Near Death by Pigsa

This morning I got the biggest scare of my life.

I'm on my 3rd and nastiest pigsa (boil), i treated the first two with gumamela poultice just like what my lola did back in our province. Luckily our neighbor has a shrub so Riza gets me a steady supply although I'm not sure she bothers with the trivialities of asking for permission.

Everybody's suggesting I take antibiotics but I'd have to stop breastfeeding Nacho - I was sure he'll adjust but I just wasn't ready. Yesterday I got feverish either from infection or the erratic weather, but more than anything I was feeling the unbearable pain from where the boil is, my swollen inner thigh. I resolved to take Citromax, extra strong antibiotics to be taken once for only 3 days.

I thought I’d walk off my ails so off I went to the drugstore then the grocery. A wave of nausea washed over me and by the time I reached the counter to pay, I already broke into cold, clammy sweat. I called Riza to come fetch me then I sat and waited by the tables in front of the food kiosks. Apparently I was pale as paper so the grocery staff came over to make me sniff White Flower liniment. They kept fussing over me and I felt embarrassed attracting so much attention even from other customers. I insisted I was ok until suddenly, my body went rigid, my toes curled and my hands rolled into gnarly fists. I had to ask one of the staff to open my box of Citromax because my fingers were already useless. I saw Riza from a distance but when I called out my jaw stiffened. I managed to tell her to call Tats and to the dozen people around to call for an ambulance. The ambulance wasn’t available so they called a cab and lifted me in. On the way to the hospital, Riza massaged my hands one after another and I just cried thinking about Nacho who’s just turning a year old in two weeks.

It was frightful to lose control of my body while my mind was on red alert. When we finally arrived in the hospital’s ER, the guard wheeled me in and I tried to explain to the nurses that my body seems to be paralyzed. The nurse pricked my finger for blood but nothing came out. My mother and brother in law arrived with his girlfriend who's a registered nurse, in tow. I was fine after about 15 minutes before Tats came, I guess the antibiotics finally kicked in and I just felt embarrased how all the trouble sprang from a humble pigsa.

Nacho is currently bawling his eyes out not understanding why I can’t feed him. I called my sister asking permission to nurse since it has been 11 hours already since I took the medicine – she shut me up by explaining how dangerous it can be. Right now I try to take comfort in the fact that we only have to endure this for 3 nights, at least I still have the rest of my life to spend with my family.