At the post office

[Eireann]

I was going to put this in "Sightings", but it's not really a sighting. Nobody was sucky here, but oh, GOD, was it hard to be at the post office today!

I went to pick up a package. The post office in my area is very small, with only four windows (not all of which are open constantly). Only one window provides the service of picking up packages, so I waited in line.

There were five people ahead of me. One was at the window, four were standing behind him, and an elderly lady was sitting on a bench with a package on the floor next to her. I assumed she was in line, so I stood next to her. I was right; as the line moved, she shuffled along on the bench until she had to stand (putting virtually no weight on her right leg, limping heavily) in the line.

While I was waiting, I noticed a horrendous stench. At first, I had this weird thought that the elderly lady was mailing raw fish in her package. The stench was definitely coming from her. And the line was moving very slowly, as happens when you're picking up a package the week before Christmas.

VERY slowly. When the lady stood up to wait in line, she was standing too close to me, and the people ahead of her, well, their transactions didn't go quickly. The woman in front of her was picking up several items.

I cannot describe how bad it was. I put my scarf over my mouth and nose and breathed through it, but that wasn't enough. I had to breathe through my mouth. I noticed a bandage on the lady's right foot, which was clean and new, and I wondered what on earth was underneath it. Every now and then, she turned (for what reason, I don't know), and the wave of stench became even worse. To be honest, it smelled like something rotting.

She sent her four-kilo package, paid the postage, and left, taking the smell with her. I only hope it hasn't stuck to me.

[42_42_42]

Poor woman. Sounds like she has necrosis, probably from diabetes. She may be trying to care for the wound herself, but she needs medical care before she becomes septic.

[Eireann]

The bandage had been professionally applied, and wasn't dirty (or stained from inside), so I don't think that was it. Plus, the smell was worse when she turned around, which says to me that it was an overall smell, now that I think of it. I don't know... but it was dreadful.

[Seshat]

Not all necrotic tissue is .. uh .. wet.

[Eireann]

Urgh. I hadn't thought of that. Clearly, something was very wrong with her leg, but from the look of the bandage, she'd been seeing a healthcare professional.

[Sapphire Silk]

We can hope she was, but it's hard to know.

I've seen badly necrotic wounds in diabetics before. One fellow was applying an old dressing he'd just rinse out with duct tape. The smell was . . . epic.