Upon returning home, I went about my day with no indication that anything was abnormal. However, later that evening the stiffness in the jaw returned with double the intensity and twice as long.
After looking up tetanus on WebMD it said that once the disease had been contracted and spread throughout the body, there is not much that can be done and the disease needs to run its course.
Wondering if the hospital did everything they could, we called them and asked for the doctor that treated me. We were told that his shift had ended but that I could speak to the head nurse. After a short wait the head nurse took our call and I told her that I was in the ER this morning and was treated for tetanus and that my symptoms returned but twice as intense. I asked her if they had done everything they could do or if there was any other treatment. She looked at my file and came back with these exact words:
“First of all, you were not treated for tetanus but for a puncture wound and second, I have been a nurse for over 30 years and never had one tetanus case. But if you insist you can come back any time.”
The worst part about it, was the way she said it.
