Yuck

[bill_schubert]

​Dana's situation is not great.  She's developed an infection at the incision site 25 days after the surgery.  I'm not at all happy with St David's.  The PT / OT is great but she got a damn infection on a wound that was nearly a month old.  When she first told me I asked what they were doing.  She said she didn't know.  I went to the nurse.  Nurse said they were going to give her oral antibiotics (this was 2+ hours after Dana discovered a huge hot red splotch on her thigh).  I asked when.  Nurse said 'Today'.  When today.  I'm not sure.  You'll have to ask the doctor.  Get him for me now, please.
 

Got the doc who spoke with a very heavy Indian accent so there is some interpretation here.  He said it might just be under skin hematoma causing problems and he was going to give her oral antibiotics just to be safe.  Her white blood count was still normal.  

 

I said:  It is hot, it is flaming read, it is painful to the touch.  That is three out of four and the white blood count could easily be delayed in rising.  This has the hallmarks of a disaster.  I'd like to have intravenous antibiotics to hit it hard right now.

 

I said some other stuff but maybe have deleted that from my memory bank.

 

Today it is, apparently worse but I've not yet been there.  Dana says she feels bad and has cancelled all her PT.  It has been 24 hours of IV antibiotics but, of course, all antibiotics are not at all equal and this might be a different infection.  I'm about one step away from pulling the fire alarm.

 

Apparently they are going to transfer her to Scott and White, our normal health system, where all her doctors are.  This will help a lot and increase communication significantly.  I've got everyone calling me from the place she is now but only because I dropped a hand grenade into their laps yesterday.

 

Scott and White has better communications and I have more levers to pull there.  Finger's crossed we get this shit under control. 

Comments

[anais_pf]

Yikes! I am so glad she has you advocating for her.

[maisydaisy]

This is just dreadful.Thank goodness she has you in her corner.
Everything crossed that she gets sorted asap.

[msconduct]

Oh no, the very thing she needs to avoid, but at least you got her on the treatment she needs swiftly. Not at all impressed with the level of care.

[mallorys_camera]

They say the nosocomial infection rate is around 4%, but as a former RN, I suspect it's much higher.

Good thing you're not afraid to be her patient advocate. Fingers crossed that the implant is not affected.