Hi Friends,

I haven't been here for almost 2 weeks because my crazy life has taken another crazy turn.

First the good news...I managed to get my rheumatologist appointment changed to Tuesday. Now I dont have to wait much longer for some answers about my Lupus diagnosis. That's somewhat of a relief.

Now this...I have a 13 year old son, Zachary.
Zack contracted the MRSA staph infection. We don't have any idea where or how. It went into his blood stream and then into the bones of his left foot. He (we) spent 5 days in our local hospital and 4 days in Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

It's been a nightmare and when I think about how bad this could have ended up, it brings me to my knees. If we had delayed treatment or got the wrong treatment because they didn't know for 3 days what was wrong, it could have killed him. It came on so quickly and the symptoms worsened very quickly. I thank God every day for the doctors that treated him and for not taking him from us. The doctors gave him the right antibiotic from the start even before they knew it was MRSA. Our local hospital did all they could and recommended that we take him to Children's Hospital.

He's home now but can't walk. His foot is twice the normal size and quite painful. The doctors called it cellulitis. He's going to be on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks. I have to administer them 3 times a day along with another oral antibiotic. He has to keep the foot elevated & isn't allow to put any weight on it. He has crutches to get around only when it's necessary. It will be a while but he's expected to recover completely.

Tomorrow, I have the joy of telling his school what's going on & begging them to set up home bound schooling.

The media has everyone believing that this is a new bacteria that's come from outer space to wipe out the human race or something like that. They're creating a frenzy. The fact is that it's been around for decades. The bacteria lives on 40% of the population on their skin & in their noses. Normally, our skin and mucous protects us and keeps it from doing harm. But occasionally, it finds its way in through a cut or scrape. Often, only an abcess or boil occurs and resloves with topical treatments once in a while it finds its way into the bloodstream and all hell breaks loose.

Now we'll have to deal with the ostracism from parents, children & teachers who choose not to educate themselves about this bacteria and would rather treat a 13 year old child, who did nothing to deserve this, like an outcast.
When will this dark cloud that's hovering over me & my family blow away?? I'm tired of the darkness...

Hope everyone here is feeling well. Thanks for listening. With freinds like you...who needs a therapist?
Jennifer