Topic : 04/01 The Superbug

After a 29 day hospital stay, 5 1/2 month recouperating time at home, I'm finally back to work.  This is something NOBODY thought would happen, not even the physical therapist.  I am just so happy to be alive as my heart stopped three times.  If the cardiologist didn't stay all night with me, I wouldn't be here today.  The patients were dying with 107 fevers, but mine reached 107.9.  It cooked the inside of my mouth which still bothers me today.  This MRSA aged me about ten years.  I know I'll never be my old self, but by the grace of our LORD, I'm here to spend time with my grandchildren and my devoted husband, whom never left my side.  He cared for me, feeding me and dressing me.  It totally destroys your body.  I even lost 65 pounds.

My first experience with MRSA was in July of 2005.  My oldest son fell at work and injured his knee.  Most of the injury was from the impact but he also had a small scrape.  He was treated at the local emergency center and told to stay off it for a few days and apply ice for the swelling.   Four days later he was running a high fever, his knee was twice the normal size and the scrape was oozing.  He went back to the emergency room where they told him he had an infection and gave him antibiotics and sent him home.  For the next 2 weeks he was back and forth to the emergency room with high fever and a worsening infection.  He was finally admitted to the hospital and a culture showed he had MRSA.  He went through several antibiotics and surgery to remove the dead tissue before he showed any improvement.  I had never heard of MRSA before, so I got on the internet and read about it.  At that time there wasn't much information available.  Most of what I read was about Hospital acquired MRSA.  No mention of Community acquired.  So I still didn't know a lot about MRSA.  Then in Feb 2007 my youngest son, age 25 became ill with what appeared to be flu symptoms.  Within 3 days he had a severe cough, chest pain and was running a fever.  He went to the emergency room around midnight on Feb 15th.  They checked his vitals, listened to his chest and told him he had bronchitis.  They gave him Codeine cough syrup, an inhaler, and a bottle of prednisone. He stayed home from work the next day and slept most of the day, with the help of the cough syrup.  The morning of the 16th he woke up very weak.  His wife helped into the living room where he collapsed and stopped breathing.  She gave him CPR and called 911.  When the paramedics arrived, he was not breathing and his heart had stopped.  His lungs were filled with blood which was flowing from his mouth.  The emergency personnel intubated him and continued CPR.  His temperature was 106 and he was severely dehydrated.  They transported him to the hospital where he spent the next two hours struggling to survive.  Needless to say, he did not make it.  The autopsy showed the cause of death was sepsis due to Community acquired MRSA. 

I am still trying to figure out how this could happen with no warning.  He had not been around anyone who was sick and he didn't show any of the apparent signs of MRSA.  Recently there has been a lot of publicity about MRSA in the schools,  most of which pertains to the strain of MRSA that my oldest son had.  The first time I had heard of any deaths on the news was when the young boy in Georgia died after being treated in the emergency room and sent home, basically the same scenario as my son.  I recently read that there were more deaths from MRSA in 2005 and 2006 than from AIDS.  Everyone has heard of AIDS, why haven't we been warned about this "super bug" that can kill a perfectly healthy young man in a matter of hours?  

My son left behind a wife, a 2 yr old son, a 1 yr old daughter, parents and siblings that loved him.   This should not have happened.  It really sickens me to think about how many young lives have been senselessly lost.  These are not statistics; they are someones father, son, husband, brother, etc.

My sixteen year old daughter had broken out with what a nurse practitioner called Folliculitis. It looked liked multiple bug bites or almost like chicken pox until it had spread all under her armpits down her sides, belly and back. Also had a cyst like boil on tail bone that I thought was a pilonidal cyst but same nurse took one look at it and said " I think it's MRSA". Prescribed antibiotics for the Folliculitis and told me she couldn't get a culture for the MRSA unless it was draining. (by the time we got her to the nurse the cyst had already drained out) She also had a cyst between her breast about a year ago that a Dr. said was just a cyst never mentioning anything about MRSA. They told me IF she gets another cyst to get a sample of the drainage or to bring her in and they would lance and sample it but the mere mention of MRSA has me scared to death. She still has a little sign of the rash. It has been two 1/2 weeks. I'm not sure that the rash was not another system of the MRSA. I called the Infectious Disease Dr. here and the office told me the same. That they could not check for MRSA unless they could get a sample of the drainage. But what if this infection is in her blood stream? She has not had any fever or other signs of illness except being tired. I dint know what to do from here. Does anyone have any suggestions!!

My sixteen year old daughter had broken out with what a nurse practitioner called Folliculitis.  It looked like multiple bug bites or chicken pox until it had spread all under her armpits down her sides, belly and back. She also had a cyst like boil on her tail bone that I thought was a pilonidal cyst but the same nurse took one look at it and said "I think it's MRSA". She prescribed antibiotics for the Folliculitis and told me she couldn't get a culture for the MRSA unless it was draining.(by the time we got her to the nurse it had already drained out) She also had a cyst between her breast about a year ago that a DR. said was just a cyst never mentioning anything about MRSA. They told me if she gets another boil or cyst to get a sample of the drainage or bring her in and they would lance it but the mere mention of MRSA has me scared to death.She still has a little sign of the rash and I'm not so sure the rash wasn't MRSA also. I called the infectious disease Dr. here and they told me the same thing.But what if the infection is in her blood stream? Is this something to just ignore and wait around to see what happens? She has not had any fever or other signs of illness except being overly tired. I dint know what else to do or who to turn to. Doe's anybody have any suggestions.

I thought I had the flu in Feb 08 after moving to Seattle area from Santa Fe, NM.  After 3 visits to the ER I finally convinced the doctors to admit me and take cdultures.  There was a possibilty that I had been exposed to MRSA and I felt like I was going to die.  Two days after being admitted with bacterial pneumonia, they got the cultures and sure enough, MRSA  in my blood and in my lungs.  Later that night I went into septic shock and was intubated in CCU for 9 days.  I live to tell the story and after one month in the hospital and two in a nursing home, all in which I was isolated, I am regaining my stength. 

I took my first breath Feb 18th and began my recovery.  The illness made me so weak I could not walk, feed myself or go to the bathroom for weeks.  Each day I gained strength in the nursing home becoming able to brush and braid my hair, hold a real fork, and open a water bottle. 

Having just moved my finances were low and I had just gotten a job.  The state came to my aid.  On the third day after moving into the nursing home the woman I was renting a room from decided to have me moved out.  After all I had been through I thought I had seen the worst and yet now the only place for me to go would be a homeless shelter.  But miracles do happen and April 25th I met someone who offered me a place to live and all that I need. 

Several people died in this area this winter from MRSA pnuemonia.  I am truly blessed and have an incredible outlook on life.  Through all of this I have learned to receive, something many of us do not understand.  I also expect nothing and accept all.  Love and gratitude became a way of life.......somthing you get after living in a nursing home at 53.....celebrating my 54th birthday there.  I realized that miracles do happen all the time and therefore we should be waiting open handed for them with no doubts.  Faith is real although it doesn't necessarily make life easier. 

Super bugs are too.  Maybe we have become a bit to dependent on antibiotics and antibacterials.  Maybe we need to consider the quote "heal thyself".  Diet, exercise, eliminating habits and addictions, and using more natural resources.  Did you know that Tumeric, Cayenne, Onion, Garlic, Oregano, and Cinnamon are all natural antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.  Try using a little tumeric and cayenne made into a paste on a sore.....it will take the infection away.

Using sanitising gels & promotion of scanning device.

Each of us is surrounded by microbes all our lives, since we are born. They are on our body, in our guts, in all crevices of the body, on the chair, on the wall, on the picnic-ground grass, tables, on the sponge used to wipe off spills, in the fridge, in foods, in the air, everywhere.

I cannot tell you what is the exact amount, but a percentage of the world population (regardless of race and origin, developed, or developing nations) are asymptomatic carriers of S. aureus, not mentioning others.

In the case of hospitals, immuno-suppressed patients, the very old and the very young, yes, MRSA is a worry, but so are millions of other microbes. They attack when your immune system is down. Should we then rush to take vitamin C pills? Again, conflicting information. Some researchers had found that high doses of vitamin C may be dangerous.

Look at CDC recommendations. I am not writing a scientific paper here, but we should look for unbiased information (eg politicians, lawyers hoping to sue hospitals) and information not originating from companies trying to sell something. 

Nothing can beat vigorous hand washing with warm water and soap and gloves !!!

The advertisements and marketing of antibiotic soaps, wipes, antibiotic-treated sponges, sanitiser for everyday use, are the worst. If we religiously wipe everything with sanitisers, etc, then we might have the strongest ones left, living happily on the kitchen bench.

For everyday living, basic hygiene is the answer.

We don't have to shower or wash with antibiotic-infused soaps etc. Don't put things into mouth or any other part of our body if we are not sure what nasties they may contain, wash (wound disinfecting agents are called for, in this case) and cover wounds, etc.