The good news is that afterwards, I should be able to go home and likely just take oral antibiotics from here on out. Definitely ready to be home!
I know a lot of you have questions about the staph infections that Parrish and I have had. In a nut shell, we all have staph all over us, all the time, just sitting dormant. There is staph everywhere, pretty much on every surface, and especially in hospitals. Sometimes, when the staph gets into a cut or into any opening in the skin, it can cause an infection. Most of the time, a body just fights off the infection and you won't even realize it. Other times, the infection can be cleared up with oral antibiotics. Sometimes, they might have to cut into the infection and drain it. But, that is usually it. In Parrish, because his immune system is so compromised, the infection spread very quickly and got into his blood stream, causing septic shock (a very, very serious condition). This wouldn't happen in an otherwise healthy person. With me, they think that I was just really worn down (more than I even recognized), and so the infection was harder on my body than it otherwise should have been. And, because both of us have been spending so much time in hospitals these days, it really isn't surprising that we got it, nor was it really preventable. It doesn't mean that we are doing something wrong or that everyone in our house is going to get this. Everyone agrees that this staph came from the hospital, and that the issues we have had with it are more related to our physical states. My mom has even talked to the CDC about it! So, trust me, we are doing our homework.
There were and are some precautions we can take to limit exposure: Bactraban nose swabs daily for all of us at home (staph tends to stay in the nose and you can kill it there before it starts...so the thought is, even if we do bring it home from the hospital, we can stop it before it becomes a problem); changing clothes/showering immediately after returning home from hospital (most of our doctor friends make this a constant practice); and vigilantly monitoring any cuts or scrapes and treating with antibiotic ointment. In addition, we will continue the practices we already have in place: almost religious-like hand washing and hand sanitizing (even Campbell can say "and anitizer" and hold out his hands); constant cleaning of surfaces with disinfectant; and daily laundry (insane amounts of laundry). Of course, you can't eliminate staph...it is everywhere we go and on all of us. Bu, we can attempt to prevent staph from the hospital coming into the house and prevent any dormant staph from getting into cuts and scrapes.
We have been in close contact with the BMT Unit, and they are just very honest about the fact that most of their patients have to fight off several MRSA staph infections throughout their transplant process. Because these patients are so immuno-compromised and because they are in the hospital so often, it is just the nature of the beast so to speak (sad but true that hospitals are the places you are most likely to acquire staph!). This isn't super comforting, but I guess it is part of it. And at least we know and can be more attuned to the symptoms. They did tell me that they usually don't see it in family members...not sure if that makes me special in a good way...
Okay, that is my relatively brief synopsis on staph...just what you all wanted to read about today, I am sure. I will keep everyone posted on things as the day unfolds. But if all goes as planned (ha...did I really just write that...has anything gone as planned??), then I should be home this afternoon.
Many thanks for all the love and prayers!
Love,
Molly
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