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10 yr old son died of staph infection 5/05

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sad momma

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Michigan

It has been almost 3months since my previously healthy son suddenly died of a staph (mrsa) infection.

Thursday after school the neighbors had him come to their house since I was stuck at the other side of town trying to get my flat tire fixed on my van.
When I came home an hour later, he started to complain that his left knee hurt. He could not remember injuring it. He felt low grade feverish.
Friday morning called the dr. office. They thought perhaps he sprained the knee.... the fever probably from viral infection coming on.
Saturday he could hardly walk on his leg, still feverish. Took him to the ER. I told them he has history of boils and that he has a very high pain tolerance and he couldn't remember injuring his knee. I had contacted our physician's office and they recommended our going to ER to check for infection. There was no exterior skin lesion that was red or swollen.
They took x-ray, said his knee looked ok. Sent us home.
Sunday, went back to ER. They reviewed Saturday's x-ray. Did CBC blood work. His counts were actually low. They said there was no infection and sent us on our merry way (forgive my mild sarcasm...)
Midnight went back due to increased pain and newly developed redness and swelling...(I contacted dr office for advice: go to different ER or return. Decided to go back to same ER due to their already having all data, etc. More likely to "demand" they keep our son) An orthopedic resident "tapped" his knee and couldn't drain anything.... it was decided to surgically go in and remove the infection.
Surgery showed that the knee was secondary site of infection and that it started elsewhere. ( I can't remember if we knew then that it was in his blood ). He went into sepsis, eventually full life support and seventeen days later he died. My husband is actually upset at how a respitory therapist poorly handled changing his heli-ox tank on the respirator and how damaging that was to his lungs.

I'd like to know someone else's opinion regarding this... I'm not looking for $, and I obviously can't get my oldest of five children back (the youngest was born 2 weeks after his death). I am just curious as to what you think about this. Sorry to give so much detail, but I didn't know how much was relevent.
Thanks... K
 


ellencee

Senior Member
This event made the national news or else there is another child who suffered a similar event and unfortunately died. This condition is known as necrotizing faciitis and presents exactly as the poster described. As I have stated many times, sepsis is a wicked condition. In necrotizing faciitis, the infection is spreading and the patient is becoming septic way before there are any indicators of the condition. Unless antibiotic treatment is begun early, which is usually not possible, the patient may die; and in one so small as a child, death is a frequent outcome.

I am so sorry for your loss.
EC
 

Debi Richardson

Junior Member
I know how you feel

sad momma said:
What is the name of your state? Michigan

It has been almost 3months since my previously healthy son suddenly died of a staph (mrsa) infection.

Thursday after school the neighbors had him come to their house since I was stuck at the other side of town trying to get my flat tire fixed on my van.
When I came home an hour later, he started to complain that his left knee hurt. He could not remember injuring it. He felt low grade feverish.
Friday morning called the dr. office. They thought perhaps he sprained the knee.... the fever probably from viral infection coming on.
Saturday he could hardly walk on his leg, still feverish. Took him to the ER. I told them he has history of boils and that he has a very high pain tolerance and he couldn't remember injuring his knee. I had contacted our physician's office and they recommended our going to ER to check for infection. There was no exterior skin lesion that was red or swollen.
They took x-ray, said his knee looked ok. Sent us home.
Sunday, went back to ER. They reviewed Saturday's x-ray. Did CBC blood work. His counts were actually low. They said there was no infection and sent us on our merry way (forgive my mild sarcasm...)
Midnight went back due to increased pain and newly developed redness and swelling...(I contacted dr office for advice: go to different ER or return. Decided to go back to same ER due to their already having all data, etc. More likely to "demand" they keep our son) An orthopedic resident "tapped" his knee and couldn't drain anything.... it was decided to surgically go in and remove the infection.
Surgery showed that the knee was secondary site of infection and that it started elsewhere. ( I can't remember if we knew then that it was in his blood ). He went into sepsis, eventually full life support and seventeen days later he died. My husband is actually upset at how a respitory therapist poorly handled changing his heli-ox tank on the respirator and how damaging that was to his lungs.

I'd like to know someone else's opinion regarding this... I'm not looking for $, and I obviously can't get my oldest of five children back (the youngest was born 2 weeks after his death). I am just curious as to what you think about this. Sorry to give so much detail, but I didn't know how much was relevent.
Thanks... K
Debbie California

I'm so sorry to hear about your son. My sympathy goes out to you and your family. I had the same thing happen to my mother last year. My mom was 61 years old and a diebetic. She went in to Kaiser Medical Group for an operation called Roux-en-Y (Gastric Bypass Surgery). Too make a long story short....My mom had her operation and was suppose to go home. As she was getting ready to go home, the doctor called and said that she had to stay due to "no bowel movement". Later that day as she was lying in her hospital bed she felt a VERY sharp jolt of pain in her abdomin (around the area of her operation...lower intestine) She informed the doctor of this and he didn't seem to think it was all that important. The next day they took xrays and noticed that her stitches were torn. All in all she went through four operations to try and fix the problem. In her doctor's report, it states that the Dr. accidentally cut her inside and had to do a repair. (that would make them at fault).

She started to develop Sepsis and she bloated up bigger than I can ever imagine. I saw my mother, my best friend go from weighing 116 lbs. when she entered the hospital, all the way up to 267 lbs. when she passed away. Bile was floating around inside her with no where to go but out her pores. The ICU seemed like they did NOTHING to help her except lie to me and my family about her getting better. They gave us hopes of her getting better and coming home before her organs starting failing due to the sepsis. There were alot of little mistakes (too many to mention) that the hospital did and we had to just stand back and let them do it. When you have no knowledge of the medical procedures, you always sthink they are in good hands with the doctors. Not in this case, she developed Septic Shock in the ICIU, under a doctor's care. I read that 80% of Septic Shock is due to the doctor's error. We were not expecting such a horrible, horrible way for my mom or anyone else in that matter to die. As I research and research today....I wish that I knew then what I know now, maybe in some way I could of saved her. A lawyer I went to talk to about the case did not want to take mine due to my mom's diabetes. He stated that the jury would point the finger at the disease and would say she would of died from that soon anyway. Bad thing to say, lawyer! I would think that you would have a better chance than we would of. I say you guys should go for it and sue the hell out of them so they can not do it to anyone else. There are alot of cases regarding deaths by Sepsis, Septic Shock, Toxin....etc. Good luck and again, I feel your pain. I too have an 11yr. old daughter and would just die if something happened to her. Take care!

Debbie Richardson
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Debi Richardson said:
Debbie California

I'm so sorry to hear about your son. My sympathy goes out to you and your family. I had the same thing happen to my mother last year. My mom was 61 years old and a diebetic. She went in to Kaiser Medical Group for an operation called Roux-en-Y (Gastric Bypass Surgery). Too make a long story short....My mom had her operation and was suppose to go home. As she was getting ready to go home, the doctor called and said that she had to stay due to "no bowel movement". Later that day as she was lying in her hospital bed she felt a VERY sharp jolt of pain in her abdomin (around the area of her operation...lower intestine) She informed the doctor of this and he didn't seem to think it was all that important. The next day they took xrays and noticed that her stitches were torn. All in all she went through four operations to try and fix the problem. In her doctor's report, it states that the Dr. accidentally cut her inside and had to do a repair. (that would make them at fault).

She started to develop Sepsis and she bloated up bigger than I can ever imagine. I saw my mother, my best friend go from weighing 116 lbs. when she entered the hospital, all the way up to 267 lbs. when she passed away. Bile was floating around inside her with no where to go but out her pores. The ICU seemed like they did NOTHING to help her except lie to me and my family about her getting better. They gave us hopes of her getting better and coming home before her organs starting failing due to the sepsis. There were alot of little mistakes (too many to mention) that the hospital did and we had to just stand back and let them do it. When you have no knowledge of the medical procedures, you always sthink they are in good hands with the doctors. Not in this case, she developed Septic Shock in the ICIU, under a doctor's care. I read that 80% of Septic Shock is due to the doctor's error. We were not expecting such a horrible, horrible way for my mom or anyone else in that matter to die. As I research and research today....I wish that I knew then what I know now, maybe in some way I could of saved her. A lawyer I went to talk to about the case did not want to take mine due to my mom's diabetes. He stated that the jury would point the finger at the disease and would say she would of died from that soon anyway. Bad thing to say, lawyer! I would think that you would have a better chance than we would of. I say you guys should go for it and sue the hell out of them so they can not do it to anyone else. There are alot of cases regarding deaths by Sepsis, Septic Shock, Toxin....etc. Good luck and again, I feel your pain. I too have an 11yr. old daughter and would just die if something happened to her. Take care!

Debbie Richardson
Debbie, I'm sorry for your loss. Can you start your own thread based on your own question so it can receive the attention it deserves rather than post it on an old thread.
 
To the OP bad things happen and no one is at fault. What you describe is not very easily found in time to save a life. Though I am so sorry for your tragedy I must ask, if you do not want money what do you want? Your son will not be returned to you.
 

Zippee123

Junior Member
Understanding AND Revenge > Bitter AND Sweet

Sad- Short of wrapping your hands around the neck of the person/persons who gave your son the infection, or misdiagnosed it, nothing will make you feel better. Even then, you may still not feel better. Having gone down almost the exact same medical road with my husband earlier this year, resulting in his death, I would still like to try the "choking thing" just to see. I have been beating myself up for months now wondering what I should have done differently during his struggle. I took a FMLA leave from work and practically lived in the hospital with him. I micro-managed the medical staff when I felt it was necessary. I would sneak home at night and do research on the internet based on any new information/symptom/condition. No matter how hard I tried, I could not equip myself properly or fast enough to deal with it. Reaction to me by the Medical Staff ranged from highly respectful to highly pissed. In the end, my husband had experienced the same things your child did, including painful, red & swollen joints, fever, weakness, shock, life support and death. We read about MRSA being an "institution acquired" infection due to improper procedures and sanitation by hospital staff. It almost seems like an "oh,well" statistic that no one is trying to fix. The percentages are staggering.
WARNING from sad wives, moms, husbands and children- if we discover that you are the one who introduced MRSA to our loved ones, and we find you...watch your neck.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Zippee123 said:
Sad- Short of wrapping your hands around the neck of the person/persons who gave your son the infection, or misdiagnosed it, nothing will make you feel better. Even then, you may still not feel better. Having gone down almost the exact same medical road with my husband earlier this year, resulting in his death, I would still like to try the "choking thing" just to see. I have been beating myself up for months now wondering what I should have done differently during his struggle. I took a FMLA leave from work and practically lived in the hospital with him. I micro-managed the medical staff when I felt it was necessary. I would sneak home at night and do research on the internet based on any new information/symptom/condition. No matter how hard I tried, I could not equip myself properly or fast enough to deal with it. Reaction to me by the Medical Staff ranged from highly respectful to highly pissed. In the end, my husband had experienced the same things your child did, including painful, red & swollen joints, fever, weakness, shock, life support and death. We read about MRSA being an "institution acquired" infection due to improper procedures and sanitation by hospital staff. It almost seems like an "oh,well" statistic that no one is trying to fix. The percentages are staggering.
WARNING from sad wives, moms, husbands and children- if we discover that you are the one who introduced MRSA to our loved ones, and we find you...watch your neck.
Zippy,
I'm sorry for your loss, however, the unfortunate death of your husband who was at higher risk due to his ill health, does not suggest that his death was caused by the treatment he received nor is your encouragement or threat of bodily harm appropriate. We cannot condone threats. Please don't hijack a thread in order to promote your personal vendetta.
 

Zippee123

Junior Member
Met- Surely you are estute enough to realize that the thought of harming someone who could be determined to be responsible for the death of your loved one is fairly common. It is a thought. Just that. It is figurative, not literal and you know that. For you to imply that there was any sort of threat is a real stretch. To deny it's existence as part of the grieving process would be irresponsible. I have, and continue to live the "sorry for your loss" coming in my direction, and was hoping to impart to Sadmom an empathetic perspective instead, by stating a thought shared by many grieving folks. Group therapy anyone?
Why would one come to a "medical and healthcare malpractice" forum if they didn't have thoughts of retaliation? Do you believe that one brings a lawsuit in order to protect the future of society at large...or to bring punishment to an individual/institution that has harmed them?
I have no personal vendetta. I am however outraged that the medical community treats hospital/institution acquired MRSA as a fact of life...or death, to be more accurate. It is an epidemic. It is a sorry situation that you cannot confidently go to a hospital when you are ill and be adequately protected through practice and procedure, against deadly infection.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Zippee123 said:
Met- Surely you are estute enough to realize that the thought of harming someone who could be determined to be responsible for the death of your loved one is fairly common. It is a thought. Just that. It is figurative, not literal and you know that. For you to imply that there was any sort of threat is a real stretch. To deny it's existence as part of the grieving process would be irresponsible. I have, and continue to live the "sorry for your loss" coming in my direction, and was hoping to impart to Sadmom an empathetic perspective instead, by stating a thought shared by many grieving folks. Group therapy anyone?
Why would one come to a "medical and healthcare malpractice" forum if they didn't have thoughts of retaliation? Do you believe that one brings a lawsuit in order to protect the future of society at large...or to bring punishment to an individual/institution that has harmed them?
I have no personal vendetta. I am however outraged that the medical community treats hospital/institution acquired MRSA as a fact of life...or death, to be more accurate. It is an epidemic. It is a sorry situation that you cannot confidently go to a hospital when you are ill and be adequately protected through practice and procedure, against deadly infection.
Zippy,
This is a law forum, not a vent/rant/support group. While it may be appropriate for you to voice your feeling in a therapeutic setting, it is not appropriate here on the internet. OP was here one time almost 1 month ago, your post in no way shape or form was meant to console them. Your post was an attack on medical professionals and not warrented.
 

sad momma

Junior Member
I suppose I inquired on this forum to help clear my head as to my role in his illness. I gave my all to help him. I am suppose to protect my son and I'm at a loss as to how he acquired mrsa.... I have four other children that I am also "protecting". I wanted to know if the info I gave the hospital should have tipped them off... I truly don't want this to happen to another. That was why I asked about the hospital's role.

In my research on mrsa, my son did not fit any stereotype of those infected. I am just so saddened by my loss and am trying to make some sense of it. My son was COMPLETELY healthy when he contracted mrsa... he contracted it in the general population. His surgery is not when he got mrsa... that is when they determined that he had staph and that it was secondary.

I am horrified that this seems to be happening all around us and I had no idea!! "No drugs for viral bugs" is the only slogan I heard. We don't overdo antibiotics. I wish I would've known without researching on my own. This info should be readily available - news, drs, etc. I didn't know my son would die! In my parenting, I had to put into perspective 'germs'. I am a huge advocate for hand washing, etc. I would remind myself not to get overly zealous since it wasn't like they'd die or anything..... HA! I thought that only happened in the 1800s...

I am frustrated with the ER. Would he have survived if given antibiotics 48-72 hrs prior? I was brushed off. I didn't even know about mrsa. I did know about 'minor' staph problems and that is why I told them about his history of boils.

I am very sorry for anyone out there that has lost a loved one due to staph. I pray for proper, prompt treatment.

Thanks to those that have given their advice.... Peace, K
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
I'm sorry for your loss and for any additional grief you may have enocuntered here as some members joined in.

You did everything right, it's not your fault and how it happened may always be a mystery. This case does bring home the point that staph infections may and often do occur in the general population, often with less than specific signs and symptoms. Your son may have been injured at some point and simply not noticed it because he had a high tolerance of pain or because he was distracted or he may simply have not told you for what ever reason. His ability to fight the infection was somehow compromised prior to the ER visits and surgery.

While boils are usualy associated with staph infections, the bacteria is present on the body all the time, so a boil that healed sometime in the past is not unusual and often treated without antibiotics, an impaired immune system may have changed his ability to fight the infection. The best way to prevent staph infections is hand washing and not touching wounds and spreading it with the hands. Scratching is another way to spread infection, sometimes this is done without thinking. Little boys are not the best for handwashing no matter how much you remind them.

Would an antibiotic have saved his life if it were given sooner or if he had more graphic symptoms, or what if he didn't have a staph infection then what? Lots of questions and no answers that help with your loss. The fact that most people believe that staph infections are caused by hospitals, unfortunately makes infections obtained in the general population more difficult to catch especially when there is no obvious site of infection.

Thank you for posting again and ince again, I'm sorry for your loss.
 

jangries11

Junior Member
MRSA 4th leading cause of death in US

My dad died on September 6, 2005 as a result of septic shock caused by a MRSA infection that he got at a well known Cleveland hospital. This was, believe it or not, the SECOND MRSA infection he got at this hospital in 2 weeks--he recovered from the first, which was MRSA pneumonia, but died from the second. He did not die as a result of the reason he went to the hopsital.

I have done a lot of research on MRSA since my dad died. I was shocked to find out that 90,000 people die every year in the USA from hospital acquired infections, and that hospital acquired infections are the 4th leading cause of death in this country--in fact, more people die of infections that they caught AT THE HOSPITAL every year than from AIDS, breast cancer and car accidents COMBINED!!!

Here is the thing that makes me crazy. Some states require that hospitals publicly report their infection rates, and hospitals in those states have, as a result of fear of bad publicity, reduced their infection rates through programs of education of staff members, such as proper hand-washing (duh), proper catheter and wound dressing procedures and raising the heads of the beds of patients to avoid infections pneumonia. One hospital, Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh, reduced their death rate in their ICU from 51 to 1 just by instituting these simple procedures, which nobody believed would be effective.

There is a mind-set in the medical community that hospital acquired infections are just a fact of life, and therefore unavoidable. Guess what, they're not! But they aren't going to change until they are forced to, whether the forcing is from lawsuits or the states changing the laws to force the publication of hospitals' infection rates. Call your state legislators. Sue the hell out of the hospitals. Refuse to pay the hospital bill--seems crazy to me to pay the hospitals that caused the deaths of our loved ones!

I don't believe that medical personnel are deliberately spreading bacteria to their patients, but they are. We need to wake them up and force them to do things properly. Hand washing specifically is a big problem, but for gosh sake, we've known since 1822 that hand washing by medical staff prevents the spread of infection!

I am so sad for those of you who have lost loved ones, as I myself have. I hope you find peace and I hope you become active in forcing the changes that are needed to prevent any more people from dying unneccesary deaths.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
jangries11 said:
My dad died on September 6, 2005 as a result of septic shock caused by a MRSA infection that he got at a well known Cleveland hospital. This was, believe it or not, the SECOND MRSA infection he got at this hospital in 2 weeks--he recovered from the first, which was MRSA pneumonia, but died from the second. He did not die as a result of the reason he went to the hopsital.

I have done a lot of research on MRSA since my dad died. I was shocked to find out that 90,000 people die every year in the USA from hospital acquired infections, and that hospital acquired infections are the 4th leading cause of death in this country--in fact, more people die of infections that they caught AT THE HOSPITAL every year than from AIDS, breast cancer and car accidents COMBINED!!!

Here is the thing that makes me crazy. Some states require that hospitals publicly report their infection rates, and hospitals in those states have, as a result of fear of bad publicity, reduced their infection rates through programs of education of staff members, such as proper hand-washing (duh), proper catheter and wound dressing procedures and raising the heads of the beds of patients to avoid infections pneumonia. One hospital, Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh, reduced their death rate in their ICU from 51 to 1 just by instituting these simple procedures, which nobody believed would be effective.

There is a mind-set in the medical community that hospital acquired infections are just a fact of life, and therefore unavoidable. Guess what, they're not! But they aren't going to change until they are forced to, whether the forcing is from lawsuits or the states changing the laws to force the publication of hospitals' infection rates. Call your state legislators. Sue the hell out of the hospitals. Refuse to pay the hospital bill--seems crazy to me to pay the hospitals that caused the deaths of our loved ones!

I don't believe that medical personnel are deliberately spreading bacteria to their patients, but they are. We need to wake them up and force them to do things properly. Hand washing specifically is a big problem, but for gosh sake, we've known since 1822 that hand washing by medical staff prevents the spread of infection!

I am so sad for those of you who have lost loved ones, as I myself have. I hope you find peace and I hope you become active in forcing the changes that are needed to prevent any more people from dying unneccesary deaths.
I'm sorry for your loss.

Please respect the other posters by starting your own thread rather than hijacking a thread and proceeding to vent and giving inaccurate information.

If you had followed your own adice would your father have been alive today?
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=249136&page=2&pp=15
jangries11 said:
I said earlier I'm not qualified to give legal advice, and now I will say I am not qualified to give medical advice. However, since CNSV is extremely difficult to diagnose, maybe you should get a second opinion, both on the diagnosis and on potential treatment options.

I did a little reading on this condition, and there are multiple types. It seems one that is more serious and can even ultimately be fatal, but the other is less severe. However, BOTH are treatable.

I have had considerable dealings with doctors and hospitals, more than I ever wanted to. I ALWAYS get a second opinion on important matters. I ALWAYS ask what the treatment options are. I ALWAYS do my homework. I ALWAYS make a list of questions ahead of time and if I have to, I force the doctor to answer them before selecting a treatment option. If a loved one is in the hospital, I ALWAYS make sure I know what meds they are receiving and I check those out too, to make sure my loved on is getting the meds they should and not getting meds they shouldn't. I assure you, I have caught a number of mistakes, such as:

- a hospital was going to do surgery on my son's left leg when his right legs was the one that needed surgery

- a different hospital was giving my dad a medication that conflicted with his heart medication

I could give more examples, but you get the point.

Look, you are in a tough situation, we all see that. But instead of trying to figure out how you and your family can adjust to the situation, maybe you should try again to see if the situation itself can be improved or even eliminated. Go to a hospital that has a world class reputation in neurology or rheumatology, since CNSV seems to be a rheumatological disorder. As difficult as it might be to find an expert, any improvement in your wife resulting from your efforts would be worth it. New medical treatments are coming out all the time.

Check out the following website--Cleveland Clinic seems to have a more positive spin on your wife's condition than you were given by the doctors in Kansas.

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/arthritis/treat/facts/cns.htm

I hope you take this advice. Your wife is not in any condition to save herself, so you have to do it for her.

Good luck.
 

ellencee

Senior Member
All of these people doing research need to expand their research and discover what constitutes a hospital-acquired infection. It includes infections on-going at the time of admission but not yet diagnosed; the hospital has to "count" it as nosocomial. The hospital has to count as hospital-acquired, the infections brought in by Aunt Sue or cousin Lenny or "that nice lady down the hall that I met in the cafeteria and who came by to visit my (family member/patient)".

The same applies for medication error statistics. Administering a medication one minute later than the allowed time-frame counts as a medication error and is included in the absurd number of medication errors that reportedly occur in hospitals. It requires extensive research to discover how many medication errors actually were patients receiving a medication that was not intended for them in any way, shape, fashion, or form.

It requires extensive research to discover the actual number of nosocomial infections that result from the actual transmission of bacteria to a patient from a hospital worker, and even more research to break 'hospital worker' into subcatergories of housekeeper, dietary worker, x-ray tech, "pink lady", transport staff, etc.

The general public is quick to jump to conclusions that the NURSES or the DOCTORS are running around willy-nilly spreading bacteria like Typhoid Mary spread typhoid or haphazardly throwing pills in cups and down patients' throats.

Over-compensation to frivilous medmal lawsuits are why hospitals over-sterilized equipment and MDs over-prescribed antibiotics, which created the necessary environment for these super-infections to evolve and drive up the cost of medical care and injure or kill.

I am truly sorry that this child died from MRSA and that this man died from MRSA; however, these posters came here seeking legal remedy for a nosocomial infection. The vicious circle just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

That being said, if a healthcare worker is observed being lax in handwashing or using the hand sterilizer/gel, confront that healthcare worker immediately and report your concerns to the charge nurse or the shift supervisor BEFORE leaving the hospital. Don't wait until your loved one is injured and you are seeking monetary compensation to come forth with your observations of lax infection control procedures.

EC

EC
 

jangries11

Junior Member
Didn't mean to "hijack" thread---sorry

Jan from Ohio.

I'm the one who's dad died from MRSA. I am not very accustomed to this type of "posting" on the internet, having only been to this site a few times and to no other forum. I am sorry if adding my own story is considered to be rude, it was not intended to be.

I would like to respond to the probably well-intentioned critique of a senior member, who displayed a previous post I made in June to another thread, regarding how careful I have always been in dealing with the medical community. In the critique, the question was asked whether I had followed my own advice, and the answer is yes. I certainly did follow all my own advice, but my dad still got 2 hospital acquired infections, with the possibility of a 3rd, called Klebsiella. Truth be told, I was an absolute pest at the hospital, getting copies of test results, asking endless questions, checking out meds, etc. There were over 250 pages of lab results and radiological reports, and I read every single word. My dad had, at one point in time, 7 physicians working on him, and I spoke to every one of them every day except weekends. I was told by a nurse that the doctors considered me a "difficult" family member, which is probably true, but I was just worried about my dad, who kept getting sicker and sicker. However, I admit I did not know very much about hospital acquired infections until my dad was hospitalized and got one, and if I had, I am not sure it would have made a difference anyway. By the way, all my dad's infections were hospital acquired, as admitted by the hospital and as documented on my dad's death certificate.

The critique also questioned my facts. While you can't find out a lot about infection rates at hospitals (yet), you can find some info. I invite any of you to check out the sites below.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1211180&page=1

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1213789&page=1

Life-altering complications from infections and even death are becoming more and more common, both from infections acquired in the community and those acquired in hospitals. I certainly could be wrong, but it makes sense to me that fewer infections would acquired in the community if the infection rates at hospitals could be dramatically lowered.

My point was not to vent, but I don't really care if that is what some of you might have concluded. I only wanted to share the info I have found in the hope that others affected by MRSA and other horrible infections would first of all, know that they did nothing wrong, and second, know that if they want to, can take actions to force some change.

While I admit I may have unintentionally posted in the wrong location, I certainly meant no disrespect to the sad mom who started the thread, who I hope will accept my heartfelt sympathy for her loss and my apology if my post caused her the slightest bit of additional distress. As deeply as I grieve for my father, I cannot even begin to fathom her grief for her child.

As the person who wrote the critique said, this is a legal forum. I was looking for MRSA info and found this thread (via Google), so when I posted, it seemed like an appropriate place. I have no legal advice to offer, so I will stop coming here. Anyone who wants to write additional criticisms is welcome to do so, but I won't be back here to read them.

There are some in this forum whose posts have informed me, educated me and sometimes even amused me, and quite a few who touched my heart. There are also those posters who are mean-spirited. I wish all of you the best.
 

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