i have mrsa. blurg. anyone who wants to chime in with some knowledge on that, feel free. what the nurses have told me is that it is a antibiotic resistant strain of staph. so it's harder to get rid of than a normal staph infection, but i'll be fine. apparently, while it is drug resistant, it's not drug inpenetrable, so they think the stuff i've been on will take care of it. it's a good sign that i haven't been getting worse since surgery, and in fact have continued to get better. my boob is going back to a normal color, that is. or at least the skin covering the bowl that used to be my boob is going back to a normal color. anyone that comes to see me has to wear a gown and gloves now, but it's not airborne, and in order to catch it from me you would have had to have had contact with my wound.
the nurse that was just in here says that everyone has mrsa in their body. because of my immunosupressed state (due to chemo) the mrsa "overgrew" and caused the infection in my boob. which is why it got so bad, i guess. so, perhaps it wasn't all my fault after all. a silver lining, i guess :)
not sure what all this does to my getting out of here. this morning dr. h was in and said i would be going home 24 hours after i start oral antibiotics. i'm not sure if mrsa changes that or not... we'll just have to wait and see.
6 comments:
Good grief, Mer! I'm without a computer for a couple of weeks, and come back to find out you had SURGERY and NO ONE TOLD ME?! I'm so sorry! Hugs and love and lots of wishes for a quick recovery! Everyone's thoughts are with you; hopefully now that the doctors know what's wrong, you'll kick this infection quickly and get back to getting all better. :)
This bump in the road shall soon pass. I am glad to hear that things are looking better and that the docotrs seem optimistic for only a slight delay in your original plan. Happy healing! Let me know if you need anything. I am happy to assist you.
Lori
Chiming in a little :-)
MRSA is evolution in action right before our eyes. Or at least Natural Selection.
There is a class of antibiotic drugs that are all related by a word that starts with "M."
"R" stands for 'Resistant.'
So M-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] is a variety of the germ that doesn't die when it meets up with the traditional antibiotics.
It does get killed off by something else. That's what you will get.
The more humans use the M-class antibiotics, the more MRSA bugs survive to breed the next generation versus the other kinds that are killed off.
But therefore, the sooner our traditional antibiotic miracle drugs become useless. We may have outsmarted ourselves. Natural selection at work.
Get well soon, dear heart; you're still in the miracle era for drugs.
Uncle Lloyd
Hi Meredith
First - I would not feel that this in anyway would have been different if you went in earlier based on how you felt. While you may feel that you should be awarded the twit of the year award - that is just not so.
The best news about this is that everyone knows what it is and can look to the appropriate treatment. Going in earlier could have lead to a methicillin antibiotic which would have not helped and you would have been in the same position - so ....... according to the great philosophers remember to "always look at the bright side of life" (Monty Python - yeah what else would you expect from a friend of Uncle Jeff)
Some more info to follow up with your uncle's comments (Lloyd this time)
MRSA -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
As you and Uncle Lloyd indicated this is a bug that is resistant to Methicillin types of antibiotics. However the good news is that Dr h should have been able to get a culture during the surgery which can help to provide insight in the the antibiotic alternatives that are available. Your are right though - some are available orally and others only by IV. Whichever the course is - lets kick some MRSAs butt!!! And yes this usually occurs after some type of trauma, surgery, etc when the immune system is low hhhmmmmmmm
Also - as you said and the staff should tell you this is transmitted via actual contact with the virus - not airborn etc. Keep that in mind when changing any gauze pads and drainage. Just keep it in a place that no one else will get into.
Just remember to keep up the fluids especially on the walk - we do not want to see any silly walks.
And I really think that it is time for you to demand chocolate chip cookies and chai from your Uncle - this time its Jeff
Our thoughts are with you.
Elliott
stupid MRSA, stupid infections, but awesome that you are beating it and coming home
Thinking of you my dear- and your purple bowl of skin that used to be a boob....don't know why that visual makes me chuckle but it does. Hope you can still find some humor in it all- it seems to help
lloyd and elliot- thanks for clarifying everything :) you rock!
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