Infection

• by tcasavant
• 2019-03-11 12:10:22
• Complications
• 1413 views
• 2 comments

I recently went thru an awful experience and I am just putting this out there to hope that all with a pm or pm/defib or defib...will be more diligent than I was. I had a red spot develop on my chest to the left of my pm towards the bottom. It kinda hurt, I thought it was a spider bite, It never really went away, then started to bump up, go down, bump up. I went to my general physician, my cardiologist, my general physician, back to the cardiologist, then a 3rd time to the cardiologist and the PA told me its an infection, it has to come out, got sent for bloodwork, admitted to the hospital for 4 days, then sent home because they did not detect any infection in my bloodstream. Follow up appointment with the cardiologist the following Tuesday & he says it must be an adhesion (which is what all were telling me prior to the PA visit). I told him it really hurts, By this time the lump had gotten much bigger & started to head. I asked him what is this pops, what do I do. He says...if you get a fever or it starts leaking, go to the emergency room, otherwise come back in 3 months. I lasted a month, the pain was so bad, the lump was getting bigger, stil creating that head. Looked like a big boil. I have pictures of it. So I get in the office, the cardiologist says, let me see if we can lance that. Meanwhile the PA comes in & says, its infected, it has to come out, they should of done this last month when I had you admitted, the Cardiologist comes back in and says lancing is not an option, we have to take it out. So I meet with aThoracic Surgeon, I get admitted withing a few days...I am septic. Vegetation is growning in my heart. I have a temporary pm hanging out of my neck for 2 weeks so they can try and clear the infection (thats another story). Blood Cultures every day & blood tests, I am getting an intravenous flush 2x a day of this harsh antibiotic, I have this suction contraption over the spot where the lump was cut off my chest that gets repacked daily. I was in a LOT of pain, sick from the antibiotic, the drugs...I was bruised where my veins would blow. My PICC line had to be changed 4x, and a 5th time the line pulled down. I survived the hospital, the questionable few nurses and the infection, thank you Lord. I was sent home to change my own would which was gross/freaky as heck, I had to do my own infusions 2x a day. I was a complete mess. But I survived. Not happy with what I had to go thru, all the poking & prodding, the drugs. Only to get readmitted 2 more times because I developed Pericarditis & I still have it. It is painful & not pleasant when I have a reoccurrence. But I survived. Again, I am grateful. I survived.