I was clearing brush on my new property and noticed that I had picked up some poison ivy. 3 days later, a wicked sore developed on my leg. The emergency doctor thought it was poison ivy, & issued a prescription for prednesone and an antibiotic. Two hours after returning home, the rash surrounding the wound was obviously spreading and a very this black pencil line appeared across the centre of the wound. 1 hour after that, the wound area turned black and was about the width that a dime is round. I returned to the hospital, was admitted and put on IV. My doctor wasn't certain what she was dealing with as she had never seen poison ivy like that. The next evening, things were obviously worse so a 1 hour drive to a larger hospital was taken. There, the nursing staff obviously assumed it was an infectious disease and I was ushered in ahead of people who had been waiting for hours. The doctor thought the stem of the plant might have punctured the epidermus which caused such a severe reaction. 3 days later, I again administered an IV and was to return to hospital twice per day for 5 or 6 days for more IV. The picture is day 12 since first contact and day 4 of consecutive IV treatment.