Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics
A minor-league pitcher in his younger days, Richard Armbruster kept playing baseball recreationally into his 70s, until his right hip started bothering him. Last February he went to a St. Louis hospital for what was to be a routine hip replacement.
By late March, Mr. Armbruster, then 78, was dead. After a series of postsurgical complications, the final blow was a bloodstream infection that sent him into shock and resisted treatment with antibiotics.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my dad would walk in for a hip replacement and be dead two months later,” said Amy Fix, one of his daughters.
Not until the day Mr. Armbruster died did a laboratory culture identify the organism that had infected him: Acinetobacter baumannii.
Full Story Here:
Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics
Acinetobacter baumannii. Iraq bacteria.
Some may call it coincidence, some may call it fate, maybe the hand of God was moving, I really don’t know what it was or why it happened, but my wife sent me the link to the above story and we were sitting here discussing events from August through November of last year when we nearly lost my daughter Lisa to acinetobacter baumannii. UNMC Researchers Note Growth Of Bacteria From Iraq.
We were talking about how sick she was, about how we nearly lost her and the baby, my little grandson. We were talking about how this story brought back the terrifying nightmare that is the killer known as acinetobacter baumannii, Iraq bacteria.
We were talking about how wonderful it was, the miracle we witnessed when Lisa had survived. The baby survived and is growing like a little weed. There’s a lot more here in regards to our plight with AB, H1N1 mutation found in some flu fatalities and there’s also this comment from Lisa after she was finally able to come home:
comment number 2 by: KrzyBeautiful
November 20th, 2009 at 5:10 PMI am Fred’s daughter. And indeed it was the scariest time in my life. I almost didn’t make it home to my husband and kids.
You see…I had to fight. They need me, and I need them. Keith is 5 and Carson is 3 months. And it is such a sobering thought to know that I am the only woman to survive in LA.
And I can’t begin to imagine the toll this all has taken on my husband, parents, brother, sisters, and family. I am just thankful for their faith and the wisdom of my doctors.
But people be wise, you never think it will happen to you! Its always someone in another state, town, or country. Its never your sister, daughter, grand daughter, mother, or wife….until it is!!
Lisa has been, to date, the only person in Louisiana to survive this killer. We were both, the wife and I, reminiscing and very thankful that my beautiful daughter and grandson had survived.
Then the phone rang.
It was my son. There’s nothing unusual about him calling in the evening, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, he’s a Sheriffs Deputy and he works extra security jobs to pick up a few bucks and it gives us a chance to talk when he’s not under the stress of patrol duties.
Anyway, he asks me what I’m doing and I told him, we were sitting here talking about Lisa and Iraq Bacteria and that I was writing this post for today. What he told me next sent this post off in a totally different direction and sent chills up my spine.
My daughter-in-laws niece is in the hospital in Sulphur, La. and she has everything wrong with her that my daughter Lisa suffered last year except, so far, she hasn’t shown full blown signs of AB.
Her name is Brooke, she’s 18 years old and was 2 months pregnant when she got sick. She’s lost her baby. Brooke has ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome, H1N1 and pneumonia, all the same things that nearly killed my daughter Lisa.
With Lisa, the AB didn’t show up, or more correctly, wasn’t diagnosed until she was flown out of the small town where she lives into Lafayette, La. to Lafayette General Hospital.
I don’t spook easily, never did, but last night I got spooked. This whole thing reads like a horror story from Stephen King. There’s one very big difference though, this is REAL!
Please offer up a prayer for Brooke, and a prayer that this monster that IS Iraq Bacteria can be stopped before it spreads even further into our medical system and kills even more of our loved ones!
And there’s one other thing I want to share with all of you, here is Lisa and Carson as they look today. God has been good to us!
That’s me and my littlest man. He is completely healthy. I’m pretty well my self although I am now considered an “IMMUNOCOMPROMISED” individual. This is nothing contagious but because my body and immune system went through so much, it will NEVER be the same.
I am so blessed to be alive. Please pray for Brooke. NO ONE deserves what I went through. It was absolute torture. Literally.
My prayers will be said for all of you. In times like these, the family needs a bit of God’s help too.
BTW, that is one beautiful boy there. He is going to grow up to be a heart-breaker.
You are a lucky man Fred to have Lisa and Carson. I know what a great relief it was for you when they came home healthy. I pray you daughter-in-laws niece will be ok and back at home soon.
Fred my best to your family and their health. In reading your post though, I think there is an issue that unless you work closely with the health care industry (which I do) you are not aware of it…pathogens are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics all the time. Look up MRSA-it was confined to hospitals, it is now a threat to the general population. The big issue is that health care facilities are caught like “deer in the headlights”. They are practicing sanitizing and disinfection techniques that are 20 or more years out of date and because of regulation, bureaucracy, call it what you want, they are either resistant or too risk-aversive to change to better and new technologies for keeping the hospital environment clean of dangerous pathogens. I can only hope this mentality changes soon…
Our prayers are with y’all.
TxHillCountry, thank you for your concern but if you think I am unaware, you didn’t READ the post and associated links…
God has been good to you & yours indeed Fred, lets hope HE does the same for Brooke. It’s too bad she lost her baby and I’ll say a prayer for both of them. H1N1 is bad enough lets hope and pray that AB don’t raise
the stakes.
Lisa, that is a fine looking little man you have there. After comparing him and Freds pictures here, ……..my opinion is,….he’s a lot better looking than Fred. LOL
Folks, this is Brooke. My daughter-in-law just sent me this picture, asking that I share it with my friends and readers.
Many prayers being sent your way. And may you be blessed with the peace that passes all understanding.
Thank you Chris… I DO appreciate that, more than you know!!
Fred, part of the problem is that people rush to the doctor every time they have a cold, sore throat, whatever, and they many times insist on getting “little Johnny” an antibiotic when little Johnny doesn’t need an antibiotic. Part of the problem we have is that we have abused the use of antibiotics.
They are for infections — not viruses. Antibiotics won’t do a darned thing for a virus. We abuse the antibiotics, out body builds up immunities to the different antibiotics, and then bam!
When we really need an antibiotic, they don’t work.
Also, I blame some doctors as well as the patients. They prescribe the most powerful antibiotic, a broadband antibiotic, which is always more expensive than a simple more targeted antibiotic, and cheap antibiotic.
Then when a patient gets some super infection, the super antibiotic won’t work.
It’s like a drug being advertised on TV now for rosacia — my hubby the Grouch said it costs over $100,00 per month for this prescribed medication — when a $4.00 antibiotic would do the same thing.
So, asking for prayers is WAY out of line I guess??
I don’t care about the abuses that people do, I KNOW all about them, and this wasn’t posted so folks can do their dissertations regarding healthcare and virus vs infections…
This was posted in hopes of getting LOTS of prayers for a very sick girl that REALLY needs them…
Have a cousins daughter with a bunch of tubes in her like the picture. She’s young also, only 30, has heart problems, had two heart attacks in the OR. She now has an infection in her circulatory system and is in danger of having her toes amputated. Hope the infection is not what you described. Will say some prayers for both.
minuteman26, As will I, and I know that MY family will as well..
Thanks to everyone who prayed. Miracles do happen. And as far as the health care gurus go, I pray this never NEVER attacks someone you love. It is completely devastating. And if you think asking for prayer is out of line….the doctors had to put a trach in my throat in order for me to breathe, I had 3 chest tubes from my lungs collapsing over and over. Dr.’s told my husband that I had a 2 % chance of ever seeing him or my children ever again. People all across this country prayed for me.
I didn’t get sick because I’ve taken antibiotics throughout my life. I got sick because there is a bacteria that lingers in hospitals, and there was NOTHING I could do about it. k
Fred, prayers are powerful stuff. You have mine and those of our Prayer chain up here in Ft, Collins, CO. You have a beautiful family.
You are truly blessed.
Brooke, you and your family are and will be in our thoughts and prayers!
We’ll be praying.
Will spread the word on this, and my prayers for Brooke.
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - ARDS Awareness Video
Fred, sorry it took so long for me to get on and post, but I’ve been away most of the day. My prayers will certainly go up for Brooke, your family, and for an effective treatment to be found.
You were most certainly blessed before, so we will claim the same blessing for Brooke.
Now Vigilante, I looked at that cute baby boy and immediately thought to myself… I can tell that’s Fred’s grandson!!!! Have you had your eyes checked lately? You know as we get older we have to stay on top of those things. LOL!!!! ROTFL!!!!
@KrzyBeautiful
Correction: Not just all over this nation but world-wide too. People who heard of your condition but never met you or your son (and probably never will) prayed for both of you.
Katie, exactly right, I meant to tell her that too and got busy.. Thank you!!
First, we have to acknowledge that Lisa and Carson and you, by extension, were blessed by pulling through. That was simply a wonderful thing. There are times where true, actual miracles do in fact occur.
Second, many prayers for Brooke. From myself and my wife. From my house to yours.
BZ
Hi I am TexasFred’s daughter-in-law April. I just wanted to take the time to say to all the TexasFred readers “thank you” from myself and my family for all your prayers and support! It is GREATLY appreciated in our time of need.
As you all know, Brooke is my niece, I had custody of her until she turned 18! Brooke is like my daughter. Fred said it best when he said he was spooked by the news. When I heard the diagnosis I lost my footing and feel to my knees. It was as if someone took the breath straight out of me. I felt as if I had just went back in time!!! Shocked to say the least, mortified, and scared out of my mind!!!!
I just pray that Brooke doesn’t have to endure what I saw Lisa go through. It will be rough road but one we are all too familiar with. Please continue to pray and thank you all again!!!
My thoughts and Prayers are with Brooke in hopes that she too will have a complete recovery. As we all found before….Prayers are mighty POWERFUL….and it seems that all of Fred’s friends have some pretty strong pull with the Man upstairs. Lisa and Carson are here today to prove that.
You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers, I hope that we read here soon that Brooke has come home soon. I am so sorry to here that she lost the baby.
Looks like my knees are going to be really sore again. Our prayers are flowing yet again, and our faith in prayer remains strong.
Lady Cop, may God comfort you as you endure this difficult time, Brooke has been added to my prayer chain and will stay there till we get news she is recovering!