A Stitch in Time

I had not intended to wear slacks on Thursday. It was a glorious, late-summer day in Baltimore County, Maryland, with perfectly mild temperatures and not a cloud in the sky. In this part of the country there are only a few more weeks left to wear sundresses and shorts and breezy attire before brisk weather sets in, and I wanted to exploit every summer fashion opportunity I had left while I still could.

Alas, I’ve had a setback with the deep laceration on my right shin.  Over Labor Day weekend some kind of infection set in, and now my lower leg is swollen to almost twice the size of the other one.   The wound is tender and red where the sutures were. I am not happy about this turn of events.  I’ve been treating these types of deep lacerations for many years now, as they are an unfortunate but all-too-frequent occurrence with my delicate skin (see Stitches).  I’ve never gotten an infection like this in a wound before.

Make no mistake, I called my doctor immediately, and was started on a strong antibiotic at once.  But there has been no reduction in the swelling, no lessening of the redness or pain.   At my appointment this morning to get the stitches out, the doctor was alarmed. He switched me off the antibiotic he'd put me on earlier this week and started me on Augmentin and Doxycycline simultaneously.  He instructed me to take my temperature twice daily.  If I'm not better by the time he sees me first thing Monday morning, he told me he will hospitalize me with an intravenous penicillin drip.  Ugh.

But back to Thursday.  It wouldn’t do to expose my lopsided appendages to the general public, so I hid my swollen leg beneath some heather-colored rayon trousers by Calvin Klein and topped them with a sleeveless tank by Karen Scott in the same hue.  Wanting to add a bit of flare to the rather neutral ensemble, I added a darker, asymmetrical, loosely-woven shawl to the mix, a hand-made piece I picked up from an artisan at the American Craft Council’s annual show in Baltimore, Maryland, several years ago.  It is unfortunate that I can’t recall the designer's name now, since I would love to tell you all where you can get one of your own.  I liked the wrap so much that I had her make two more for me in different colors.  It is a perfect accessory to add panache to an otherwise ordinary outfit.

I chose agate stones in heavy silver for my ears, neck and wrist, gifts last Christmas from my friends, Robby and Ging, who live in nearby Virginia, and slid comfortable, jute-wedged sandals by Boutique 9 onto my feet for the long commute.. A wide bracelet of wooden beads graced my other wrist as I went out the door and into the abundant sunshine.

It is frustrating not to be able to go to my fitness classes in the evening.  But until the infection is under control, I am under doctor’s orders to do no Body Pump, no yoga, no Freestyle Step, no Zumba.  So I was eager to walk across the vast campus of the National Institutes of Health Thursday to conduct research inside the beautiful National Library of Medicine.  The light exercise felt so good and the sun was delightfully warm on my face.  I didn't find out until this morning that I am supposed to stay off the leg as much as possible (sigh).  I guess I shouldn't have climbed those 340 steps at the NIH subway station... 
Cheers,
Lynell