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[Dave]

Whew. Well, at least that's progress of a sort! I doubt they would have sent you home if it appeared that the infection was continuing to spread. The "progress" the doctor saw might be based on her assessment that the new antibiotics are stopping it and are thus effective against the bacteria. That's good news, if correct. I was worried that you might have contracted one of the newer strains of pathogens... there are some which have evolved a resistance to all of the commercially available antibiotics, including the "last resort" types, and have become pretty much impossible to treat.

From what I've seen of such infections in the past, it does take quite a while for the body to kill off the bacteria, flush out the waste and damaged tissue, and repair things, even if the antibiotics are completely effective. Expect it to look/feel ugly for a while. And, please (standard warning) do finish the full course of antibiotics as prescribed; don't stop early "because it's better now".

With luck, your worst problems now will be itchy skin, and utter boredom.

[Catawampus]

We'll see what happens. Meanwhile, I try to keep my leg elevated, which is not easy (or comfortable) when I'm at the computer... So I only stay on for so long, before moving to the futon...

Turn all of your furniture upside-down, so that you simply trick your leg into thinking that it is elevated.

From what I've seen of such infections in the past, it does take quite a while for the body to kill off the bacteria, flush out the waste and damaged tissue, and repair things, even if the antibiotics are completely effective.

With a lot of bacteria, the bacteria themselves only cause part of the damage. The rest of the damage is caused by toxins that they release as waste products from their metabolism (Clostridium botulinum is one of the better-known examples). As long as there are no more bacteria actively producing stuff, that's considered an improvement and a big step towards recovery. So even if all of the bacteria have been sent off to that Great Petri Dish in the Sky, your body still has to process all of the goodies that they left behind for you and then start repairing the damage.

Sort of like having a bunch of frat boys throw an uninvited party in your home: even after you've kicked them all out and hidden the bodies, you still have to scrub all of the beer and vomit out of the floors and furniture, and it will be a good long while before the smell finally fades.

And, please (standard warning) do finish the full course of antibiotics as prescribed; don't stop early "because it's better now".

Otherwise the bacteria may come back. . .and this time, they'll be angry!!!

With luck, your worst problems now will be itchy skin, and utter boredom.

Until the mutations kick in from the "antibiotics" that our secret organisation has been giving you.

[Dave]

With luck, your worst problems now will be itchy skin, and utter boredom.

Until the mutations kick in from the "antibiotics" that our secret organisation has been giving you.

Hey, you weren't supposed to tell him that yet. I thought we agreed we'd wait until after the tentacles sprouted.

[lake_wrangler]

I actually noticed an improvement, this afternoon: my foot is not as swollen!

Other than that, yeah, I'm definitely bored...


Beer and vomit... what a pleasant analogy...


I have to admit, you guys are good at entertaining...

I'll let you know the moment the tentacles come in.

[TazManiac]

Always expect the Japanese Tenta-Squad...
(fetish be damn'd; it's a Calling!)

[Hansontoons]

Always expect the Japanese Tenta-Squad...
(fetish be damn'd; it's a Calling!)

But nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

(apologies. just had to say it.)
(Oh no, I said it!)
Etc.

[Sgt. Howard]

Uh... guys... those ... 'antibiotics'...? could they have crawled into something else?... I ordered sushi, and currently it is eating the Toyota... are the tentacles supposed to be purple?

[GlytchMeister]

*Siiiiigh*

Lemme grab the Gauss plasma harpoon and the thermite grenades, I'll be there in a bit.

[Alkarii]

Really, dude? You need all of that? A manly man would have stared it into submission, then stabbed it to death with a broken rock.

[Sgt. Howard]

Really, dude? You need all of that? A manly man would have stared it into submission, then stabbed it to death with a broken rock.

Stared it into submission? I don't think it has a central nervous system... or eyes... and so far it has sucked up 12 rounds of .44 magnum hollowpoints as well as 14 rounds of .45ACP hardball... and I'm not sure that did much more than agitate it... currently eating the neighbor's goats... whole... doesn't seem to like salt, though...

[AnotherFairportfan]

A really manly man would grab a passing Chuck Norris by the ankles and use it to beat it to death.

[GlytchMeister]

Really, dude? You need all of that? A manly man would have stared it into submission, then stabbed it to death with a broken rock.

That's all well and good, but I'm a few evolutionary steps past Homo habilis. Besides, I am far from being stereotypically manly. I can't grow a beard, I don't like pickup trucks, I can't abide the taste of alcohol or spice, universe forbid if I ever encounter both in the same thing, and I don't fight clean or fair. I also don't smoke cigars and I have never been in the military. And, finally, I am of average, maybe even somewhat slight build with a weak jaw, slight overbite, not very prominent cheekbones, and pretty much no chest hair to speak of.

I see no problem with any of this. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go cremate a tentacle kaiju alive by bitch-slapping it with the power of science and technology. You can keep playing with your rocks, though. That's fine.

[GlytchMeister]

Apologies, my sass was reaching dangerous levels, had to hit the emergency relief valve.

[Dave]

Quite honestly, I don't know what you have against rocks. They make perfectly acceptable weapons when accelerated to 0.1C or better. Hell, at those speeds, use a handful of sand, if you wish... it's just really small rocks!

[GlytchMeister]

Dude, at a tenth of the speed of light, damn near anything visible with the naked eye turns into something that can bring down a helicarrier with extreme prejudice.

[Dave]

My point exactly! You can use your science and technology to cremate the monsters, and hit 'em with a rock as suggested, at the same time. Everyone happy!

I'm not seeing a down side to the proposition. Other than that city-sized crater on the other side of where the tentacle beast used to be, but hey, anything with killing is worth overkilling, right?

[Sgt. Howard]

While the lot of you are discussing your rocks, we had to contain this thing with a bladed bulldozer while I made napalm. Took about 20gallons. Tastes terrible, but I think that's the napalm.

[Dave]

Tastes terrible, but I think that's the napalm.

Yeah, gasoline tends to leave "off" flavors.

Next time, try a cryogenic gel of Everclear, calcium acetate, and liquid oxygen (street code-name "Thermonuclear Sterno"). It burns off cleanly.

[Alkarii]

We could have saved the napalm and made it listen to Bjørk.

[AnotherFairportfan]

...or attacked it with these: