Now this came at us out of left field! After a few days of increasing fatigue and a growing tenderness near N’s left shoulder blade, apparently two nights in a hot tub had acted like a hot compress to speed the process, and N woke up this morning to find a three year old issue he had had with a skin abscess had returned with a vengeance. Yep, looking just like the nasty pictures X Googled on her iPhone, there was a large boil on N’s back.
Thankfully we were still visiting the Levy’s on a Friday, rather than stuck in a shelter in the woods on a weekend, and Corinne was able get us in to see their primary care physician, Dr. David Kurish. He was much more interested in our point of origin than the uniqueness of N’s condition: “In all my years of practice, you’re only my second patient from Mississippi.” N pointed out not only that, but he walked 1,477 miles to be able to see him!
Dr. Kurish’s proposed treatment – lance the boil, use frequent hot compresses to aid the drainage, and wait 48 hours for him to get back a bacteria culture – all sounded easy enough, unless you’re on the AT, where water, much less HOT water is not always available. Like it or not, we are going to be in town for the next few days…
[Warning: The following may fall in the “TMI” category.] When Dr. Kurish went to work with his scalpel, he pointed out the smell of infection and noted, with the toughness of the pus, it had been building for a good while. [We warned you that might be in the “too much information” department…] N got immediate relief just knowing what we are dealing with, although it has certainly put a wrinkle in our plans. Our hosts continue to be most gracious, but we feel terrible about the imposition we have become to them. We can’t thank them enough for being our medical angels as well as our trail angels. We are extremely fortunate!
Speaking of trail angels, on the way home from the doctor, Corinne drove us on a tour of other AT road crossings in the area. Near the town of Falls Village, we saw Gumby just as she crossed the highway. We were able to turn around and offer her a Coke before she disappeared into the forest. And just down the road were 30 Pack and Ragweed. Same thing. Now, what are the odds of that???