So here's a blog I never thought I'd write. Started in Boston, finished at home. While supporting my son through a dangerous bacterial infection (facial cellulitis). Acquired while away at college. We don't know how he acquired it, nor when. Events unfolded on FaceTime calls with him.
Wednesday: The left side of his upper lip looked sort of swollen. Subcutaneous pimple?
Thursday: Lip more swollen, pimple out? Nope.
Friday: 8:45am: FT call, much more swollen. He needs to go to the campus Health Center, sets appt. at 9:15am. NP takes culture sample, prescribes heavy oral antibiotics, double dose now and later. Advises him that if it gets worse in the six hours, go to the ER. It didn't, so he didn't. Until, it did on...
Saturday: 10:30am—The hubby and I FaceTime him. The left side of his face is so swollen his jawline has disappeared and the left side of his lip is covering his lower lip. We tell him to pack a bag and immediately go to the ER. He asks if we will come. We say yes. As soon as this happens, his eyes roll up into the back of his head and he starts to black out. Steve immediately tried to get him to snap out of it. I grabbed the cell and house phones, one to cancel a YTU class, the other to make hotel reservations. After the longest twenty seconds of our lives, he snapped out of it, ripped the earphones out of his ears and called for his suitemate. SuiteMate heard, came in, picked up said headphones and all was under control. They called ECPD, who came and called EMTs, who came and took him to Tufts Medical Center ER. By then, we were already in the car.
Saturday: 11am-3:45pm—Drive to Boston, check-in to hotel, jog to the ER. Find son with his suite mates/friends with him. We tag team. He is groggy from benadryl given to him to counter a reaction to the powerful antibiotics they had to infuse very quickly. ENT surgeons had already cut the upper lip to allow the infection to leave the body. He is admitted.
Everyday through Wednesday morning: get up at 6am, bathe, get breakfast, go to hospital by 8am, watch the improvement from hour to hour, get him to eat, talk to lots of docs/nurses, stay 'til 8pm, go to dinner out too late, eat too much food, drink too much alcohol, go back to hotel, attempt to sleep.
Wednesday: Cleared for Discharge but…they want to do one more round of IV antibiotics. We get a swag bag of medical materials as a parting gift, take him back to the hotel. He takes the best shower ever and we go out to eat. We all get the first fairly good night's sleep in days.
Thursday: We bring him home to recuperate. This was the best thing we could have done. He was SO much better on Thursday and then we could watch the improvement before taking him back on Sunday.
Sunday: He was back to being himself. We drove back to the dorm and got him settled in. The hugs lasted a little longer than usual this time. I know for me, I was a little harder to leave him this time, even harder than the very first time we dropped him off. I was sad the first time but I was actually a little scared this time. It will take some time for us all to process it all. All that matters is that he is himself and has/will recover completely.
I would like that not to happen again though. Please.