A Medical Nightmare

I am checking in with my sweet bloggy friends. Sorry that I have been missing from the blogging scene for the past few weeks. This has been such a busy summer. Hubs and I and our kids and grandkids are doing fine. However . . . I do have a prayer request.

My brother had a hip re-do surgery on June 23. Something went wrong with the hardware from the first surgery. The 2nd surgery went well and then he was moved for physical therapy. He went through PH very well . . . .until the last few days; he began feeling very week. My SIL said that he became unable to hold a conversation; it was hard for him to finish a thought; he developed a bad jerking; and his blood pressure was very low. She mentioned all of this to the doctor in charge but he didn't seem to be concerned. After 13 days of PH, his incision was still draining (he diabetic but it should have been better).

The day he came home from the PH hospital (a Friday) hubs and I went to see him and my SIL she told us "we're in trouble". After listening to her we felt that part of the problem was that he may be anemic.

She took him back to the the surgeon the following Monday for a post-op check up and insisted they run some lab work. Sure enough, he was anemic. When the got the results on Wednesday they called her and told her to admit him into the hospital through the emergency room that his blood count was 8.6 (it should be around 15 -- anything below 10 is a concern). She did exactly that. He was given 2 units of blood but it only brought the count to 9.9. (Still under 10.)

So now, he's still weak, unable to hold a decent conversation, his jerking is so bad (at times) that he can't brush his own teeth or feed himself. My SIL was not going to let them send him home this time. She pointed out the low blood count, low blood pressure and the other problems. The doctor in charge was very sarcastic with her and asked her what she wanted him to do -- give him more blood -- have a neurological evaluation -- what? She kept telling him she just wanted him to find out what was wrong and try to correct it.

They sent her the head of Patient Care, head of Nursing, etc. all to no avail. She could not get them to do anything until . . . . . she said she felt like they needed another doctor.

FYI: My SIL is a diplomatic person, very intelligent, possesses common sense and wisdom -- Gody wisdom. She is the chief executive officer (the head person) of a governmental agency. Part of what she does is to hire and fire doctors.)

A battery of tests were taken and 1 more unit of blood was given which brought the count up to and 11. (The doctor is still fired.) An Infectious Disease doctor shows up in his room because my poor brother has a staff infection . . . all the way to the hip joint (they think).

So now he is transported back to the hospital where he had the surgery. Since it has been less than 30 days since surgery, they decide to flush and scrape the incision and hope they got it all. A pic line was put in his arm so that he can receive 6 weeks of antibiotics by IV!

Two days later, they feel that they did not get it all so . . . back to surgery. They take out the new hip replacement and put in an extender that has antibiotics in it. Now they say he has is MRSA staff infection, better known as the "super bug". It can be deadly!

He began to complain about difficulty in breathing and they discovered that he has a small blood clot in his lung. They took him to another hospital across the street and admitted him into ICU for several days. Everyone must wear gowns and gloves to be in his room. The jerking, the low blood pressure, the inability to hold a conversation, need to sleep, all of it, was due to the staff infection. He is able to breath without difficulty now and they are continuing to treat and monitor the blood clot.

He is now back at the hospital where he had the surgery and is preparing to go through a short period of PH to help him walk with a walker (he cannot put much weight on the extender in his hip.)

Later, he will go back to surgery, have the extender removed and another hip replacement hardware put in! After all this is completed, that hip will have been opened 5 times!

Oh, and the sarcastic doctor? He never showed his face again. He's probably waiting for a law suit over this. We would have been attending a funeral if my SIL hadn't stood her ground. What she is going to do is report him to the Medical Board and the hospital Administrator and ask him if he really wants a doctor like this on his staff.

My brother still has so much yet ahead of him. Please add him to your prayer list. Also, pray for my SIL - she is exhausted.

God is mighty and powerful and is our Healer and Provider. I pray that He (God) will do what He does best and touch my brother with His mighty hand of healing!

Love,

Sherry