I now know the reason why my doctor wants me to be in “arms reach.”  Of course I did not want to return to the Mayo Clinic on my first full day of being out of the hospital, but apparently deep down inside I began missing it and my body started to show me physical signs.   My incision started to swell, burn and become very irritated.

A little back story, after all of my hospital stays with having my children I would get this horrific rash on my back, so bad that I need to use a bleaching cream to get rid of the coloring when the rash dried out.  No one could figure out what it was from, but assumed it was a combination of a reaction to the spinal taps and hormones.  On my last day at the Mayo Clinic, a rash was forming again on my back and very little along the hospital gown line around my neck.

Of course as I was relaxing while being out of the hospital my neck began to get worse: burning more, getting deeper red in color, extremely itchy and swollen.  The fear of getting an infection swirled around in my head, so off to the Mayo Clinic we went.

  
The doctor told me it clearly looks like an allergic reaction!  I’ve never been more happy to have a rash in my life! Basically, we concluded it was an allergic reaction to the hospital linens (sheets/gown).  They told me they have seen it before, but it is NOT common. (Go figure!)  The wonderful news is the next time I need to stay in the hospital, I need to ask if they have hypoallergenic sheets/gowns OR bring my own!

The incision may look really nasty now, but it’s not infected!!!!