Sharshe update

[Susie*Bee]

Thanks for the update, Bud. Sorry to hear about needing oxygen-- and so much blood. But it's good they are keeping up on what she needs so well. It sounds like all things considered, she is doing ok. Tell her to keep up the good work--sitting and all that. It's all progress. Hang in there.

[Wishing]

Dear Sharon,

Congratulations on doing so well with both your surgeries. You are in the thick of your recovery process. Although you needed blood transfusions (which is probably to be expected since you had 2 surgeries), it sounds as though you had no major complications and did well. You now have to get better gradually. Good luck to you, and I wish you the very best. We will look forward to a progress report.
Rita

[Sharshe]

monday update

There where pain issues last night and she was up crying all night. A nurse from where she was last week came by and told them if she was asking for meds she needed them, she is not a whiner. Being it was early am on a holiday getting things from a doctor proved difficult. They sent her to P.T. in the morning anyway and they sent her right back. When I got there at 11:00 they had her back in bed and had the gotten orders from the Dr. So after another :15 of tears she got the pain under control. Her nurse came in about an hour later and said she was still schedule for after noon P.T. but she was going to do her best to get it changed to bedside. About a half hour before P.T. time she came in and told us she succeeded. With the pain under control she was able to walk about 25' down the hall and back. If they don't get so far behind the pain again I think she will progress rapidly.

Bud

[Pooka1]

Geez that was hard to read. I'm so sorry the pain got away. That's not right after what she went through.

Best wishes to Sharon for her continued recovery. And take care of yourself, Bud.

sharon

[Susie*Bee]

Sharon and Bud-- I hope we hear that Sharon had a more restful night last night. I'm praying for you! It WILL get better. Hugs, Susie

[debbei]

I hope she does better with the pain today

hopefully since the holiday/weekend are over the nurses will be more on top of things today. Take care.

[txmarinemom]

There where pain issues last night and she was up crying all night. ...

Ugh ... I'm so sorry Sharon had to go through that, Bud, and it must have been heartbreaking for you to watch .

With this surgery, it seems particularly tough to get things back under control once they get out of hand ... it happened with me when I came off the PCA early (and switched to oral meds) when my IV blew ... and ... it ... was ... AWFUL.

I'm really surprised PT even attempted to take her like that, but like others have said, now that the holiday weekend's over, hopefully they'll be more on top of things.

Other than this episode, it sounds like you're doing really great, Sharon. Hang in there honey ... it'll keep getting a little better every day!

Best regards,
Pam

[Susie*Bee]

concerns...

Just wanted to give you all a "heads up" that Sharon is having some problems with infection and was readmitted to the hospital. Her husband will post something later today or tomorrow, I think. In the meantime, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

[Susie*Bee]

Sharon needed further surgery because of the staph infection. Initial surgery for the infection was last Wednesday (June 4) -- they cleaned, packed and wrapped the area involved, then let it drain and checked it on Friday, at which time they decided they could close it up. The good news is that it is/was a treatable staph. She is making some progress, although her legs were affected by the infection, and she is having problems lifting them. Bud (her husband) says she was able to walk a little yesterday, out to the hall and back, and isn't in quite as severe pain when changing positions in bed. They are in the process of making arrangements for her to go to a rehab place, as she won't be able to go home for awhile. Bud also said there is a very high probability the hardware will need to be removed after the fusion is set, as the staph infection has probably adhered to it. Time will tell, after she's been on antibiotics for awhile.

[txmarinemom]

.. Bud also said there is a very high probability the hardware will need to be removed after the fusion is set, as the staph infection has probably adhered to it. Time will tell, after she's been on antibiotics for awhile.

Aw, man ... hopefully not - I have fingers and toes crossed for her. Susie, from what you wrote, it definitely sounds like it abscessed ... but are they sure it was *on* the hardware?

I ask because I developed MRSA after my breast augmentation in 2001: It was actually in the peri-areolar incisions (both sides) and they (by luck or whatever) did NOT have to replace the implants. Hopefully they won't have to remove anything from Sharon either .

Do you know if it was plain old staph, MRSA or VRE?

I know I probably mentioned this as a major concern before my surgery. I asked Hanson to give me both a week of oral Bactrim, pre-op, and then Vancomycin by IV during and after surgery (I do it with ALL surgeries now) because I know there's a high probability I'm still a carrier.

MRSA colonizes in the nares (nose), and if you've had it once (even if you don't have symptoms), there's a good chance you'll *always* be a carrier - and prone to reinfecting yourself. I have often wondered why pre-op tests don't include a nasal culture: It's such a simple thing. (and, no ... that's not to say everyone who gets it infected themselves)

I did just want to add that anyone who has ever had MRSA - systemic or not, abscessed or not - PLEASE insist on prophylactic antibiotics. Vancomycin is what I always get (simply because I KNOW my strain is susceptible to it), but you may not need something that strong. Vanco is VERY caustic: It's what kept blowing my IV's after surgery, and it actually blistered my *skin* when a drop got on me at IV removal. Amazing how your insides can tolerate the stuff.

Please keep us posted, Bud/Sharon/Susie, and cling to the hope it will resolve without surgical intervention. It is *possible*, and let's all hang tight to that ...

And fingers crossed the leg issues resolve soon!

Best regards,
Pam

[loves to skate]

some hospitals do test for MRSA pre-op

New England Baptist Hospital does test for MRSA pre-op and has one of the lowest post-op infection rates in the country. I think every hospital should do that. I'm so sorry that Sharon has to go through all of that and hopefully the hardware won't have to be removed. Sally

[briarrose]

I'm so sad to hear this about Sharon. Hopefully the hardware won't have to be removed. I'll be praying for her.

Are all pre-op patients put on an antibiotic the week before surgery and than an intraveneous antibiotic during and after surgery? I was on Cipro the week before surgery and I can't remember what intraveneous antibiotic I was during and a couple days after surgery. I was just wondering if that was common for everyone.

Shell

[txmarinemom]

Are all pre-op patients put on an antibiotic the week before surgery and than an intraveneous antibiotic during and after surgery? I was on Cipro the week before surgery and I can't remember what intraveneous antibiotic I was during and a couple days after surgery. I was just wondering if that was common for everyone.

Hey, Shell ...

Good to see you posting!

No, I don't think it's common (it's not here, anyway - and they still want to avoid pulling out the big gun antibiotics unnecessarily - and creating superbugs).

The only reason I received Bactrim/Vanco is because I had a previous MRSA infection: Otherwise, I would not have.

BTW, I found out in 2001 - while trying to treat the initial infection - I am HIGHLY allergic to Cipro. I STILL have scars where it caused blisters all over my right shoulder - and my hand at the IV site.

If *all* hospitals would simply do a nasal culture pre-op (Sally, that's fantastic yours did!), the infection rates could be slashed dramatically. So many people don't know they're carriers (they can be - and never *had* a staph infection), or were previously infected and assume once the infection is gone, it's gone.

Regards,
Pam

[Susie*Bee]

Bud sent an email late last night saying she'd been able to take a shower and get her hair washed, which made her feel better. (They didn't think the dry shampoo worked very well.) She is being moved to rehab today, and that is a lot closer to their home.

I'll answer what I can from your posts, but I really don't have details. I believe Bud had originally said that they could not find anything wrong through x-ray or other blood work, so they needed to do exploratory surgery. They found "very bad infections deep inside her lower back" and it "was a very severe staph infection"... and later he said, "We finally got the test results and it is a treatable staph... ...There is a very high probability the hardware will need to be removed after the fusion is set. They think the infection has attached to it." That's about all I know at this time.

She is making progress, they seem to have things under control right now, she will be closer to home which should make visiting her and all that sort of stuff much easier. She needs to know we care-- although I think she realizes that. This is just a tough time-- one that most of us realize could happen, but it just hurts when it actually does. It does look much better than it did, so we can be thankful for that.

[Susie*Bee]

Bud just emailed that Sharon's blood pressure had dropped last night, so they decided to keep her at the hospital till Friday. Needless to say, she was disappointed by this.