Poetry NOOK : Hip Hip, Dismay by Bucketlist Share Your Story contest entry |
"Don't move", the voice said, "The ambulance will be here soon." My hip was broken by someone's thoughtless action of putting a towel on the ballerina bar in the gym. The towel was directly behind me, and as I moved backwards to make space for a lady, my hand slipped on the towel and off the bar. The head of my femur was snapped off as I hit the floor.
10 seconds, and 4 years of huge challenges, instantly changed my life. Parkinson's Disease was already a lodger, but I was doing fine keeping active. After the initial surgery, I was sent to rehab.... only to have my femur bone cracked by two therapists who did not follow the 90% rule (not to bend my hip more than 90%). They were pulling me off a chair which was too low. Back to surgery .... My hip was resectioned with a rod, screws, and wires. Then, it was off to rehab again.....only to have an infection begin. Back to surgery..... This time it was a lavage (cleansing inside the wound). I finally left the hospital after 6 weeks. Intense physical therapy, and nursing care at home, brought some progress. All was progressing until April of 2016. A mysterious boil appeared on the site of the incision. An angry looking red patch surrounded it. The surgeon's Physicians Assistant told me "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing much, it happens." Well, two years of recurrent infections finally brought me racing against time to live. Apparently, I have an MRSA infection which survives inside me actually ON the prosthesis. I've been in wound care continually. Now, the reason for my story. I have done research (a lot) and found out that there's a reason why antibiotics no longer work against the bacteria . Oh yes, the bacteria have mutated over time to resist being killed by antibiotics ( hence the name Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Auroreous), or our immune systems. Then, I found out the bacteria make a slimy protective coating so the antibiotic cannot penetrate to kill it. That coating is very smart against attack, allowing colonies to form and communicate. with each other. The doctors did not tell me that the Biofilm (the slime) was the reason why. Now I've been given the information I have to choose between the risks of surgery to have the hardware removed, or dying from sepsis as the bacteria overwhelm me, and I die. There are no guarantees that I'd be infection free, or able to walk again. I'd advise anyone to read about biofilms ahead of time, before any problem infection may happen. Biofilms are a part of normal physiology, but when bad bacteria invade through openings in skin etc, the biofilm causes long term non healing wounds, and multiple infections.
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