What happened to me...

Early Monday, August 13th, my right lower leg swelled even more than it normally was. It also turned a very ugly red, from the knee down. My sister-in-law noticed it, and she told me in no uncertain terms to get to the hospital.

I wanted to get a few hours sleep before I went, but that didn't work. It was like someone was rubbing sandpaper up and down my leg. So off I go to Bridgeport Hospital.

There were a number of major trauma cases that came in via ambulance, including a huge car crash involving 8 cars on the highway. So I got shuffled to the back. I spent about 3 hours in the waiting room. Of course, every 15 minutes, I was getting my vials checked, making sure if I needed a blanket, or something to drink, so it was ok.

Got inside, and they started taking care of me. They started pumping me with anti-biotics and fluids, since I was really dehydrated by then. But, it was a long wait for a room, because of all of the admits that day. Total time from entering the hospital until I'm in my room - 11 hours.

So for the next 4 days, until Thursday, things are going fine. Swelling and redness are going down, and they're planning on discharging me. Then I start hacking up a lung. Congratulations, you've got bronchitis now as well. Picked it up in the hospital.

That gave me an extra 5 days in the hospital. And more does of vanclomyacin. Which is a huge anti-biotic. But, it tends to have some side effects. Like blowing out IV's quickly.

Monday night into Tuesday morning... I blow out 5 separate IV's.

That's when I said enough. Thankfully, the doctor agreed and sent me home with a script.

And here we are.

It worked! Mostly...

Well, the cold water soak worked for the most part. Some of the swelling did go down for a while.

So, I'm going to do this 3 times a day for a while. And we'll see what happens. The whole thing is that the swelling is cutting off some of the blood flow. Not critically, but it is reducing it. So if I can reduce the swelling, the capillaries will open up more.

A new treatment

Tried something new with my foot today.

 My Dad mentioned that when he went clamming, the swelling he had would go away completely. Mind you, not as bad as mine, but it did go away. And eventually, it was gone for good.

 Then it hit me. Cold water.

 Filled the bathtub with cold water, and threw a few ice packs in. Let it soak for an hour. Dramatic difference. Not gone, but a noticeable difference. I can see it turn bright red with blood flow. And it stings. Man, does it sting. But that's good. It means the nerves are firing again.

 Maybe a few weeks of this every day will do it for me. Here's hoping.

This last week

I haven't posted in a week. Why? Nothing happened. No gym, nothing. Been kinda sick for the last week. Not the barfing my brains out sick, just blech sick. and not sleeping well because of it. Last night, my leg swelled up more than usual. Its actually painful to even wiggle my toes. I have the compression sock on, as well as the leg sleeve, so it should go down a bit. But its kept me awake all night. And that just sucks. It's a little after 6 in the morning, and I'm going to try and grab a few hours of sleep. We'll see what happens then.

New toy

My new toy. Just came in today.

Saturday morning...

Got to the gym last night. Did about 5 miles on the bike total. That's about what I'm doing now. 10 minutes, then rest for 5. Doing about 1.6 - 1.7 miles each time. Hoping to get there today. They close early today, so it may be a little difficult to get there. If I don't, I'll take a walk later.

Starting over

I decided to start all over again. Why? Because everything really is starting over again. For those of you who read this and really don't know me, a little bio. My name is Bob. I live in Milford, CT, and have for most of my life. I'm 47 years old, and have been married for nearly 23 years now to a wonderful woman. Sounds great, right? Wrong. My wife is disabled. I've been basically taking care of her for the last 20 years. But she's quite stable now, and can pretty much take care of herself. Now, here's where the problem comes in... I let myself go. I had been spending so much time and energy on her, I didn't take care of myself. My weight ballooned to over 400 pounds. (I'm a big guy naturally) I had a health scare in August of 2011. A major staph infection in my leg, which has left as a result a swelling on my right foot, ankle, and calf. Dr. says its a vascular problem, but I believe the infection never completely disappeared. Plus I've had some pretty bad back pain, due to the weight. I decided then to lose the weight. And I've had some great gains in that department. And some serious setbacks. Now, I'm basically starting all over again. So I joined a gym. Planet Fitness here in Milford. Right now, its just the reclining bike for the weight loss and cardio. As that progresses, I'll start working on other things. I'll get some pictures in the gym, if they'll let me. If they don't, I'll post other pictures. Around town and such. I may do that anyways. So, away we go...