So tomorrow is probably the day I get to go home! I was being treated as though I had sepsis because of how severe my symptoms presented in the emergency room. I've been hospitalized several times in the past for cellulitis, but I cannot say that any two of my infections have been exactly the same. This was definitely one of my worser ones, but I am responding beautifully to the antibiotics I've been on. I am on oral Avelox now, but I was on IV Avelox and IV Vancomycin for the past three days.

I always get slightly wary when the doctors take me off the IV after just a couple of days or so because of my troubled past with oral antibiotics. Avelox usually does the trick though. Systemically I am doing much better and my pain is at a minimum. I will write more soon, hope you all are well. - A

This was taken with my lousy blackberry camera and does not depict the redness well.
It was more of a Crayola red than that of a purplish hue.

Once all the tyenol was in me in the emergency room and they had begun to stabilize me!

Dr. Ari's in the house!

Hospital

Hey guys! Right now I am in the hospital for a cellulitis infection. Out of all the infections I've had, this has been one of the more serious ones. Systemically, I got sicker than usual. When the infection was initially coming on, it felt as though my body was being smothered in ice cubes. I was so cold I couldn't take it! My body was shaking uncontrollably and no amount of blankets/heat seemed to help.

I'll write more later, but just wanted to check in for now. My condition is stabilized and the infection is responding to two different IV medications. - A

"I don't want to turn this into a trite sermon on the passing of time, but..."

I think that when one lives with a certain degree of chronic pain and medical trauma on a daily basis, it can be somewhat easy to fall into our own worlds. In fact, one could argue that focusing on ourselves and our health is somewhat of a primal tactic – a “survival of the fittest method”, so to speak. We focus on getting by from day to day, and don't always realize how quickly time is actually passing. When in the moment, it may actually feel as though the clock is barely ticking. I can't generalize this to all people or patients, of course. This passage is mostly tailored to myself, but I have a feeling one or two people out there may be able to relate. I don't want to turn this into a trite sermon on the passing of time, but tomorrow my sister receives Confirmation. And, this past Friday was her first prom. It's so weird watching her do the things I did not to long ago myself – and it makes me realize that in spite of how slow it may feel life is dragging sometimes, it goes by faster than which I give it credit for.

I think the beauty and heartache of getting older is coming to certain realizations, like realizing that days do seemingly go by in small clusters and eventually you find yourself reminiscing on the past ten years. I'm not good at living in the moment – in fact I am utterly horrific at it! My anxious mind likes to pull me forward constantly, and my depressed one likes to keep me stuck in some gaudy time machine. And I also understand how pain can preoccupy the mind immensely. But living in the moment is worth a try, and that is why I hope to improve upon this subject.

Sister & I