Super-Bugged
I went in for minor surgery and came out with a vicious infection. A story about contaminated hospitals, dirty doctors and the bacteria that are killing 8,000 Canadians a year By Stéphanie Verge
Image credit: Kathryn Parker Almanas
HOSPITALS TERRIFY ME. SO AT 30 YEARS old, I considered myself lucky that I’d never had to stay in one. I’d never broken a bone, still had my appendix, my tonsils were present and accounted for.
My luck ran out last year. I needed to undergo a minor gynecological procedure—in and out the same day—and was booked into Sunnybrook for January 9. In a last-ditch effort to avoid surgery, I’d called the hospital and asked if the operation should be postponed because I’d had a cold over Christmas. I didn’t want to risk infecting some poor creature with a compromised immune system. “You know, a sick person,” I practically whispered through the receiver to the nurse on the other end of the line. I was assured there was no cause for concern.
I had kept the number of people who knew about my operation to a minimum: the necessary co-workers, a few friends and my two sisters. I didn’t tell my parents, because I knew they’d worry and insist on being involved. As simple as the surgery was, I was anxious enough. I took only ID, keys, my cellphone and cab fare to get home. When I stepped off the bus in front of the hospital, I was filled with a low-grade panic.
The operating room was frigid. When I made a comment about the temperature, someone explained that it was to keep the staff cool under the bright lights. I was covered with a thin blanket, which in my apprehensive state felt more like 100 pounds of lead. The last thing I can remember is a mask being placed over my face and my mild disappointment that no one asked me to count back from 10, like they do on TV. An hour or so later, I came to in a recovery room and for one disjointed moment had no idea where I was or what I was doing there, until a searing pain bloomed in my crotch and spread through me, as if to serve up a reminder.
I spotted my surgeon—a dour 60-something man with a gentle touch—heading my way. He said the operation was a success and handed me a sheet of paper outlining outpatient procedures. I couldn’t have sex (without a doubt, the furthest thing from my mind), would need to take frequent sitz baths and could dull the pain with Tylenol 3s.
What he didn’t know was that my minor procedure would soon become a major nightmare. At some point during my brief stay, I contracted a superbug. I was one of the estimated 250,000 people a year in Canada who leave the hospital with a new infection—acquired, more often than not, because of unsanitary conditions. Patients check in to hospitals making a silent pact with those who work there that they will leave healthier than when they arrived. Showing up for a routine surgery and exiting with a potentially deadly infection is not part of the agreement.
AT FIRST MY RECOVERY SEEMED normal, if a little unpleasant. My ex-girlfriend Christina had agreed to play Florence Nightingale. What was supposed to be 12 hours on her pullout couch turned into 48, then 60, as the after-effects of the surgery and the anaesthetic worked themselves out. There was vertigo, nausea, memory lapses, sharp pain upon urination, and what felt to me like litres of blood loss. My surgeon had said there would be a five- to six-week healing period, and I was scheduled for a follow-up appointment on Valentine’s Day, but by the third week in January, I knew something was wrong: walking had become an exercise in gingerness, and a network of small boils had surfaced in and around my groin.
After some prodding from Christina, I called my surgeon to move up the appointment. He agreed to see me, and after briefly inspecting the boils, he told me I had a minor infection unrelated to the procedure. When I mentioned that I had never before experienced anything even remotely similar, he said the infection wasn’t uncommon and that I could have picked up the bacteria anywhere. He handed me a prescription for the antibiotic Clindamycin and sent me home.
At night, I’d sweat through my sheets. When I was awake, I’d concentrate on wishing the skin abscesses away. After a few days, they expanded and burst, which offered almost immediate relief from the pain but left weeping sores. I figured the antibiotics had worked. A couple of weeks later, a small red mark appeared on my right thigh, then another a couple of inches below my left hip bone. This second round of boils was wilier: rather than building up over six or seven days, they became agonizing in less than 72 hours. I made an appointment with my GP at her office in a midtown family clinic. She examined them and explained that she was also unsure of the cause but guessed that it might be related to the operation. She swabbed the smaller spot, now a dime-sized area with a deep, almost black hole at its centre, shipped the sample off to a lab, put me on a different course of antibiotics and booked a follow-up.
28 Comments
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This is a VERY scary thing that takes place in hospitals. For one thing, a lot of the people who spend time in hospitals are those who have health issues in the first place. For people like that to catch a vicious bug from the hospital itself can even be life threatening. Some of the worst infections you can get are the kind that you "catch" from the hospital. That's really bad in our day and age.
March 5, 2009 | by AngelaE8654This is the most scary blog i've ever see.. many people spend their time in ospitals like nurses and doctors, and they not even feel scare, and i knwo if they read this they will be scare.. Thanks for sharing this story..
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You know, I never thought much of this until it happened to someone close to me. They went in for some minor surgery and it turned into a life threatening situation. It turned out ok, but it was unnecessarily scary!
May 20, 2011 | by Kindallhttp://xtremenomusclebuilders.com/
This is undeniably scary. For one thing, a lot of the people who spend time in hospitals are those who have health issues in the first place. I am very fearful for this.
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July 26, 2011 | by showtime123First of all I want to say we need to be aware that our is our own responsibility. Doctors, hospitals and medical drugs can be helpful, but on the other hand can be very harmful and cause death along with MRSA, VRSA. Where do the superbugs come from? The over use of antibiotics. Yes those little critters find away to mutate into a form that is immune to antibiotics. You may say I haven't taken any antibiotics, well you eat meat and 70% of the antibiotics are used on the meat we consume here in the west. There is information you will never hear from the doc's because all they are trained in is drug intervention. Oil of oregano has been proven to kill MRSA on contact. Cure In The Cupboard by Dr. Cass Ingram.
July 31, 2011 | by gboykinGboykin
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Hi again, I would like to comment on the part of the post on C-diff. C-diff is brought on by a compromised immune system especially in hospitals. Antibiotics kill the immune system. A short story here. A chiropractor friend of mine save his grandmother who was hospitalized and contracted C-diff. She was placed in a room with two other ladies ( older ladies all ), who also had C-diff, my doctor friend would sneak probiotics in to his grandmother, she's the only one who survived. Gboykin.
July 31, 2011 | by gboykinhttp://crohns-helpnow.com
Correction for first comment by Gboykin. "our health is our own responsibility"
July 31, 2011 | by gboykinWow, this is crazy. I'm sorry to hear of such adversity. I have heard of such stories where someone enters a hospital for a normal, "routine", surgery and they get an infection and sometimes pass away.
But to read about a real story really hits home. Thanks for increasing awareness. I can't believe that to this day, only half of hospital workers wash their hands. Causing even
more issues for patients. It really makes you stop and think about the procedures that are followed (and not followed!) in hospitals and how simple some improvements could be.
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August 5, 2011 | by joelawonlineInteresting:
December 13, 2011 | by Wurzelhttp://kredytonline.org.pl
The danger of superbugs is a growing and deadly problem. Hospitals are now propagating grounds for the antibiotic resistant germs.
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December 19, 2011 | by angelparkerSuperbugs is a huge problem in my area and I hope the hospitals can handle the situation. Citizens should feel safe and count on hospitals to do their job effectively.
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January 3, 2012 | by hotboy18Hi, this is really horrible story but it’s a fact. No one can remain without any disease, and hospitalization and take any median is an option for us because there is not any other option. But we can also take an insurance policy so we easily our loss.
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January 11, 2012 | by craigalan112That's really super bugged & must be bugged :)
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I think that hospital play such a decent role in our life & appreciated for sharing ! http://www.african-mangoo.com
January 13, 2012 | by victormartinwow A letter was really scary. I need to pay attention to what we were going to
January 14, 2012 | by puckanhttp://www.testindir.com
Great article, but still very scary.We all think of hospitals as very safe place but unfortunately that's not the case all the time. Thanks for sharing this
January 15, 2012 | by howardwizehttp://www.stuffforfreedaily.com
This is new information for me. Thanks for your share.
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Actually I hate surgery because at the end you have to bear pain. http://www.provilluswarning.info
January 27, 2012 | by harrymike1Pretty decent blog post on super bug which is appreciated !
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This is undeniably scary. For one thing, a lot of the people who spend time in hospitals are those who have health issues in the first place. I am very fearful for this.
February 21, 2012 | by jamykhttp://provillus4u.org
I completely agree with you because I have also seen some of my friends and relatives contracting one or another infection on their visits to hospitals. It is very scary but I do not know how to get around it. I keep away from hospitals and I also try and avoid visits to friends and relatives in hospitals.
February 23, 2012 | by robindeI completely agree with you because I have also seen some of my friends and relatives contracting one or another infection on their visits to hospitals. It is very scary but I do not know how to get around it. I keep away from hospitals and I also try and avoid visits to friends and relatives in hospitals.
February 23, 2012 | by robindehttp://wartrolreviewssite.info/genital-w...
wow that is sooo offputting. And i have to go in next week. not good!
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March 11, 2012 | by pickworldsucksNow days, everyone is greedy, no one want to do work only needs lot of money for enjoying even doctors also taking black money for surgery etc. By this scenario, staff members of the Hospital are also become lazy in their work . They do not take care of any issues like hygiene or cleaning of floors, rooms of the hospital etc. If the doctors give their time to manage all these staff responsibilities then only it is possible that we have good hygiene over there.
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March 30, 2012 | by sunny29