I said there was going to be a review next, and I know you’re asking “Where have you been?” The hospital. I’ve been there for some time now. A while back I got bit. I didn’t see what did it, but I assumed it was one of three types of mosquito in our area. One of them makes a lovely giant red disc when it bites me, and if I scratch it, the disc swells until it’s hard as a stone and turns purple. So when the bite turned red and swelled up my ring finger in a few seconds, I thought, “Mosquito” and applied some cream that’s both antihistamine and antibiotic.

A few hours later, despite not scratching it, the finger was purple, and I had trouble making a fist. The next day, my hand was red and swollen so bad it looked like a Disney character’s mitt. My neighbor applied more ointment and wrapped the finger in gauze, and I tried not to worry too much. But it wasn’t until I was doing work in the office and noticed I couldn’t feel my fingertip that I unwrapped the gauze to find a massive new purple nipple in the middle of my finger. Then the tip split open, and it started oozing a combination of pus and blood. I went to hubby and said, “I’m not an expert by any means, but I think this means I need to go to the emergency room.” He agreed, and away we went. Continue reading