Wound Update

I can't believe how many of you are following this boil adventure!  I knew there were a few crazies out there who'd be interested in hearing about the boil and my health issues and even fewer that would want to actually SEE it in pictures... well, I THOUGHT I knew, anyway.  I've gotten more hits on my past couple blog posts than I have ever gotten on any other post!  No kidding!

Ok, well, if you all are still interested, here's a bit of an update.  My neck/back are still a bit out of whack, but I keep doing my stretches and at least I'm sleeping a few more hours consecutively each night.  I still wake up plenty, but the pain doesn't keep me up for hours at a time like it had been doing.  My boil is definitely on the mend.  The crater continues to ooze pus, but this morning I noticed that it's a bit smaller.  I think it's starting to heal around the edges, which is encouraging news.  The skin around the boil is still pretty raw from all the tape and trauma of the whole fiasco, but I'm pretty sure it will improve in the coming days.  I can also see the shape of my knee again, which is nice!  There is still some swelling and general soreness, and I have a feeling it will be a few weeks before I'm fully back to normal.

The real challenge has been that Micaiah three small spots that could be boils.  They're small, and could actually just be spider bites.  So far it's been super-mild compared to mine.  We're not even positive that they are boils, but given all that I've been through, we don't want to take any chances!  So for the past three days now I've been on a cleaning rampage.  EVERYTHING is getting washed.  Floors, door knobs, door frames, bathrooms, sheets, towels, buckets.... from what I've been reading, boiling water is one of the best cleaners, so we'll be washing all our linens in boiling water for a while.  And dettol is my new best friend. :)

Any tips on how to eradicate any lingering bacteria in our house?  Any key spots that I need to be sure to check?  Light switches, door knobs.. that sort of thing?  I know that boils just sometimes happen, especially out here in the tropics.  They're super common and so many of our friends and neighbors have shown me their scars (which I could have done without in some cases...) and assured me that these are normal for this area. Even the doctor and nurse at the clinic were quick to reassure me that my massive boils were "normal."  I don't think I'd go that far, but still, it was comforting that they've seen these before and weren't phased by it.  I could have given the infection to Micaiah (especially early on before we knew what it was!), but it's also possible we just got it from a common source.  No way to tell, really.  But we're doing our best to rebuild our immune systems, get enough sleep, eat healthy food, and keep stress to a minimum (!!).

Anyway, that's the update.  Here's a picture for all you crazies out there who like to see the progress visually.

-JLR