The funny thing about MRSA is that it is actually quite common. You can get it just about anywhere, and on your skin, it doesn't really do anything. Once it gets under your skin though, totally different story.
At the end of June, i went camping down at one of the area reservoirs and woke up one morning with a sore, red bump underneath my left arm, on my lat, almost in my pit. It was quite painful, and even though I fished all day, I decided at the end of the day that I would go home as not only was it becoming increasingly painful, I was not feeling well. Not sick per se, just under the weather. Got home, went to bed. Woke up the next morning and the pimple sized bump had swollen to the size of a golf ball. Really, Really sore and i am actually sick now, and I have a fever of almost 101. I realized at this point i was going to need medical advice, but it was Sunday, walk in clinic is closed, and the ER was going to be hours more than likely. Again, the pain was excrutiating. So I take some advil, get out my outfitters first aid kit which contains a scalpel. I wash the site with antibacterial soap, then wipe down with alcohol, take the scalpel out of the sterile package and proceed to make a 1-1/2" incision nearly the depth of the scalpel blade and nothing came out, not even blood.
I cannot describe to you how much it hurt. I was literally crying and I am not ashamed to say it. I truly, almost passed out.
I dressed it, hoping that maybe it would start seeping infection out and took it easy the rest of the day. I couldn't sleep that night, because I could only lay on my right side. Next morning is Monday, I call in sick, I am very ill at this time. feels like the Flu. I look at the wound and the inside of it has turned black and is now the size of a tennis ball. I literally cannot put my left arm down at my side or even wear a shirt because the pain is too much. I take my temp, its 103. Time to make a visit to the ER.
In the ER the doc decides to lance it again, they use local anesthesia, but guess what, infected tissue doesn't anesthetize. so I have to get cut into AGAIN and yet again nothing comes out BUT they can give me antibiotics and pain killers, which they do and tell me to come back tomorrow and hopefully they infection will have pooled by then. I got through the night again, and my temp came down to about 100, so I went back the next day, they do an ultrasound, still no pool of infection. Stay on antibiotics, next day, feeling worse again. Fever goes right back up to 103 and I go back to ER. THANK GOD IT IS READY to cut open. By this time the swollen part of my underarm looks like I got and A cup implant in an odd place. The doc actually brings in a male nurse that easily weighed 250 to "offer assistance should I need some moral support" which I suspect was code for "hold this guy down because when I cut him he's gonna twist off like a rodeo bronc coming out of the chute." Good news, they can actually get a culture this time, bad news, the doc thinks it could be MRSA since the antibiotics aren't working. So they admit me. IV me. Wait for the culture to come back and sure enough Methicillin Resistant Staff Aurea. There are now more than one doctor involved and they decide that they are going to have to actually surgically remove the infected area. So thats what they did. I spent a week in the hospital, and now have a 3 or 4 inch nasty looking scar under my left arm. But I'm not dead.
