Nights have been rather restless at my house, as I continue to recover from a spider bite and ensuing staph infection.
About three weeks ago, as I was taking a couple days vacation from my duties here at the Daily, I felt a sharp stinging pain on the back of my neck while I was outside getting something out of the truck. I didn’t think much of it.
The next day, an egg-sized lump had cropped up on the right side of my head, just into the hairline.
Over the next few days, that lump got more and more painful, and I lost the ability to turn my head without severe pain. Soon, the pain was joined by stiffness, and I couldn’t move my head if I wanted to.
Finally, nearly a week after that first sting, I went to the doctor.
The nurse walked into the examination room, took a glance at the back of my head and said “You have a spider bite.” The doc confirmed it, prescribing a round of heavy-duty antibiotics.
Thus began days and weeks of hot soaks with Epsom salts, bandages, antibiotics, and any other remedy I could think of.
On Friday, I went back to the doctor, as another lesion had cropped up next to the first.
“You have a carbuncle,” the doc said.
Carbuncles are similar to boils, as they begin in infected hair follicles. They can also migrate from a staph infection, like I had with my spider bite, beneath the skin and crop up in another location. They especially love the nape of the neck, although they can appear anywhere there’s moisture and friction.
They aren’t fun, that’s for sure. And they can cause a lack of sleep, unless you have some quality painkillers on hand.
I was prescribed some with Tylenol and a narcotic, and warned to take them only in the evenings and never, ever, drive after taking one.
A half hour after my first one, I couldn’t think of driving. Or walking much, for that matter. I could only sit in my recliner, marveling the architectural structure of my toes before falling asleep.
But over time, you build up a tolerance to pain medication. What used to zonk me out for hours now just takes the edge off. I awaken every 30-45 minutes with a new twinge until I can shift position and, hopefully, go back to sleep. Sometimes, I actually do. Sometimes, sleep comes only after reading 75-100 pages in a novel I keep bedside, or in doing a couple or six crossword puzzles. Sometimes sleep comes if I put in a movie. For some reason, I’ve been able to fall asleep most often during “The Untouchables” with Kevin Costner.
