Last week, the day before I went snorkelling, I tripped on the steps going up to the bathroom in the cafe we were eating in. I scraped my leg, but of course ignored it as usual. I went snorkelling and there were lots of comments about sharks coming to find me - which would have made Martin happy because he hadn't seen any sharks yet. There were no sharks! Just jellyfish and stinging plankton. Ouch.
But two days later, after my scuba diving adventure, the wound was starting to look red around the area and I decided I should have someone look at it. The manager of our hotel turned out to be the right guy, since he had worked for Rescue911 in Manila for three years. He did a very careful job of cleaning the area with alcohol, swabbing it with Betadine (shades of the Camino) and then bandaging the area.
Geordie became my nurse and cleaned and bandaged the area a couple of times after, but we still went swimming and enjoyed the beach and the water. The area continued to be tender and red, but I even went off to my dive buddies and asked their opinion and they concurred with me that the wound seemed to be healing well - it was dry, although still red.
But yesterday! I woke up and realized that there was a problem. I noticed a bruise on the side of my heel and I knew I hadn't done anything to get it. Then I realized that my ankle was swollen and tender as was my leg generally. This was not normal. Time for some action.
Off we went and found the medical clinic on the main drag here on the island. It's a little hole-in-the-wall place, with two tiny rooms, some plastic seats and a number of people hanging out. I asked the young people sitting around where I could find the doctor and was shocked to discover that the two teenagers I was asking were the doctors. Well, at my advanced age, it's hard to discover that your doctor is now young enough to be your grandson.
The doctors and the assistants were great. They quickly took my temperature (no fever), and my blood pressure (no problem) then diagnosed me with an infection. The treatment options were discussed and then payment costs - Geordie and I had to pool our meager resources to find enough - (under 80 dollars, but more than I'd expected).
Treatment included a tetanus shot which they gave me right away in my upper right arm. The young female doctor did that just fine. Then the male doctor recommended an IV infusion of anti-biotics to punch up the treatment as well as a followup of oral anti-biotics. First they needed to do an allergen skin test for the a-b, which meant pumping a quantity of the drug between the first two layers of my skin - "Ow, ow".
Then there was a 20 minute wait to see if there was a reaction - which there wasn't so the doctor began to prepare the IV. Too bad he didn't get it right the first time since it hurt and I was a bad patient who went "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow" the whole time he was inserting the needle into the vein of my right hand. Since he didn't like the result, he took it out and did it all over again in my left hand - "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow". As the doctor said sweetly, "You have a low pain threshold." I didn't think I did, but hey I guess so.
The doctor then proceeded to clean out the wound with peroxide, then covered it with Betadine, and finally a nice clean bandage. Then he gave us instructions for care - Geordie has to clean it twice a day for me, and bandage it. I have to keep it dry although I can go into the ocean after the second day. The most important recommendation he gave me though?
"Avoid injuring the area again!" What a good idea! Hope I can avoid upstairs bathrooms from now on.
So with my wound treated, we decided it was a good idea to hang around at our resort a few more days. If I had not seen the doctors we might have been leaving this morning, Monday, or at the latest tomorrow. But now we'll probably stay until Thursday so the invalid can be cared for in some comfort. I think it's time to go now - my wound is twinging some more. I need my rest.
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