Side affects of TWOCing

Mark has Orchitis. Another painful problem he's likely to have more than once. Another of the problems he has to cope with due to his paralysis. Orchitis is an infection, caused in Marks case from the constant use of catheters. What has that got to do with TWOCing?? TWOC - try with out catheter - is the process of attempting to train the bladder to behave normally, however during that process until the bladder learns to empty itself, it has to be emptied via a catheter. That's what has caused the Orchitis. It's being treated with large doses of antibiotics delivered intravenously, which meant another Cannula in his hand, which is a painful process in itself.

Today his temperature has come down to near normal which means the antibiotics are starting to win the battle. The muscle spasms have calmed down so the pain in his shoulders has eased. The swelling in his testicles hasn't started to reduce yet but hopefully as the antibiotics do their job they will begin to go back to normal. He'll be in bed for another couple of days to give his body time to recover. Our Case Conference was cancelled and rebooked for next week.

These setbacks are frustrating and depressing for him so trying to keep his spirits up is our main challenge.