Incision and Drainage

Benji

Abscess:
/ˈabsɪs,ˈabsɛs/
noun: abscess; plural noun: abscesses
a swollen area within body tissue, containing an accumulation of pus.

Treatment: Adequate antibiotic therapy with Incision and Drainage

Allow me to introduce you to Dhinesh* (name changed) – a six year old child who came with painful muscular swellings all over his body. He had a pyomyositis with multiple abscesses – that means a lot of pus collection, especially in his muscle. He was in pain and quite sick. We admitted him in the ICU and therein began his treatment.
Treatment of these abscesses was by no means a gentle, uneventful event. We had to hit him with large doses of powerful antibiotics and …. we had to incision and drainage (I & D) of the abscesses.
I & D means we literally slash open the pus collections and clean up those cavities! yes it was painful – even under local anaesthesia, the pain was not completely reduced…. the kid hated the sight of doctors anywhere in the vicinity. Everyday we searched for new collections; we used a blade to cut open and release the pus; we used a clamp to open up the old ones to get out more pus. The strong IV antibiotics burnt his veins and we needed to start new IV lines. We could not afford the pus to recollect or find new places to form. He lay in bed… helpless in our hands. Maybe he hated us…unable to comprehend the situation – he probably thought the pain of the abscesses was better than the pain of the treatment. We persevered and slowly the improvement happened! There were no more new abscesses to open up; the old ones just dried up; his fever stopped; the pain started disappearing. He reached out to play with some toys. Slowly he reached out to hold our hands; he smiled at us during rounds; he limped and walked with the other children; 2 weeks later we took off all the injections and he was fit for discharge – time to go home. The incisions we made were healing… but the scars will probably be visible for a long, long time. But he will walk normally, he will goto school, he will grow up…. He had a life to look forward to – school, work, a family, grandchildren – atleast 60 more years on this planet.
Two weeks of pain and a lifetime of joy!!
Isnt that life?! There we lie – covered with sin collected in our body, mind and soul. We are sick… in steps Jesus – the healer!
So many times we expect a painless recovery – but we are shocked. As he takes the scalp and cuts, the pain astounds us – why?why? we ask. Why those ugly incisions! Why those painful injections? We almost run away. Something makes us hold on……… and then the healing becomes visible – and we realise, we turn to Him with love. And yes the memories will last – but the healing lasts an eternity!!!!
That’s how, many times, Jesus heals us of our sins. Yes… many a time it is a miraculous painless process — but sometimes forgiveness and healing mean that you have to go through painful periods. remember

Jesus is the perfect healer
He knows what He is doing
He knows what is best for you
He is in control of what’s happening.
The pain of healing is nothing compared to the joy of eternal life!
Next time you’re staring at the ceiling wondering about something painful even though you asked Jesus to help ya…. relax… He knows what is happening and He knows what to do…. and He IS doing what is best. Trust Him……….