Seeming elbow sprain turns out to be Staph infection

An editorial written by blog author James Anderson

Photo doesn't capture the bright pink color and tautness of skin stretched over the swelling.

Monday morning brought the beginning of another work week, and another day of planned daily doubles. I got to the BJJ gym and met my drilling partner at around 10 a.m. My right elbow ached over the weekend, but I figured a minor sprain was only going to a temporary delay in my current training routine.

By 11 a.m., competition class began warming up. After attempting a couple of sets of somersaults, it became clear to me that it just wasn't going to happen today. I decided to sit this one out, take some ibuprofen, and return for evening shift.

In the meantime, my elbow continued to swell and turn red. It felt hot to the touch. Noriko pointed out a large pimple-looking item in the middle of the swelling. I had her pop it and out came pus and blood. After hearing stories from a classmate about a staph infection that he'd had, I decided to have this checked out.

I went to Whitebird clinic on Mill and waited for several hours in pain before they saw me. The doctor disinfected the area and unwrapped a brand new sterile syringe and told me she was going to "do some digging around to make sure it was an infection."

Good lord!! I started sweating and got light headed as she prodded and poked. She took a couple of cotton swab samples for lab to make sure it wasn't the antibiotic-resistant MRSA strain of Staph. She gave me an antiobiotic to take twice a day and I thanked her.

As the day progressed, the swelling and pain progressed. I don't know if it was the natural occurrence of the infection, or if the prodding and poking exposed some rotting nerve endings. My arm stayed limp at my side like it was in an invisible sling. I felt so vulnerable as I went to my ADHD support meeting on UO campus. I was so aware of anyone within touching distance of me and their ability to hurt me beyond my ability to stop them. I knew at that moment, that any of them could take my wallet and I couldn't stop them. I'd never felt like that before.

I would have killed for a couple of stray Vicodin left over on a dusty medicine cabinet shelf at this point. Since we'd moved recently, we'd cleaned out and discarded all but the necessities. I took four ibuprofen and lay down in bed, hoping for sleep, but too wired from the pain to sleep.

Over the years, I've had my nose fractured in MMA bouts, have had my jaw fractured by a group of men and left for an ambulance to take me to an emergency room, have had a jagged aquarium rock pierce the arch of my foot and sever the tendon. I think this was more painful than all of those. For some reason, the usual endorphins didn't kick in, easing me into a hazy shock.

Since I plan to compete in the Revolution Tournament in Tacoma, and the Pan Ams later in March, I really can't afford to take any more time off than I absolutely have to. I might try and see if I can work some cardio or do some squats then the pain subsides.

Do I regret getting a staph infection? Sure! Will it prevent me from training? Not a chance. When you take on a sport or a life style, you take on the good and bad. The fulfillment and health that I've gained overall since I gotten back into a training lifestyle far outweighs the draw backs that come with that lifestyle.

I'll be back as soon as my body lets me, and I'll remember this pain so I can experience gratitude for my future health.