Abcess 1998

This was drawn while in hospital. The syptoms were swelling and pain in the lower right abdominal area, vomiting and stiffness. The diagnosis was an abcess of the appendix, a mass of puss fused into a wall surrounding a mass of inflamed and poisonous fluid. If the abcess was ruptured, the fluid would spread across my stomach and cause massive allergic reaction and probably death.

I was given intravenous anti-biotics for five days, which make me feel sick as they achingly spread down the vein, smelling like meths and feeling cold and sinister inside my arm. I could feel the veins starting to get sore as time went on, and was worried that they would become damaged by the prolonged injections.

I could imagine the anti-biotics attacking the abcess, and also the probing instruments of the doctors as they tried to work out what it was and how to get rid of it. I have since had the appendix removed.