Spiderman

So....Chris mentions a week ago Friday that there is a bump on the back of his neck (underneath his hair) that has been bothering him. He thought it might be ingrown hair or something. He had noticed it Wednesday but hadn't mentioned it. It looked like a small volcano...swollen area with blackish scab...real pretty. We determined if it wasn't better on Monday he'd see the doc.
Comes home from the doc Monday evening stunned. Diagnosis: Brown recluse spider bite.
Quite a blow to a guy who has been hunting all his life and is so careful on the ranch very aware of all critters. He's always giving people ranch 101 on safety...smart, tough guy. Doc gave him cortizone shot and antibiotic. The reputation of these spider bites is not good. Discomfort at the site and down his neck grew. Late Tuesday night, he woke up in terrible pain almost at the point of tears. We considered calling an ambulence just to have someone take a look at him. Went back to the doc Wednesday morning and was referred to a surgeon at Baylor Hospital for an afternoon appointment. As I sat with him in the waiting room, he was in such pain. Could barely turn head to look at me. We sat down with the doc who said he would "lance" (sp?) the area and try to relieve some of the pressure Chris was feeling...send us home and if his pain level did not improve by our appointment the next day, we'd need to schedule surgery to go deeper. Naturally, we were relieved when later that evening his pain level had gone from a 10 to a 3. Pressure relieved....thank goodness. Vicadin was his best friend for several days. Next day we return to Baylor having been told he would need a bandage change...we see another doc in the group since the original is in surgery. This doc took a look and began "cleaning" out the wound, but then did some scraping, etc. WITHOUT giving him a local for pain. I have never seen Chris in such pain. He handled it well, but YIKES! I begin feeling squeamish and leave the room to get Chris some water...anything to try and help. They laid him down because he was white as a sheet ...I stepped back out in the hall and sat down...feeling faint as well. Come on Mary, collect yourself. You are driving...your are supposed to be the strong one here....and down she goes to lay on the floor in the hall fanning herself! Yeah, nice. After a few minutes we both collected ourselves and went home. Told Chris I hoped he wouldn't fire me from caregiver duties. Thankfully from there, another doc visit just to check wound and return in two weeks. The pain level improved over the weekend. Although, Chris didn't leave our room much (away from the laptop and TV while trying to get comfortable...the "pain" room") he was able to attend his brother's wedding on Sunday evening only to tell the story yet again and again and again. Now we have a sense of humor with the situation as people are calling him Spiderman and asking if he has special powers, etc.
At this point, we are looking for a specialist in these kinds of injuries as we feel this is not over.
This is a new week...a better week. Things can only get better from here. We appreciate all the concern and support from friends and family. Certainly this kind of situation can put a strain on the marriage, but I think we handled it well. The girls, or course, are glad to see their daddy up and moving again!