This is a story about two women, both born before the outbreak of World War II, who are connected only through me but who shared a medical event that is downright scary, and can be life threatening,
The first woman I will call BM grew up on the East coast, became a professional woman and moved to California. Decades later she has returned to New England to live among family.
The second woman is a very private person who lives in New York City, and whom I will call JM. She had a fine career in the medical field, and is active in public life. She recently confided to me she had scheduled elective surgery to have a hip replaced later this year.
BM had an absolutely necessary hip replacement in California several weeks ago. The procedure, including a week in physical rehab went well. She was extremely pleased.
Shortly after BM got out of the hospital she developed an MRSA infection and was re-admitted to hospital. The Mayo Clinic website says, “Most MRSA infections occur in people who've been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers…MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints.”
In the hospital ICU, BM was given three injections of powerful drugs every day for seven days to fight the disease.
After discussing this with BM, I emailed JM and urged her to include MRSA infections in discussions with her doctor and his staff to be on the safe side. This is a summary of her reply:
“Your MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) caution brought me back to reality - and earth. I had so wanted to believe that this one procedure would make me perfect again that I chose to forget the horrible (surgical) past and my vow 'never, ever, to go for elective surgery for anything....unless blood is issuing from every bodily cavity!’ "
Well, dear Arch, JM continued, here is what I repressed to myself. I contracted “a very serious, life-threatening case of MRSA from a first hip surgery 3 years ago and I was in intensive care for 17 days while they shot me full of mega drugs, and after months of daily continued drug injections at home, I (obviously) survived - but was told that I would be 'forever immune' to the life-saving properties of those same mega drugs”
JM concluded in sadness: “God works in mysterious ways and so, minutes ago, I received a call notifying me of the funeral of (name deleted), an old friend, and former co-worker,” who died Wednesday from MRSA after having hip replacement surgery.
JM was going to the funeral.
Comment to: arch@archibald99.com
