infection.  They gave me demoral to ease the pain.  When the tests and the blood work came back, the doctor was quite concerned.  He indicated that it looked like the infection was starting to spread and that my WBC count was pretty darn high.  He indicated that he thought it would be best if I remained in the hospital until they got the infection under control.  Of course, I had no desire to remain in the hospital, acquiring additional debt and leaving the chaos to my husband.  He saw the reservation on my face and asked about what our family life was like.

I explained to him that I am the provider for our household at the moment.  I explained to him that I have five children.  I explained that I had a nursing child.  I explained that I had to travel for the next two weeks for work.  He understood and told me that while he was concerned, he would allow me to go home on oral antibiotics and pain medication.  He also told me that all of the antibiotics I required were not safe for my nursing baby.  I was to pump and dump or quit nursing altogether.  If my pain and fever weren't totally gone by Monday, I was to return to the hospital to be admitted.

The weekend was hard.  I was so delusional from the pain, high from the pain meds, and sick that I did little more than sleep.  Church on Sunday was a chore.  Friends mentioned that I looked like death.  My color was gone.  My brow was clammy.  Fellow church members placed their hands on me to pray to God to heal me.  I believed his will would be done.

 Sunday

Monday was the first day I traveled for this big trial.  It is a hard trial which we are still working through.  And, I have to admit, I was not completely there.  The pain was still intense and I was avoiding taking too many of the pain killers in case I needed to use my brain.  At one point in the day, I sent a text to Erick indicating that the pain was still serious.  He responded that I needed to let my boss know that I was going to be out for a while because the doctors would want to admit me.  Of course, my stubbornness got the best of me and I continued to work.  My fever was gone, but the pain remained.  By Wednesday, I was finally feeling better.  I was feeling clear headed and finally felt like I was myself again.  Even today, I still occasionally have a pang or two of pain, but it is nearly gone and I still have four days remaining on this regiment of antibiotics.