Why now???
Find a Conversation
| Tue, 06-12-2007 - 2:22pm |
We're supposed to leave for our family vacation tomorrow. We're going to the Frio River, which is close to San Antonio, TX. Yesterday evening we noticed three sores on Lily that looked infected. She had MRSA (drug resistant staph infection) in April, so of course we were afraid she had it again. So this morning I called the Ped office to see what we should do. The nurse said that she was sure the doctor would want to see her. He looked at the spots and said that it looked like she had MRSA again. She has a sore on her arm, leg and chest. They started out looking like ant bites and then just hours later they were inflamed and one of them was filled with pus. I asked him why she keeps getting these sores and he said that he sees quite a few cases of it. I though maybe it had something to do with Lily's ectodermal dysplasia, but he said he has seen it lately in perfectly healthy patients without other skin issues. My dh works in a hospital, so I assumed that maybe he brought it home. But, the doctor said that it used to be strictly a hospital infection but now they see it quite frequently in the community environment. He also said that if a person has it they can keep getting infected sores for 6 months to a year! The first spot she had was back in January but topical bactroban antibiotic got rid of it. I don't know if that one was MRSA or not. I guess since it responded so well to topical antibiotics, it was probably a regular staph infection. Anyway, I can't believe that this is happening again right before vacation! Lily does not do well taking antibiotics and she has to take bactrim. MRSA is resistant to all but three medications and there are no shots available to treat it. You either have to take a certain oral antibiotic or be admitted to the hospital for an IV one. Also, we have to put warm compresses on the sores three times a day and make sure that she gets as little contact with the river water as possible. We have some water proof bandages and thankfully Lily is not too excited about playing in the water anyway. Her tube has a bottom to it, so at least she won't be in the water while we're tubing. To top it all off, the antibiotic can cause a person to break out in a rash if they're exposed to too much sun. At least she likes wearing hats and doesn't mind sunscreen. The ped told us to watch her sores like a hawk and if she gets a fever or they look worse we have to take her to the nearest hospital. If MRSA gets worse then the sores have to be surgically drained. The last sore she had responded well to the antibiotics and compresses, so we're hoping that these will too. What really stinks about it is that we have THREE sores to worry about this time instead of one. I just feel so bad for her. It seems like this kind of stuff is always happening to her. Not that I would wish it on anyone else in our family, but it seems like she's had more than her fair share of bad luck medically speaking. Sorry about this pity party of mine, but I just am so frustrated that instead of enjoying vacation, Lily will have to take antibiotics and sit around three times a day with warm compresses on her. Oh well, I guess we have no choice but to make the best of it. Wish us luck!
Amy~Natalie & Lily's mom
