My father went into the hospital on 1.9.03 with what was thought to be the flu. A few days later we found out it wasn't the flu, but a staph infection that was raging inside his body. They started him on IV anti-biotics, and he appeared to respond at first, which raised all of our hopes. I travelled the 100 miles each way every day to see him and after a week when I went to his room he was wasn't there. The had transfered him to the ICU and was put on a ventilator. The Dr.'s said he'd been having some difficulty breathing so that felt that it was better not to stress his body out by fighting to breathe, but to fight the infection. They said tests had shown that the infection wasn't in his heart, lungs or brain so he still had a 50/50 chance of beating it. He was alert through all of this, but was in pain. 3 days later, my daughter asked me "what was that red stuff" in his ventilator tube? I knew it was blood, but I didn't want to tell her. My brother was flown in from his military base in England at the Dr.'s suggestion. I got a phone call from my mother on 1.20.03 to hurry and come up to see my father as the Dr. said it was only a matter of time, it had spread to his heart and brain as well as his lungs which I already knew. He died 15min. after I got there. I saw him at Christmas and although he was just shy of his 78th birthday, he had been in great health and of sound mind. No one knows how he got it (MRSA), or when.
Now I care for my elderly father-in-law who also has MRSA, he got it in the hospital 2 yrs ago, it started on his foot, and now is all over his body. He won't keep himself clean, or medicate or dress his wounds,nor will he allow me to do the same. He's refused nursing care to come in to assist him and I'm helpless. I'm here because my sister-in-law was going to put him into a nursing home if I didn't .He needs someone to watch over him since he's almost died from kidney failure and overmedicating himself with Cumadin. He's in denial saying the severe itching he suffering from is either dry skin or a rash of some sort. Unfortunately he's passed it on to me, as well as my dog. My Dr. has me on clavamox regularly to try and keep it under control, and my vet has my dog on the same. Apparently I've sold my own health as well as my dog's in an effort to keep him home where he's stated numerous times this is where he wants to stay and die at. My Dr. wasn't surprised when I finally presented symptoms, despite my thorough sanitizing of areas that he uses and touches. He apparently used my back brush in the shower to "scrub the peeling skin" off his calves one day and I was unaware of it when I went into the shower the next morning. He says now that I've been diagnosed that he must have gotten it from me or my dog. Of course his hospitalization for it this past November he convinced himself that it was due to a medication allergy despite being told that he was highly contagious. People beware! If you know of any elderly person that has this horrible disease protect yourself and your family anyway and everyway you can, including the 4 legged family members.
