MUSINGS OF A LOCAL By Iris Mead - An Unexpected Hospital Stay

I suppose most hospital stays are unexpected and are usually the result of a sudden onset diagnosis, an accident, result of an operation or long-term health problem but mine was for an unusual reason, a serious cat bite.

If you read my last Musings article in the December 10 issue of the Mountain Eagle,  I wrote of grieving for an aged pet who had to be put to sleep and the companion cat who was grieving with me.  That companion pet is the one who bit me, not out of maliciousness, but because of the innate predator in every cat.  She associated my hand as prey to be caught and, unfortunately, she caught it and put two puncture wounds in my right hand.  Painful, yes!

After the shock wore off for both of us, I swabbed the hand with disinfectant and covered it with ointment.  The next morning the hand looked ominously red and starting to swell.  After a very busy day, I went to the Emergency Room of our local hospital, stated I had been bitten and was up to date on my Tetanus shot, as she was on her Rabies shot.  Did you know that if you are bitten by an animal in NYS it has to be reported to the County Department of Public Health?  It was, and proof was needed by them that the rabies shot was up to date.  I was started on an antibiotic and told to see my doctor the next day.  Watching that hand swell and turn red was becoming surreal, especially when it started to look like a swollen jellyfish.  The next day, after a quick look at my hand by the doctor, I was sent to the ER with the diagnosis of infection and  needing a MUCH stronger antibiotic.  One look at it by the attending physician in the ER and being told that a room was being made for me in the hospital was disconcerting.  I stayed there for 3-1/2 days receiving antibiotics every six hours through a port.  This turned into something much more involved than a simple cat bite.  But being in awe of what the hand looked like as it continued to swell, I knew it was the right thing.

Being in a small local hospital has got to be quite different from a “city” hospital.  For one, some of the staff might be your neighbors and it is quieter.  The care was great, the food not so great.  Each nurse, day or night shift, was professional, knew my chart, and always on time for the antibiotic to be administered.  Nurses are a special breed and I will always be thankful for my care.