Panic!

I have one sentence as to why I didn't post my Friday Poll, which should explain everything.

Mr. P was diagnosed with a MRSA(drug-resistant staph)infection.

After twenty four hours of panic and crying and thinking that my son might possibly wind up in the hospital, gravely ill, all is now well. All I could think of were the stories I had read about healthy oxen-like football players getting a scrape on their knee, and then less than a week later were dead, or the nine year old who cut himself on the sidewalk and again, less than a week later was dead.

There are two types of MRSA, the first and nastiest being HA-MRSA, which is "hospital acquired" MRSA. Often fatal, usually patients already in the hospital get it, usually through invasive tubing that becomes infected.

The second type is CA-MRSA, which is "community acquired" MRSA. Staph is a normal flora that lives on our skin, and it requires the right set of circumstances to get into your system and infect you. Somehow, that happened with the Munchkin.

Tuesday night he called me over to the bathtub. "Look Mommy! Bumps!" And indeed, over two dozen angry looking red bumps all over his legs and more on his forearms. Knowing that he has allergies, and it being 7:30 at night, I called the nurse and she thought it was a localized allergic reaction, possibly to grass or something. So, I gave him some Benadryl and didn't think much of it.

But Thursday morning rolled around and the bumps had not budged. They hadn't spread, but they hadn't gone away either. I had tried not to overreact and bring him into the doctor's on Wendesday.

But on Thursday when the doctor said the words "MRSA" I almost had a heart attack. I'm so NOT kidding. We were prescribed antibiotics and sent home, where I promptly freaked out. Especially after Googling it, because it seemed there were pretty much two ends of the MRSA spectrum: you would be fine, or you could possibly die. Not much middle ground. So as a mother, I immediately jump to the worst case scenario. Or maybe being a mother had nothing to do with it, and it's just a personal problem.

But I spend all of Thursday night cursing myself for not bringing him to the doctor's on Wednesday. I had nightmares of the bacteria coursing through his body and infecting his blood. I cried, I wailed, I practically did everything but bang my head against the wall. Again, those stories of people who had died from it, as well as knowing (thanks to the internet!) that the CDC put children in the "compromised immune system" category for MRSA, which also put Mr. P at higher risk, sent me into a complete mental tailspin. Which really, is unusual for me.

So, back he went on Friday to the doctor, because the bumps had changed in nature, but I wasn't taking any chances on the change being for the better. The doctor said that the alarming purple color meant they were healing, not that they were getting worse. Good to know. But the hell if I wasnt' going to get that checked out by the doctor. I told Hubba-hubba that I would take him every freaking day until they were gone if that is what I needed to do.

As of this morning, they are substantially subsided. The ones on his arms are almost gone, and the ones on his legs are looking much better.

I have never been more heartfelt in saying "Thank God."

Comments

Oh my goodness! I am sooooo glad he is doing better! Continued feel better prayers heading his way right now from Texas....and for you too...
Ted said…
That's some scary stuff! I'm glad things worked out, but with staph infections they spread fast, and because they sometimes look like bites (I thought the staph infection I had last year were spider bites at first), you just don't know. So, don't beat yourself up too much. You got Mr. P to the doctor, his body responded to the antibiotics, and he's going to make a full recovery. Yay for drugs! Boo for staph!
chichimama said…
How scary! So glad they are healing. Many, many virtual hugs.
Awesome Mom said…
How scary! I am glad that it turned out ok and the Mr. P is healing well.
Cherry said…
Ugh! How scary! I'm so glad the bumps are going away and the antibiotics are helping.

These are the times when the internets share a little too much information and don't aide in rest for the nerves.
Piece of Work said…
Gina. That is so scary. Oh. I almost couldn't read the rest of the post when I saw the beginning. I won't tell you the story of my friend whose daughter had MRSA at 10 months. I just won't. Thank the lord Mr. P is okay. And good for you for catching it.
xo
Heather Plett said…
Whew. Thank God. Sounds scary.
Suz Broughton said…
This is so scary. I am glad he is getting better. It is always a tough call as a mom as to how much concern to put into a new illness. You did the right thing. I would have done the same.
Anonymous said…
oh, gina! i'm so, so sorry! that is so scary. i'm so glad everything turned out all right.

big hugs!!
Liz said…
I'm so sorry you and Mr P had to go through that. I'm glad he is doing better.
dr sardonicus said…
Glad Mr. P. will be OK. I'll keep you guys in my thoughts just the same.

I can't talk about MRSA. It hits much too close to home.
dgm said…
Oh sister, I feel for you. This is one of those scenarios I dread. I'm glad Mr. P is old enough to tell you about his wounds instead of ignoring them, and that you were so on top of it. You can't kick yourself for not going in on Wednesday; just be thankful you got him there on time. And now you know what to be on the lookout for.

Hope your weekend brings you peace and relaxation.
Sunshine said…
Glad he's gonna be OK, what a relief!
Bammy said…
I am so happy for you.. and for us.. cause I loves me some Mr. P... that it all turned out ok.. Seriously.. you can't beat yourself up.. it was caught in time.. and you did well.. Many thanks to God...
J said…
You did great honey, so many of us would have just assumed it was an allergy, and waited longer. No worries. And thankfully, Mr. P is fine. WHEW.

It was pretty scary when Ted had his own version, though his was pretty painful as well.

They said my mom had MRSA on a swab of her nose, so when we were in the hospital with her, the doctors and nurses came in in gowns and gloves, so as to not spread it to someone else. It was scary.
Autumn's Mom said…
How crappy!! I'm so glad he's better. We're always the hardest on ourselves. :) you're a great mom and you've got the Big Guy watching over you, FO SHO!
Steph said…
Sorry for the late comment... how scary! I hope that Mr.P is all healed up and that you are all doing well!

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