Mitzigirl

Viv's Journey with MRSA and not winning it!!

This is quite a long story and I hope it does not bore you but I feel at this time in my life I need to tell it all before I am not here any longer to get the word out..and all the torment I have lived in with this and from this..I want all to know how serious this is and should not be taken lightly as many people think it should.

This all began with me on May 29th 1997..I was 36 yrs old and my life has been ruined because of it..I was at work at the Tannery where I worded on a machine that cut baseball covers..That day it had rained and the day crew had put cardboard down under the machine to help absorb the water that came through the floor..By our dinner break that night I knew it had to come up because conver belt was hanging up,and not cutting covers properly..I got under the machine cleaned it all out and drug all the wet cardboard to the dumpster and went to wash up..On the back side of my left wrist was a small red spot that burned a little when washing..I told the girl who worked with me that thought something had bite or stung me...We worked to 2am that morning and by the time we were ready to leave for home the spot had grown as big around as a nickel and was up raised and red and swollen. I left a note and told the supervisor something bite or stung me..Never was really all that concerned and then the next morning when I got up it was twice the size it was and by the time I got to work I was sick with throwing up and having diarrhea. Thought I had a virus..Showed them the place and went on to work. No one thought it was that bad not even me..That night sickness grew worse and I started to run a temp. I left work in 8 hours..Arm looked about the same but I was really sick. By the next moring when I got up I knew it was no doubt it was the arm and what ever bite my that was causing the illness. It had opened up and was black with a hole in he center and a red streak up to my elbow..The actual bite place had increased in size app. 3-4 times bigger than it was on Wed. and that was Friday. That day was sent to the first of many doctors..Of course he was the company doctor.

When I got there he was gone and his nurse practioner saw me and the other office doctor and said it was a brown recluse bite. They gave me antibiotics to take by mouth said it should take care of it..First mistake was not listening to me when I told them I was throwing up..So how was the meds going to stay in to do any good and told me they would see me on Monday..That weekend was a nightmare the first of many nightmares..By Monday the place was as big around as a half dollar solid black and eating deeper into my flesh..It was horrible. The company doctor was in and gave me IV antibiotics while there in his office said I should be fine in a few days..I went back to work and worked that way with it draining and growing and me sick for almost two weeks until he decided I needed to go to the hospital and be admitted and bombarded me with vancomycin and steroids and after five days released to come home and told that I had to be off work because hole was so big and open and it was to dirty at work..By then I wasnt able to work anyhow but sure wanted to..I was put on workers compensation which was a nightmare in itself.

After treating me for 8 months and several different meds and many doctors later he called me in one afternoon to tell me he would no longer be treating me..I thought he was sending me to another specailist but no I was told I was doing self mutilation and needed a shrink..That was the start of many different doctors and many different meds.