Complications

Jon's trip back to Select was uneventful and he seems to continue to be more alert than he was the few days before going to the emergency room. He was just getting settled in when the nurse informed us that a test result had come back positive for a staph infection commonly referred to as MRSA. It is one of those staphs that is resistant to antibiotics. After checking in on the internet we saw that he already was on a common medication to treat MRSA, vancomycin.

We were quite concerned and Barb found articles and printed them out. We should have known better but Jon seemed engrossed in a TV show and we read and passed around the articles in his room. That led to a restless night on Jon's part since we hadn't gone into a whole lot of detail when we told him he had a staph infection. Forgive us, we didn't want to worry him before we were fully armed with information but worry him we did. Select Specialty's doctors don't think he got it while there but the report came to them the day after he went back to OSU's Emergency Department. Not sure it matters to Jon where he got it we just have to see that it is treated correctly.

I got a call tonight from one of Select's surgeons who had again been talking about Jon needing a colostomy. We had talked this over with the staff while at OSU and they didn't think it necessary at this time. However, Select 's staff has been having difficulty getting a good seal on the wound so that it can be cleaned out with the VAC and they think this would solve the problem...I'm not sure how it would affect the seal--the cleanliness of the area, yes....

We need to discuss how much further a surgery would weaken Jon and his resistance to the staph before making any decisions. When last discussing it with Jon a few weeks back he was not in favor of the procedure but when I get back to Columbus tomorrow I'll see if he's changed his mind at all. I need to go to Indiana in the morning to get my hearing aids checked. My ability to hear phone conversations without putting it on speakerphone is getting annoying. Besides, everyone else within 10 feet can hear it better than I can even at that!