Doctors advice. heed it

[yamahonkawazuki]

After some soul searching, ive decided to check myself into a long term healthcare facility aka nursing home. my father and i share this home, ( left to both of us by mom who passed on ) i dont want to risk his health. that man is a treasure to me. and its better that i leave for a month. to finish this course of treatment. ill have to have the PICC line re-inserted, so facility can hang iv antis with ease. still very scared. and still hoping this takes care of it. if it does not, either death or an amputation will happen. my white blood cell count was 15,000  FFS  THIS WAS OVER 3 CBCs. but im positive this will be the first step on road to recovery and no matter what happens, will be the first leg on my road to my old self.
Aaron

[Electrojake]

Agreed.
Time to put this into high gear.
No choice but to give 110% effort and do the long term care thing.
This is indeed the moment that such a decision has to be made and you've chosen wisely.

Yeah the long term care facility sucks but this is your chance for a big dedicated push to get back to normality.
I respect your tenacity. 
-Ej-

[yamahonkawazuki]

This is beyond depressing. i checked the FAQs about MRSA, says it is contagious up to 10 Days. idk tho. 1 idk how long it was there under the cast, and 2. what damage was done to left ankle joint. the ulcer was on the medial malleolus ( inside facing centre of body) i was crying when neuro cut cast off. staff of CCU was urgging my to be quiet. i was urging them to bite me. on a 10 scale i was well past a 15. as i said earlier, in ED, they brought a percocet 5.. i asked what this pill was, when they said a 5, i said yall can keep it. this wont even touch the pain. Dr. Compassion  came in and asked me if i was there because i was out of pills, i said no, they were just filled. i asked him to sedate me. he declined. this huge nurse came in he says " narcotics arent the answer" i politely cut him off saying" um try dealing with 4 fractures 2 of which were still active. other 2 were in healing process." narcotics helped me deal with this pain. anyways dr compassion pulled him aside told him to give me whatever i needed for comfort. because " that is 1 sick man" 1 shot of dilaudid, 5 mins later i asked when id get something. he asked me "did you not feel that dilaudid?" i said no sir. you could have injected me with water. would have had same effect. 2 more injections later, it barely made a difference. 20 mins later im in CCU. Hr at 125, theyre growling cause i was loud. i said sedate me PLEASE.  they wouldnt. was there for 2 days. (25th and 26th)  neuro comes in i begged him to cut cast off. he finally did. spot where mrsa was , was green. with bone close to surface. neuro swabs spot and has it tested. a STRONG CASE of MRSA. he also takes  a sample of fluid from spot where he put the implant. i screamed when he shoved needle in. ( he didnt warn me lol) he said my muscles almost shot the needle out. anyhoo that was only staph not MRSA. next day im in OR having that device removed. ill be damned if they put that effin thing back in. if they put anything in ill have them put a pain pump put in. if thats not approved, then nothing goes back in. im dealing with this infection its origins are unknown. but damn is it painful. anyhoo gotta sleep my friends. for some reason im exhausted. will check back in this eve. calling nursing homes. to check insurance coverage.
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

Good news and not so good news. Good news is accd to staff at neuros office, as long as i keep the mrsa wound covered, cleaned, and i wash hands frequently, i wont have to enter a long term care facility yet....  now the regular staph infection on back over operative site, as long as it doesnt deteriorate into mrsa im good. bad thing is once diagnosed with mrsa, you are from that point on, a carrier. for life. no biggie. i knock it into remission and keep it there, im good. no danger to myself or others. seems this is a common occurence in medical facilities. but thank GOD for insurance.  this 28 day run. almost 20k. twas either that or a nursing home. funny thing is would have cost ins. LESS, to have the PIC line, an iv pump and a home health nurse, than this run of antibiotics. but hey i dont care what way shape or form i get my antibiotics, if it keeps me alive tis all that matters
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

Left foot ice cold yet i feel pulse. edema still there mid shin to toe. top, bottom, rear & front. hell i cant see my achilles tendon for the edema. cant hardly see my toe knuckels either hardly. hardly a fever tho jus 99.1f waiting an hour.
Aaron

[Electrojake]

Tic, tic, tic, . . . The minutes pass like hours. 

Reading your posts as they appear.
Just saying.
-Ej-

[yamahonkawazuki]

Sorry EJ, I Thought i had updated. ( did in mind anyhoo) i went shortly after posting this. I was beyond pissed at the house md. he  wouldnt look into the edema issue because and i quote  " I sent the ultrasound tech home for the eve" i said hmmmmm "so a trauma centre has only one of these folks, 2 NNICUs and NO way to operate an ultrasound? dude was in there for 4 minutes. said pulse   on foot was near perfect. i said ill be damned i cant feel it?, and foot is 1.5x LARGER than R, he peeled back the bandage from the mrsa wound, glanced at it. and put it back in place. said " doesnt appear infected" THIS i agree with. because im on a VERY strong antibiotic. oh makes no mention of the edema in  shin/ankle/foot, only of the wound. wtf, in this guys case md = moronic dumba*s. he re used a bandage ffs. I documented  this by requesting anothone from desk staff. along with Chief of staffs card, i keep EVERY record. got to go in monday and get COMPLETE records dating 12/24- 12/29. still have to get both Neuro-Ortho to finish up on post surgery (neuro) and FX (ortho) but ive no desire to see inside of that hosp. again.
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

Well, on a semi related note, got maybe 95% of use of my left hand back. ill settle for that . discovered this on 29th of dec. when i hit the nurse call button (admitted on 24th got out on 30th) i had forgotten the reason i had hit the button tbh. they came, i was confused, i explained reason for this ( the palsy) i had finally sujcceeded in training my body to handle Lh tasks, with RH. And that time, i hit button with LH,  still a tad weak opening fingers, but closinging them, nearly normal . Now, if i can get this mrsa to go into remission, ill be happy.
Aaron

[Electrojake]

Holy dog bite! You have one hell of a list of items on your "come back" sheet.

Its good to see you posting again. Things got a little scary during the Christmas week.

So for the moment are you at the hospital, or Long term care, or home?

Crutches, wheelchair, or gurney?

Just wondering.
Thanks,
-Ej-

[yamahonkawazuki]

Im still kickin 5'10" on the positive side of things .
12-24 i entered hosp. Mrsa diagnoses unconfiirmed at that point. but anyhoo 12-24 i enter Hosp with 101.9f fever. i leave hosp 12-30 beginning antibiotic regimen
then that fiasco NYE. ( WAS THERE A TOTAL OF 2 HOURS FFS) i ask desk clerk for a large bandaid, because the doc didnt replace it after his cursory exam. ( also got chief of staffs card, mgrs card etc) had 24 hours to figure this out. monday ill put it into motion. next post details it
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

i had researched malpractice law, the short of it is burden of proof is up to me. but in a nutshell i can do so.  heres the timeline which i can back up with records:
Date                      Loc.                       Mrsa status:
08-12-15              Meth. Er... oak ridge            Neg.
08-19-15                    same                             Neg.
08-22-15              ortho (TOC oak ridge)        Neg.
08-24-15           Meth. OR /ORiF surgery        Neg.
a week later followup  to surgery all is well except for wound half under cast. i go to er (meth OR) no mrsa but antibiotic via iv  for nearly a week. along with diabetic dka episode.
anyhoo ffw to first week nov. at former pm doc   SCS trial,
at this point mrsa neg.
followup a week later, trial removal mrsa neg. normal temp 97.5f.
Dec 2 2015  SCS implant surgery  Meth. OR.  AS OF PREV. fri labs, Mrsa neg everything normal, cast applied to left leg.
2 weeks later cast changed no pain, no abnormal labs. no visible wound.
and no mrsa
Had significant pain in left lower leg/ankle/occasionally foot which ortho attributed ( and i felt likewise) to post traumatic arthritis. only  abnormal thing was the sinus tachycardia ( HR >100bpm since i had not heard back from cardio, my hypothesis was stress.)
noticed a week previous to hosp on 12-24 some discomfort at ankle joint medial malleolous/tibia.
Also noticed ( backed by call to neuro answering service) btw neuro and ortho in same practice.
drainage from surgery location/incisions, this was after staple removal on 11th of dec. in neuro office. normal 97.5f temp. ans. svc/doc said if i felt concerned to go to ER. since no temp i didnt. a week later, after scs/issues and id say mrsa manifestation on 23rd , i take temp, late on 23rd it is now 101.9f. i call answering svc. with this info along with renewed discharge from BOTH incisions. and 1" dehiscience on both the vertical and horiz. incisions. neuro is alarmed.  Im in ER on 24th, mrsa unconfirmed at this point. ankle under cast raging now. neuro removes cast and wound is FUGLY he cultures it, gets it confirmed quickly.  and Mrsa is officially diagnosed. at this location. in back, just "normal staph" going to get funds together and pull COMPLETE records. Nowaitaminute, atty can do this.
this coming week, on 5th  a followup with primary doc, on 6th followup with neuro, AND my ear doc. will update
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

But alas it seems as though that isnt enough,, meh ill concentrate on putting myself back together. leave the rest to fate
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

New goal , to beat this into remission ( and do my damndest to keep it there) followed by getting my ankles back to 100%, got most of L hand usage back so im stoked.
Aaron

[Electrojake]

New goal , to beat this into remission (and do my damndest to keep it there)...

Your positive attitude (in spite of the beating you've been through) is amazing.
Hope each passing day is a little better for you.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Temp at 97.3f  theantibiotic regimen getting used to it. Follow up to this incident tuesday,  tbh idk if ill EVER have another surgery unless my life depends on it. lodging a formal complaint against hospital monday. may have to  find New ortho and neuro as well. hard to do tho when left ankle is a work in progress. usually an ortho wont touch anothers work.  or a doctor wont touch anothers work. but this  mrsa wtf. if i have a medical issue and my life can chance transport elsewhere, i WILL. i dont want any further gifts from this location.
Aaron

[yamahonkawazuki]

Well this is funny, yet serious. only choices for the antibiotics VANCOMYCIN ( iv only) OR linezolid (600mg oral 2x daily.  for 28 days.  use of either one REQUIRED. lest i die. yet it has fairly strong interactions ( if/when they happen.  albeit rare) with my pain medication. so have to be careful. cause this drug interacts with ALL forms of pain medication on same level.,
So must be careful VERY.
its contraindicated with my SSRIs as in do NOT use together. this i can deal with short term. it can pretty much seriously interact with everything im on except my insulin. to an extent. Now if i were to go on vancomycin,  good chance of going deaf lol. but without either one, id be putting the job of fighting this infection, on my immune system. wont work long term anyways. hell it  doesnt play nice with caffeine.  BUT sorry this isnt happening. ahh well i stopped the SSRI ( ONLY must not use together) so far np, if any issues it will be dealt with. the antibiotics are NOT OPTIONAL. the ssri usage is. Anyhoo now i know what works and what wont.  no pain reliever use of any kind is ideal lol but not realistic, as long as im careful , im good.  ( plus this will be closely watched/monitored) , i wont be able to go without any pain relief. especially with the nerve pain, the fracture pain, arthritis etc etc etc. i went without for 18 hours. on the 24th. this i cant handle lol. ( unless pain sources can be addressed and eliminated). anyhoo enough stress. lets find something else to distract my mind.
Aaron

[Electrojake]

Lodging a formal complaint against hospital monday. may have to  find New ortho and neuro as well. hard to do tho when left ankle is a work in progress. usually an ortho wont touch anothers work.  or a doctor wont touch anothers work. but this  mrsa wtf. if i have a medical issue and my life can chance transport elsewhere, i WILL. i dont want any further gifts from this location.
Aaron

My sage advice: Keep your plans completely confidential. Always be nicey-nice to your current doctors & hospital staff, then... Get your facts in order and type them up on paper.
Contact an attorney with your paper work in-hand. The initial counseling and case evaluation is free.

Need a printer, paper, and word processor program for your PC? Let me know via PM.
Need a whole new PC? Let me know in a PM.
Need a new Maserati Granturismo? ...No wait! Scratch that last one.

BTW; At this point it would be a good idea to start your own detailed personal medical record on you PC anyway. Record just the facts and details (not too much fluff & drama) since your transcripts may eventually be read publicly in a court room. Details in your personal log (times, dates, locations, and names) will be very helpful to your attorney since it will be cast directly against the hospital's records.

Your anger at the horrid medical treatment you've received may actually energize your healing process.
YRMV 

[yamahonkawazuki]

As far as  the ankle ( and neuro) docs go, this is my plan in a nutshell. i seriously cannot fault them i dont think. ankle procedures shouldnt be necessary unless this incident. aggrivates it. ( but with both their  assiciations with hosp.) if further procedures are required , it wont be there. wont chance. it. beyond this, burden of proof is on me, but may be able to do something, maybe not. ill at least know. should know details by end of this week. dates, labs etc. and go forward from there. on a positive note, left hand is almost working.  90+ percent id say.
more updates to come
Aaron

[Electrojake]

I just want you to get better.  Even ever so slightly.
Being in constant pain and the slow degradation. I know it can wear a man down.

Just thinking out loud here.
You've been exhausted of endorphin's for too long.

Hope you get a good night's rest.
-Ej-

[yamahonkawazuki]

Indeed time for rest. legally prolly nothing i can do. time will tell. time to move fwd what im dealing with now, no biggie, not worried in any way shape or form.
Aaron