Reminiscing (2-29-12)

Today I work with one of my patients for only 4 hours. Interestingly enough, on this day exactly a year ago he got an important phone call from the doctor. I remember the smile on my patient's face when he hung up, the doctor had told him he was no longer considered terminally ill. You see, my patient had contracted a bacteria called MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) while he was in the hospital 3 months prior to this phone call. This bacteria is very good at avoiding antibiotics because it likes to live in artificial parts of the body where not much blood circulates. In my patient's case, the bacteria was living close to the hip replacement he had gotten, which is really close to his spine, thus qualifying him as a hospice patient (terminally ill).  For 4 months the infectious desease doctors were looking for an antibiotic that would kill the bug without messing up his kidneys. They tried 3 different antibiotics but the MRSA lived up to its name and was totally resistant to them. Finally they found an effective antibiotic that  was assisting his t cells to fight off the bacteria. Before finding this drug my patient was under the impression that he was going to die in about 6 months, but after the doctor's phone call of hope here we are, a year later and my patient is stronger than ever. No more MRSA :)