Adventures in the ER

So I thought I better post about my "exciting" last week. I managed to get a staph infection somehow, and it has been an adventure. Here's the story. (By the way, this will probably be long, so don't feel like you need to read it). So last Tuesday I started to get a minor sore throat just on the right side and my right glands felt a little bit swollen like I might be getting sick. Then on Wednesday my right ear lobe, of all places, started hurting as well as a small lump on my neck right under my lobe. I thought maybe I had worn some bad earrings, and the lump was just part of the gland or something. But then on Thursday I woke up and my ear was about twice the size of my other ear and it was red and my whole neck was hurting. So I started thinking something was wrong. However, I had my 32 week checkup the next morning (Friday) so I figured I would wait until then, and ask my doctor what I should do. In the meantime I had this lovely throbbing headache and my neck was all puffed.

So Friday I woke up and everything was swollen and red as well as the right side of my face now (a couple inches on my face). So I went to my appointment Friday morning and he checked the baby and everything is great, and then I showed him my ear and he said "Yikes. That's the wrong end of the body for me. I have no idea." So he called in a favor from a fellow doctor friend down the hall and got me in to see him. So I went and first saw the nurse practitioner and she gave me the look that you never want to see from a doctor. That puzzled-concerned-I-really-don't-like-what-I'm-seeing look. So she asked me a bunch of questions and then she asked if I minded if she brought a student in to see it because it's so rare they get to see something like this. Awesome. So the student came in along with the doctor, and they said it was a strep infection and it's hard to treat since I'm pregnant, etc. So they gave me antibiotics and very sternly told me if it got worse or didn't get better I needed to go to the emergency room (apparently staph infections can be deadly). Wonderful. So I left the doctor's office in tears with these horrible visions of an emergency c-section because the baby was in distress and I was dying...anyway, that didn't happen.

So I went and got my antibiotics and went home. By this point I had chills, aches, and I felt like I was getting a fever. So Jeremy came home at about 1:00 and fed me and tried to warm me up because I was freezing and he gave me a very nice blessing saying I would recover and the baby would be healthy. So that emotionally made me feel better. But I just felt awful physically and we were worried it was getting worse. My mom had been talking to her doctor friend and he kept telling her, "she has to go to the hospital right now! This is bad". So we decided about 2:30 that we should go to the emergency room. Good choice.

So we get to the emergency room and I was freezing and my resting heart rate was 134. (That's not good. They tell pregnant women to be careful when they work out to not get their heart rate above 140). So we tell them what's going on and the doctor there said what the other doctor gave me was no good and had a small chance of working, but probably wouldn't have done anything. Great. So he put me on an IV to get more antibiotics as well as another oral antibiotic. He said it was a staph infection and they are hard to treat in the ear/face area, especially since I'm pregnant. (By the way, I've seen a different doctor in the ER everyday and they go back and forth about what it is; I'm calling it staph, but who knows). But he called my doctor and they agreed these antibiotics were the best and the safest. He said the worst possible thing they could do would be nothing. So I got my IV (that was a first for me, woohoo) and I huddled under all my warm blankets they brought me and waited till he freed me. They said I needed to keep coming back ever 24 hours for more IV until it goes away. The happiest moment though was when they said I could take Tylenol! My head had been throbbing and I had a fever, so once I took that I felt sooooo much better. And my grandparents were so sweet and came and visited us and then took us to get something to eat.

So by Sunday night I was feeling a ton better, and my heartrate was back to normal. Sunday at church was a bit of a daze since I had hardly slept, but the choir was singing and Jeremy was speaking so I wanted to go. (He did very well by the way). Anyway, it is now Wednesday, and I'm still going in every 24 hours for the IV. Today will be the 6th time and I'm hoping I don't have 6 more. It's looking a lot better. The swelling is definitely down, but some of the redness is still there. I'm also taking a pill twice a day for 10 days, so hopefully this thing will give up and leave! But I'm very grateful I'm okay and especially that the baby is okay. I guess I was due for some drama. My pregnancy had been pretty much perfect up to this point, with Tums being the extent of any "drugs" taken. But everything is working out and I appreciate everyone's concern. And now, at my mother's request, I have a fuzzy picture I took of my face on Friday after I got home from the doctor (the first time) so I could monitor the line on my face. It's not the best picture, but here it is:
It's hard to see that it's swollen because you can't see my other ear, but it was, I promise. I'm glad I have long hair! That's how I felt okay going out in public with a bright red ear.

And here's a picture I took this morning. I tried to get the same angle, it kind of worked. But the lighting is different. Anyway, you can see that it's mostly faded. (And now peeling, gross).
Anyway, sorry that was so long. But besides having a needle in my arm 24/7 I'm doing great! I'll update again once it's all over. :)