Tuesday, September 2, 2014

"the hospital drawings" and the story behind them








the above pieces are from a series now known as "the hospital drawings" about 45 drawings / paintings done between march 17th and april 20th 2014 [all have been purchased and are in private collections internationally] when i was hospitalized with Necrotizing Fasciitis or "flesh eating bacteria". i haven't really discussed this in much detail but will now give a brief outline of the ordeal

on ,march 16th i went to the emergency room with a high fever, nausea and the most excruciating pain ive ever experienced in the shin area of my right leg. [it felt like being constantly burned] a blood test found that i had a very high white blood cell count so i was admitted and started on iv antibiotics. i was septic, was suffering from kidney failure and after being gawked at for 12 hours by what seemed like every doctor in the hospital, i was diagnosed with Necrotizing Fasciitis and emergency surgery was scheduled for the next morning.

eventually i underwent 6 irrigation and debridement surgeries a fasciectomy and a 7th surgery for a split thickness skin graft.[i'll leave it up to the reader to google those but beware they are graphic] during which i spent 4 weeks in a burn unit and after which i spent ten days in a sub acute rehab center to be sure i could walk, climb a few stairs and do other basics before returning home. the past few months have been filled with trips to doctors, surgeons, battling infections and visits from home nursing. i am recovering fairly well now and hopefully only need one more skin graft. i limp around fairly well with a cane and am returning to semi-normalcy. i am thankful to have my life and my leg [many people with NecFasc lose one or the other] 

the point of this post [aside from a back story on some watercolor drawings] is to urge you all to quickly brush up on the facts and especially the symptoms of Necrotizing Fasciitis this is a rare and often deadly disease quick action and early detection are of paramount importance. please click here and learn more

No comments:

Post a Comment