I spent last Sunday, in the ER, after what seemed like an ordinary wound developed into trouble. A week ago, while hanging a picture, that is framed with a standard metal frame, fell off the wall onto my right lower arm. Luckily not hitting my AV fistula, but even though it didn't hurt when it happened, my wife noticed that it had swollen freakishly large soon after, and for several days later, it became black and infected. The weekend came, and it got way more painful, and I noticed that my body was breaking out all over with old shingles from a Chicken Pox outbreak twenty years ago. That is not odd, it can happen to many people who have a dormant form of shingles, and through some form of body stress or secondary infection, it can then "come back". It is itchy at its best, and pretty painful at its worst, and looks just terrible. Kind of a biblical ugly. Anyways the signs symptoms were mounting that it needed to be looked at by professionals. Sunday afternoon came and we were all on our way to the park for a Mother's Day cookout my wife had arranged. The day before she and I had done a great 6 mile park run, and even though I felt I labored through it, overall I felt good. So when Sunday came and all the symptoms and signs pointed in the direction they did, my wife and I discussed it and I headed to the ER, while they headed to the park.

Anything simple for anyone else always becomes a mini production for a dialysis patient, and this was no different. It was even discussed about admitting me for this dime sized scar, black as is was, due to it being so close to my fistula. These "infections" can turn bad so quickly due to my immune system being compromised from kidney failure and the dialysis treatments.

Six hours, two IV antibiotics, pain medications, and a fun scrubbing of the infected site later and I was on my way home. Its now OK. It always is. The next day, a bit more wiped out from dialysis than usual, I still did a three mile run, which cleared my head, and body of all the stuff in my blood stream not easily cleared out because, of course, no kidneys to do they job. The sweating and heart rate increase does help though, getting the pain medications, antihistamine (for allergic reactions to the antibiotics), and all the other antibiotics somewhat cleared from my system.

A few days later, I'm fine. I've run every day since and my arm, and body is clearing up nicely.