About 2 days ago, my dear 18 (almost 19 year old) son tells me he has a pimple in a place that is sensitive when you sit down.....but he won't really let me mess with it.  Saturday and Sunday he was very tired and sleepy and just generally felt drained.  Well in the best of days, he is not that highly energetic (based on his counterpart, Alex the Energizer Bunny on Energy Drinks) so we didn't think too highly of it.  We had a very busy Sunday  but while we were at church I noticed he was having trouble walking and sat down very gingerly.  Finally at around 9pm he let me really get a good look at the "pimple".  Oh My Goodness!  He had a boil/abcess bigger than my fist!  It was hot too the touch and even just wearing clothes had him almost in tears.  Now this boy is quite a bit bigger than me and has a pain tolerance level of minus 10!  My kids don't get sick very often and we've never really had a situation like this so we did what we could to relieve the pressure but it was VERY bad!  About that time his sister (medic in the Navy ) calls and we give her the scoop-her diagnosis-get him to the ER right away! 

So we loaded him up and took him to a great little 24 hour place we know.  The doctor took one look and said "not good".  By this time he had a fever of 101. They had to lance it and it was very deep.  Unfortunately with the amount of bacteria he had in him (and it had now gotten into his bloodstream), even lidocain didn't do much to deaden the nerves so all of the procedures were done wide awake!  They had to pack in about 4 feet of gauze when they were done!  Of course they gave him some strong antibiotics and and some pain killers. 

Now here's the "uh oh" moment.  The doctor tells us the "packing" has to be replaced everyday for 2 weeks!  Of course, Xavier is in Illinois this week.....not his fault really.  So today I went in search of a place to "repack"...Because of the amount of infection and the size of the wound, the first week needs to be done by medical personnel.  Well, the Dr. they reccommended was in an area of town that could be scary and it was several miles away so I looked for one close by.  We ended up at a "After Hours Clinic".  The staff were as accomondating as they could be but the nurse was like "you want us to what"?  The doctor was not in but the nurse practitioner was.  He bravely stepped up to the plate.  I wish I could have taken his picture as he was unpacking this wound and the gauze just kept coming!!!  He was very good with Zach and Zach was very brave. He was originally going to show me how to do the packing myself  but after he saw the size of the wound he said it really needed to be looked after by professionals for the first week. This is an open wound and the risk of infection is much greater that say a cut that gets stitched up..... Great.  I'm off the hook. He did so well with Zach that Zach only wants him to do the procedure.  Of course this guy only works there Monday and Wednesday!  The receptionist at the front desk is pretty sure no other nurses or practitioners there will be able to do the procedure!  The doctor could do it but she is only there until noon and I have to have Cameron in a different town for a dental procedure at 11!  So tomorrow the search is on again for someone to take care of this for us.  We may be doctor hopping for the next few days.....wow....not even sure what insurance will make of this.....The great guys at the 24 hour ER told us that if all else fails we can go back to them if we have to.....

What? Don't we have a GP you say?  Sure we do.....but we are pretty healthy and very rarely have to see a doctor......and we found out her practice burned to the ground (it was in a little shopping center...) and haven't been able to find her since.....Zach graduated from the pediatrician last year then spent the next 6 months in Minnesota and hasn't needed a doctor.....

Of course, Isaac isn't one to be left out so he comes in while I'm researching Doctors and trying to make appointments and such and is crying about his "boo boo"...I look down and his foot is bleeding! He has stepped on some little piece of nail that is sticking out of some obscure place on his bed.....and sliced his toe.  Looks a lot worse than it is!  The last bandaid in our house is applied to his precious toe. 

I have friends helping me with kids while Xavier is gone...otherwise I'd probably just be a puddle of nerves and tears.....St. Michael really watches out for our Zach....I have no doubt that another 24 hours later and he would have been in the hospital for a long stay. Oh, and the name on the building next to the Er.....St. Michaels Clinic.......Now if he'll just watch really hard for the next 2 weeks!

Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard!  Please report to the exam room!