Re: An infection and a wheelchair

[Guest guest]

Jane, I had the exact situation in which a small cut on my finger became a

serious infection. Like you, I am on Humira. I keep a package of alcohol

wipes in my desk since most of my paper cuts occur at work and it's a fairly

long hike to the ladies room to wash my hands after a nick.

Congratulations on the wheelchair shopping excursion. I think I've

mentioned here before that I enjoy shopping now that I have gotten over the

psychological hurdle of using one of the carts. They enable me to have a

painfree

shopping experience and to have less pain for other things I choose to do later

in the day. The " I don't want to appear crippled " thing is a tough one to

get over, but once you do, life can be so much more enjoyable. My " new normal "

is riding rather than walking and instead of taking away pieces of my life,

it gives me some back.

Congratulations on overcoming one of your personal taboos.

Kathy F.

In a message dated 11/16/2004 7:11:22 PM Eastern Standard Time,

janekarsten@... writes:

Hello to everyone,

There have been so many posts to catch up on lately that I spend more

time reading them leaving less time to post. Welcome to all the

newcomers. - thinking of you during your hospital stay. Orin,

good to see you posting again.

I wanted to post a warning about not taking infections seriously when

you're on biologics. On Nov 4 I managed to cut my left index finger

while washing dishes. It didn't bleed much, barely cut the skin, so I

didn't think much about it. On Nov 8 I did my Humira shot, and the

next morning woke up to a hot, red, swollen finger, unable to bend

it. I felt silly about it but went to the doctor who was quite

concerned and glad I came in when I did. I'm now finishing up a 10-

day course of antibiotics (one that incidentally, causes joint and

tendon pain - what was my doctor thinking), and it's much better with

just some redness and soreness remaining. I'm going to be much more

cautious in the future with antiseptic applied to all skin breaks,

certainly never expected this from such a small cut.

I also reached a milestone, of sorts, and used a wheelchair to

navigate Walmart this past weekend, at my husband's insistence. I'm

too chicken to try driving a cart yet, so my step daughter wheeled me

around. What a different perspective from a sitting position - no

wonder small children are overwhelmed in there and want everything

they see - it's all in their faces It was a humbling experience,

but necessary, and well worth it. I actually had the energy that

evening to attend a local production of " Oklahoma " with my husband, a

rare night out as I'm usually crawling in bed as soon as I get home

from work (and it's not because I'm a newlywed ). Anyway, I see

the rheumies tomorrow, so I'll see what they think of my baseball-

sized ankle and how to proceed.

Warm blessings to all, Jane

[Guest guest]

Hi Jane...

Glad to hear your finger is doing better (thanks for the heads up on being

careful about minor cuts and whatnot, it's so easy to act like we've always

acted)... Mostly, congratulations on " getting out " and being as mobile as

possible...

A funny story about the Walmart or grocery store carts.... I broke down and

used them when I had my flare this past spring and they really are much easier

than they look. And the very best part was, I was part of a " crowd " ... You

know how when you drive a certain car, people in like cars wave and nod, well,

this was the same thing! All of us cart people (and I was by far the youngest)

were " comraides " and I was getting waves and nods from these people (and vice

versa), people I'd probably never have a chance to " connect with " otherwise.

Anyway, I miss the little power carts. My mother has been having some knee

problems (not related to her joints) and I'm trying to get her to give one a

spin, but she's a little nervous too...

Best Wishes,

(idaho)

janekarsten <janekarsten@...> wrote:

Hello to everyone,

There have been so many posts to catch up on lately that I spend more

time reading them leaving less time to post. Welcome to all the

newcomers. - thinking of you during your hospital stay. Orin,

good to see you posting again.

I wanted to post a warning about not taking infections seriously when

you're on biologics. On Nov 4 I managed to cut my left index finger

while washing dishes. It didn't bleed much, barely cut the skin, so I

didn't think much about it. On Nov 8 I did my Humira shot, and the

next morning woke up to a hot, red, swollen finger, unable to bend

it. I felt silly about it but went to the doctor who was quite

concerned and glad I came in when I did. I'm now finishing up a 10-

day course of antibiotics (one that incidentally, causes joint and

tendon pain - what was my doctor thinking), and it's much better with

just some redness and soreness remaining. I'm going to be much more

cautious in the future with antiseptic applied to all skin breaks,

certainly never expected this from such a small cut.

I also reached a milestone, of sorts, and used a wheelchair to

navigate Walmart this past weekend, at my husband's insistence. I'm

too chicken to try driving a cart yet, so my step daughter wheeled me

around. What a different perspective from a sitting position - no

wonder small children are overwhelmed in there and want everything

they see - it's all in their faces It was a humbling experience,

but necessary, and well worth it. I actually had the energy that

evening to attend a local production of " Oklahoma " with my husband, a

rare night out as I'm usually crawling in bed as soon as I get home

from work (and it's not because I'm a newlywed ). Anyway, I see

the rheumies tomorrow, so I'll see what they think of my baseball-

sized ankle and how to proceed.

Warm blessings to all, Jane

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/16/2004 7:11:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,

janekarsten@... writes:

I also reached a milestone, of sorts, and used a wheelchair to

navigate Walmart this past weekend, at my husband's insistence. I'm

too chicken to try driving a cart yet, so my step daughter wheeled me

around.

Good for you Jane. I went to visit my friend in California last week and we

spent the day doing some chores. My legs hurt so bad that for the first

time I said , " Screw it " and used one of the scooters in the store to get

around. This was the first time I gave in and used one and I was so glad I

finally did. The only thing is that when I first went to use it I thought of

Fran

and her runaway scooter and hoped it would not happen to me.

Janet

[Guest guest]

Dear Janet, I'm proud of you for using the scooter, and I hope I didn't

scare anyone away from them. Looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have

laughed as much as I did, but like I've said before I tend to laugh at the

wrong times in life. I actually did it once at a funeral and wanted to

die. Hopefully, people thought I was crying. It was so bad my shoulders

were shaking and everything. I guess that's how I deal with stress.

Anyway, I'm glad you had a " stable scooter " and not my runaway from the

first trip. I use them all the time now, and even though I still hit the

corners when I turn, I do pretty good. (My husband says I drive it the same

way I've always driven. For years, I always lost my hubcaps because I was

constantly hitting the curbs. At first he got mad at me, but then it got to

be a joke between us. The other day, I remarked how I haven't lost any, he

just laughed and said they are presently attached now and I haven't driven

in 3 years...lol. I do miss it, but maybe the world is better off without

me behind the wheel right now. Hope you are feeling better. Love, Fran

Re: [ ] An infection and a wheelchair

In a message dated 11/16/2004 7:11:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,

janekarsten@... writes:

I also reached a milestone, of sorts, and used a wheelchair to

navigate Walmart this past weekend, at my husband's insistence. I'm

too chicken to try driving a cart yet, so my step daughter wheeled me

around.

Good for you Jane. I went to visit my friend in California last week and

we

spent the day doing some chores. My legs hurt so bad that for the first

time I said , " Screw it " and used one of the scooters in the store to

get

around. This was the first time I gave in and used one and I was so glad

I

finally did. The only thing is that when I first went to use it I

thought of Fran

and her runaway scooter and hoped it would not happen to me.

Janet

[Guest guest]

Hi Jane,

With a hubby with diabetes and me with all these immune compromising

meds, we are both hyper vigilant, and so, thank goodness, is our

primary care doc. His office called US in late August to get our flu

shots!!!

As to the wheelchair, we splurged and got a Jazzy Pride power chair

with an easy on my hands joy stick control last November, luckily

insurance covered part of the cost! It changed my life! We went to

the mall together for the fist time since I had got PA 2 yrs before!

We can go for " walks " (or as my crafty neice put it " stroll rolls "

together now. It was a bit hard at first as I felt some stigma but I

soon found out that most people went out of their way to be

helpful!

I still walk around the house (thankfully) and if we go into a store

for just 1 or 2 items but with the chair I can zip all over the place

and I love it! INDEPENDENCE!

So for any of you with unremitting pain and swelling in your hips,

knees, ankles, MTPs, and/or toes, it is something to think about.

BTW, we had rented a push chair last year to go to my son's college

graduation but it was a disaster. My hubby is the world's WORST

wheelchair pusher!! -) I can't count how many folks ankles he rolled

me into. It was AWFUL. And talk about embarrassing!

-Chris(tine) Tsan

>

>

> Hello to everyone,

>

> There have been so many posts to catch up on lately that I spend

more

> time reading them leaving less time to post. Welcome to all the

> newcomers. - thinking of you during your hospital stay.

Orin,

> good to see you posting again.

>

> I wanted to post a warning about not taking infections seriously

when

> you're on biologics. On Nov 4 I managed to cut my left index finger

> while washing dishes. It didn't bleed much, barely cut the skin, so

I

> didn't think much about it. On Nov 8 I did my Humira shot, and the

> next morning woke up to a hot, red, swollen finger, unable to bend

> it. I felt silly about it but went to the doctor who was quite

> concerned and glad I came in when I did. I'm now finishing up a 10-

> day course of antibiotics (one that incidentally, causes joint and

> tendon pain - what was my doctor thinking), and it's much better

with

> just some redness and soreness remaining. I'm going to be much more

> cautious in the future with antiseptic applied to all skin breaks,

> certainly never expected this from such a small cut.

>

> I also reached a milestone, of sorts, and used a wheelchair to

> navigate Walmart this past weekend, at my husband's insistence. I'm

> too chicken to try driving a cart yet, so my step daughter wheeled

me

> around. What a different perspective from a sitting position - no

> wonder small children are overwhelmed in there and want everything

> they see - it's all in their faces It was a humbling experience,

> but necessary, and well worth it. I actually had the energy that

> evening to attend a local production of " Oklahoma " with my husband,

a

> rare night out as I'm usually crawling in bed as soon as I get home

> from work (and it's not because I'm a newlywed ). Anyway, I

see

> the rheumies tomorrow, so I'll see what they think of my baseball-

> sized ankle and how to proceed.

>

> Warm blessings to all, Jane