wow! Thanks everyone for your thoughts. This was a doozy. It was probably the worse episode in 8 years just because of how long it lasted. I trained on Monday the 11th and felt great. Told myself on Tuesday I am just doing cardio. That night I got a really high fever (102) and was shivering the whole night. Didn't sleep a wink. In the morning I felt better (not shivering) but still had a fever and was very sore. My leg was already very red and was so hot I had to lay in bed with it hanging off the side. It wasn't that different than most other episodes except it was the first this bad in about a year.
It usually goes away in about 4 or 5 days. But when after a week it was worse (redder, bigger) I decided to go to the emergency (12-18). I had my daughter take me. I was there for about 4 hours. They dopplered my leg, and did a couple x-rays and gave me Erythromycin(?) an antibiotic through an IV then sent me home. Well the next morning I woke up and was covered head to toe with hives and was red everywhere. I couldn't get ahold of my daughter, so I decided to drive myself back to the hospital. I live in Kona and the hospital I went to was in Waimea which is about an hour drive. The drive was hell and it hurt so bad that I was going to crash my car (easy) just so an ambulance could take me the rest of the way. It was shitty.
Finally I got there and some of the people who were there when I was there the day before was still there. SO they got me in immediately after showing them what happened. I spent about 5 hours in ER until they finally checked me into the hospital. There was a guy who came into the ER who wassurfing and got faceplanted onto the lava rock. This guy you couldn't even see his face. It was covered in blood and his whole front was just ripped open. It was definitely the most blood I ever saw.
So then I got checked in and everything. They put me on antibiotics for 9 hours a day. I always have veins in my hands even at this weight but because of the hives and the bloating from the reaction they couldn't find any to put in the IV and take blood. They poked my 9 times before giving up. So they ended up cutting the inside of my upper arm and then putting a catheter(?) inside the hole up into my heart to give me my drugs and take blood. Two little ports were hanging from my arm so they could do this easy.
The put me on a low calorie and low fluid diet. I was restrcited to just 1200 cc of fluid per day and 1200 calories. In addition, I went on Lasix through the IV. I pissed so much everyday. The only good part about all that was I lost 42 pounds in 11 days. YES 42 pounds. Mostly water but still it is gone.
So, it took about 7 days for the hives and redness to go away. It really made it the worst. My leg peeled away allot of skin. Just like a really bad sunburn would do. So I was scheduled to get released on Thursday, but that morning I got "gout" in my right ankle. It hurt so bad I could not sleep at all or move my leg. Because of the rapid water loss and other crap the doctor said that gout was something that could develop. So it did. If you know anyone who has had it then ask them how much it hurts. Unreal!
SO now I had to go on gout medicine and spend an extra 3 days in the hospital. I wanted to go home today. I still have the gout a little but it should be gone by monday. Myleg is still huge but no infection which is the most important. My leg should be back to normal in about a week.
The biggest thing that happend to me is to find out exactly how shitty it is to be overwieght and out of shape. I spent 40 years being in excellent to very good shape. These last 5 or 6 years has been a fucking nightmare. I am fucking committed to getting back into shape now. It took this hospital stay to open my eyes. I can't see myself being so immobile for the rest of my life. I have never had medical problems like this until the bite and gaining the weight.
I have pics of the leg in the hospital. They are on my phone butI can't see from the website how to get them. I have the new EnV phone with Verizon. If you know how to get pics of this phone and service tell me and I will post them. I saw the measurements Stunt put up. Way off.
Bad Leg: calf 32" thigh 45" Good Leg: calf 20.5" thigh 31"
I want to thank everyone again for the nice stuff said. Getbig is a fun place for me to come and I missed it. I know allot of you kind of look up to me because of my past, but in reality I ain't shit no more. I still have some strength but I am definitely not something to look at anymore. But, I will tell you that 2007 is the year I make my comeback and I will get back to be something to look at. I feel and look like shit now but it is only temporary. It took this hospital trip to get it through my head but it really did do something. I liked it when I looked good and was healthy. Thanks again everyone. Even you Vince and Sean.
