MRSA
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. MRSA. The "Superbug". A deadly, antibiotic resistant disease. At first, found mainly in hospitals, now found in the general public. I started my bouts with MRSA following a freak accident in my house. While folding laundry I hit my left leg on a portuding bed frame causing an "L" shaped gash. A trip to an emergency room left me with ten stitches. I have thin skin and the stitches didn't hold. Neither the emergency room doctor, nor my family doctor noticed. It took a trip to a wound care specialist when my family doctor couldn't get results treating the gash, to determine the stitches hadn'theld and the wound was still open. After several treatments, my leg swelled to twice its size and the wound care specialist sent me back to my family doctor who put me in the hospital for week. A series of twice a day intravenous antibiotic treatments "cured" me. MRSA was never mentioned as the cause of the problem. I went back to work for a week, then both legs began to swell to the extent that I could not wear long pants. And the legs began to "weep" a light brown liquid. The liquid stained my sheets, mattress cover and mattress. The pain in my legs was so bad that I couldn't stand long enough to shave, much less take a shower. I would spend several minutes a day laying on the bed crying and screaming from the pain that my family doctor didn't believe I felt. My family doctor said I should go to a dermatologist. The dermatologist sent me to the hospital. I was put on intravenous antibiotics again, plus my legs had to be cleaned twice a day because the weeping wouldn't stop. A specialist would come in. Take my wrapped bandages off and wrap my legs in towels saturated with warmed, sterile water, wrapped in garbage bags. She had wanted to put me in a whirlpool bath, but the hospital didn't have one. Then, she would clean with legs with qauze pads, apply ointment, and wrap them in gauze from my toes to my knees. I was put on painkillers because I had a hard time walking, even to the bathroom. Anytime anyone came into my room, they would wear, gloves, gown, and mask. This second stay was for ten days. A disease specialist was brought in and they finally said I had MRSA, but this time they added a new test, a transesophageal echocardiogram. During this test, they put an ultrasound device down your esophageus, through your mouth, and aim it at your heart. MRSA can affect your heart valves. The test was negative and I went back to work after my stay. In less than a week, my legs began to hurt so bad that I would put them up on another chair to ease the pain. They swelled up again and began weeping. I asked my family doctor if there was a pill I could take to stay out of the hospital. There was, but it was expensive,,,$3,000 for a weeks' treatment. Luckily, my insurance covered it with a $60 co-pay. It didn't work and I was back in the hospital for another round of treatments. This time for a week. I went back to work. And it happened again,,,the swelling,,,the pain,,the weeping. Back in the hospital for another week. And, again, they said I was cured. And this time, they were right in a way. They told me I'm a carrier of MRSA and that's especially dangerous for me because during this period I developed eczema. Now, when the eczema comes around, I have to be careful when I scratch because if I break the skin, MRSA can get in. MRSA is always on my mind. My legs won't let me forget. They were weakened during the ordeal and they remind me every time I walk. MRSA is deadly and should be taken seriously. Once you've had MRSA, you can become a carrier. Then, you live in fear.
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