amazing recovery!

[Meredith lady]

Reading the post and the power of prayer and positive thoughts sent to WinnDixie makes me want to share a story with all of you. On Halloween night my son Ryan (21 year old senior at the University of New England in Biddeford Maine) was stricken with a "pain" in his side. His girlfriend took him to Southern Maine Medical in Biddeford. He was released with medication 5 hours later. The next day was no better and we took him to Maine Medical in Portland. After 20 hours they came up with alot of ideas as to what his diagnosis was and all of them were terrifying. On the advice of my physician we took Ryan to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. Ryan was there 15 days and had more procedures done than you can imagine. He was diagnosed with a MRSA staph infection in his lung, coupled with pnemonia and pleurisy. You cannot imagine the stress and pain in your heart to see your child so ill. Looking down the Thanksgiving table and seeing Ryan next to all his cousins was truly a blessing. ALL my friends and family (and even some forum friends) held on to good thoughts and kept Ryan in their prayers. SO, Winn Dixie, as you and your family go through this difficult time, know that the power of positive thinking and prayer does work. You will continue to be in my thoughts-get well and fight the good fight. Laura

[donnamatrix]

Hi ML: what a story. MRSA is terribly dangerous, especially internally. Ryan is lucky that DH determined what was going on. I've had pleurisy-ugy.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

ML
So glad to hear he is doing better. I can't imagine the torture you must have been going through.

[Argie's Wife]

I bet your time together this holiday will be extra special and sweet.

What an amazing story - you weren't kidding when you titled this thread ML.

Hugs to you! :)

[VitaBene]

Hi Laura- thank you for sharing your story. I am so happy to know that Ryan is doing well!

[Greene's Basin Girl]

Hi Laura- thank you for sharing your story. I am so happy to know that Ryan is doing well!

Laura,

So glad Ryan is better. No matter how old your children are they are still your children and you will always worry about them. I guess it teaches you not to sweat the small stuff ( although sometimes that is easier said than done).

[Lucy Goose]

So glad everything turned out okay and I'm sure you will enjoy the holidays this year for sure. I think we need to remember these thankful moments more often. We all get so caught up with the day to day humdrum.

[Coolbreeze]

Wow! How does a young person like your son contract MRSA especially in the lung?

[Meredith lady]

Dartmouth could only determine how Ryan did NOT get it (ingested or through an open wound), but could not say how he did get it. Just celebrated his 22nd birthday on New Years...what a celebration we had!

[Lucky1]

Reading the post and the power of prayer and positive thoughts sent to WinnDixie makes me want to share a story with all of you. On Halloween night my son Ryan (21 year old senior at the University of New England in Biddeford Maine) was stricken with a "pain" in his side. His girlfriend took him to Southern Maine Medical in Biddeford. He was released with medication 5 hours later. The next day was no better and we took him to Maine Medical in Portland. After 20 hours they came up with alot of ideas as to what his diagnosis was and all of them were terrifying. On the advice of my physician we took Ryan to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. Ryan was there 15 days and had more procedures done than you can imagine. He was diagnosed with a MRSA staph infection in his lung, coupled with pnemonia and pleurisy. You cannot imagine the stress and pain in your heart to see your child so ill. Looking down the Thanksgiving table and seeing Ryan next to all his cousins was truly a blessing. ALL my friends and family (and even some forum friends) held on to good thoughts and kept Ryan in their prayers. SO, Winn Dixie, as you and your family go through this difficult time, know that the power of positive thinking and prayer does work. You will continue to be in my thoughts-get well and fight the good fight. Laura

My 37 year old son in law, David, was alive and well. We had all been together in CA for Christmas. On Friday,January 15th David and my daughter went to the doctor. They were told that David had the flu. Saturday he had a fever and had muscle aches and was sick to his stomach. Sunday he had too much pain for this to be flu. They called back to the doctor and were told that they did not need to come in again since it was the flu. Still my daughter called the local fire department to see if there was a non emergency way to get him to a hospital and in the end it was decided that they would wait until Monday morning. By then he could not move and was on the floor. David was admitted to Stanford Medical where he was dignosed with a Staph infection after admission. After a very very bad night when he almost died, they took him to surgery for a mass that was in his heart valve that was producing the Staph. It was decided that he had a beating heart at that time and there was no guarantee that he would come out of the surgery with a beating heart so they did not try the surgery. On February 14th David suffered a stroke that left him almost brain dead and after two days on life support he was removed and declared dead on February 16th. This was a man who did ski patrol and flew planes and could take care of all of the four small daughters ages 1 to 6 together all by himself. Please, if you are sick, get yourself to a GOOD MEDICAL CENTER. IF HE HAD GONE TO STANFORD IN THE BEGINNING I THINK HE MIGHT BE ALIVE. This had been so horrible I cannot even describe it. Staph infections can kill if they get into a heart valve etc. This was not MRSA. There were antibiotics, but they were started too late. Time counts in these cases and it is better to be safe than sorry. I am on the east coast. I keep wishing and wishing that they had called me as I would have told them to get to a good hospital!!

[lawn psycho]

My 37 year old son in law, David, was alive and well. We had all been together in CA for Christmas. On Friday,January 15th David and my daughter went to the doctor. They were told that David had the flu. Saturday he had a fever and had muscle aches and was sick to his stomach. Sunday he had too much pain for this to be flu. They called back to the doctor and were told that they did not need to come in again since it was the flu. Still my daughter called the local fire department to see if there was a non emergency way to get him to a hospital and in the end it was decided that they would wait until Monday morning. By then he could not move and was on the floor. David was admitted to Stanford Medical where he was dignosed with a Staph infection after admission. After a very very bad night when he almost died, they took him to surgery for a mass that was in his heart valve that was producing the Staph. It was decided that he had a beating heart at that time and there was no guarantee that he would come out of the surgery with a beating heart so they did not try the surgery. On February 14th David suffered a stroke that left him almost brain dead and after two days on life support he was removed and declared dead on February 16th. This was a man who did ski patrol and flew planes and could take care of all of the four small daughters ages 1 to 6 together all by himself. Please, if you are sick, get yourself to a GOOD MEDICAL CENTER. IF HE HAD GONE TO STANFORD IN THE BEGINNING I THINK HE MIGHT BE ALIVE. This had been so horrible I cannot even describe it. Staph infections can kill if they get into a heart valve etc. This was not MRSA. There were antibiotics, but they were started too late. Time counts in these cases and it is better to be safe than sorry. I am on the east coast. I keep wishing and wishing that they had called me as I would have told them to get to a good hospital!!

Out of curiosity, had he gone to the dentist in the weeks prior to getting the vegetation (endocarditis) on his valve? Did he have any congenital valve defects suchs as mitral prolapse or bicuspid aortic valve? You may not have that level of detail but those are frequent items that predispose people to what your son-in-law encountered. The roughened valve surface makes a person more probe to lesions forming on the valve surfaces.

This is more common than people think.....

[ishoot308]

My 37 year old son in law, David, was alive and well. We had all been together in CA for Christmas. On Friday,January 15th David and my daughter went to the doctor. They were told that David had the flu. Saturday he had a fever and had muscle aches and was sick to his stomach. Sunday he had too much pain for this to be flu. They called back to the doctor and were told that they did not need to come in again since it was the flu. Still my daughter called the local fire department to see if there was a non emergency way to get him to a hospital and in the end it was decided that they would wait until Monday morning. By then he could not move and was on the floor. David was admitted to Stanford Medical where he was dignosed with a Staph infection after admission. After a very very bad night when he almost died, they took him to surgery for a mass that was in his heart valve that was producing the Staph. It was decided that he had a beating heart at that time and there was no guarantee that he would come out of the surgery with a beating heart so they did not try the surgery. On February 14th David suffered a stroke that left him almost brain dead and after two days on life support he was removed and declared dead on February 16th. This was a man who did ski patrol and flew planes and could take care of all of the four small daughters ages 1 to 6 together all by himself. Please, if you are sick, get yourself to a GOOD MEDICAL CENTER. IF HE HAD GONE TO STANFORD IN THE BEGINNING I THINK HE MIGHT BE ALIVE. This had been so horrible I cannot even describe it. Staph infections can kill if they get into a heart valve etc. This was not MRSA. There were antibiotics, but they were started too late. Time counts in these cases and it is better to be safe than sorry. I am on the east coast. I keep wishing and wishing that they had called me as I would have told them to get to a good hospital!!

Very sorry for your loss Lucky1. I'm sure your story was emotionally draining to tell, but maybe it will help someone else.

Dan

[Lucky1]

Out of curiosity, had he gone to the dentist in the weeks prior to getting the vegetation (endocarditis) on his valve? Did he have any congenital valve defects suchs as mitral prolapse or bicuspid aortic valve? You may not have that level of detail but those are frequent items that predispose people to what your son-in-law encountered. The roughened valve surface makes a person more probe to lesions forming on the valve surfaces.

This is more common than people think.....

David had been to the periodontist the week before! I do not know if he knew he had a heart valve problem but he did have one it appears. I myself have a mitral valve regurgitation and twenty years ago was told by a dentist that he would not treat me without an antibiotic as he had almost lost a patient from staph in the heart valve after dental treatment.
I told my internist that I wanted an antibiotic for dental work and he did not seem to think it was necessary. Fortunately I asked one of my other doctors and was able to get a prescription for Amoxicillin and take 4 (500 strength) one hour before dental work. I am told by some that this is out of favor now. I think this is being done to protect the antibiotic from being overused. However if you are one of the ones who die trying to keep the antibiotic from being overused, it is not good. I don't know what the answer is. I had avoided going to the dentist for a long time and was fearful of going after David died for sure. However I had an infected dead tooth that had to be removed and took the antibiotic and went TAKING 4 500 milligram strength AMOXICILLIN ONE HOUR BEFORE THE EXTRACTION. You are right. Many Staph infections happen as a result of a medical event. I believe if you have a heart valve problem you need to take an antibiotic for dental work for sure. I do not know if David knew he had the heart valve problem though. Maybe his death will help some others. I just don't know how my daughter is going to do. His sudden death has been really terrible. Nothing a mother can really do. Just hope for the best in the future. Hope this helps someone.

[SAMIAM]

That was a heart wrenching story,Lucky1 If anything positive can come from such a tragic event,it would be that you might have saved a life by sharing your story here.I have emailed it to my family members.Thanks....and our hearts go out to you and your family.

[Pepper]

My very deepest condolences to you and your daughter, and my thanks to you for sharing this story. I had no idea that dental work could result in such an infection, and have a new-found respect for the lengthy questionnaires we're required to complete prior to such procedures. I hope that your story will enlighten many more, and perhaps save many lives.

[lawn psycho]

David had been to the periodontist the week before! I do not know if he knew he had a heart valve problem but he did have one it appears. I myself have a mitral valve regurgitation and twenty years ago was told by a dentist that he would not treat me without an antibiotic as he had almost lost a patient from staph in the heart valve after dental treatment.
I told my internist that I wanted an antibiotic for dental work and he did not seem to think it was necessary. Fortunately I asked one of my other doctors and was able to get a prescription for Amoxicillin and take 4 (500 strength) one hour before dental work. I am told by some that this is out of favor now. I think this is being done to protect the antibiotic from being overused. However if you are one of the ones who die trying to keep the antibiotic from being overused, it is not good. I don't know what the answer is. I had avoided going to the dentist for a long time and was fearful of going after David died for sure. However I had an infected dead tooth that had to be removed and took the antibiotic and went TAKING 4 500 milligram strength AMOXICILLIN ONE HOUR BEFORE THE EXTRACTION. You are right. Many Staph infections happen as a result of a medical event. I believe if you have a heart valve problem you need to take an antibiotic for dental work for sure. I do not know if David knew he had the heart valve problem though. Maybe his death will help some others. I just don't know how my daughter is going to do. His sudden death has been really terrible. Nothing a mother can really do. Just hope for the best in the future. Hope this helps someone.

So you know, I worked in cardiac ultrasound at a major medical center before going back to being a straight-up engineer again (long story).

Regarding heart valve disease, I hope your "mitral regurgitation" (MR) diagnosis was based on an echocardiogram and not just auscultation (stethoscope). Many people are told they have a heart murmur but they really don't.

The reason antibiotic use is not encouraged anymore is the evidence doesn't support the practice but old habits are tough to overcome so many dentists still follow the practice.

If any healthcare provider is listening to you heart and you are talking, lawn mower is outside, etc then they can't effectively listen to your heart. I've got so many stories about this.....

Regarding major medical centers, a lot of time the get the benefit of having initial failed efforts at outside facilities that they look like they nail the diagnosis but in reality, they would likely have follwed the same initial course of treatment. A very small vegetation on a valve can EASILY be missed and unless blood work was done the infection won't get found. Sounds like his cardiac mass traveled and created even more damage with the stroke. Much harder to chase these kinds of things down, especially when people are otherwise healthy. My point is that Stanford may not have caught this initially either depending on how he presented. The sicker you get, the more tests that get done.

The take home from this is if you get sick in the weeks after going to the dentist, tell the physician doing your exam as that make diagnosis much easier to chase down as a possible cause.

[Pepper]

Thanks for that information, Lawn! Great info, great advice.

[Meredith lady]

Lucky-my sincere condolences to you and your family. Believe me, Ryan went from a healthy, active, rugby playing college senior to a scared, ill, lethargic kid in less than 2 days. Staph is a silent killer-MRSA or otherwise. Again...so sorry for your loss.

[Lucky1]

So you know, I worked in cardiac ultrasound at a major medical center before going back to being a straight-up engineer again (long story).

Regarding heart valve disease, I hope your "mitral regurgitation" (MR) diagnosis was based on an echocardiogram and not just auscultation (stethoscope). Many people are told they have a heart murmur but they really don't.

The reason antibiotic use is not encouraged anymore is the evidence doesn't support the practice but old habits are tough to overcome so many dentists still follow the practice.

If any healthcare provider is listening to you heart and you are talking, lawn mower is outside, etc then they can't effectively listen to your heart. I've got so many stories about this.....

Regarding major medical centers, a lot of time the get the benefit of having initial failed efforts at outside facilities that they look like they nail the diagnosis but in reality, they would likely have follwed the same initial course of treatment. A very small vegetation on a valve can EASILY be missed and unless blood work was done the infection won't get found. Sounds like his cardiac mass traveled and created even more damage with the stroke. Much harder to chase these kinds of things down, especially when people are otherwise healthy. My point is that Stanford may not have caught this initially either depending on how he presented. The sicker you get, the more tests that get done.

The take home from this is if you get sick in the weeks after going to the dentist, tell the physician doing your exam as that make diagnosis much easier to chase down as a possible cause.

Hi Again,

No question on my heart valve which has gone from mild to moderate over the years. Have had many ultrasounds (Mass General etc as recently as a year ago) and they want to do another for some reason.

David's Staph primary location (area that was producing the infection) was his heart valve. After he was admitted they discovered. Staph, toxic shock, sepsis etc. However, Stanford at first had him on dehydration for part of the first day so you are right that nailing these things can be hard. A friend who was on the staff at Stanford got him on antibiotics after seeing his name on a chart quite by chance.

David started to crash and was near death the night after admission? They worked and worked to keep him alive. A lot of damage was done. One doctor had wanted to go to surgery sometime soon after he was admitted and felt they might lose their window if they did not. They did not go to surgery until many days later. They did not do it either time. He might have died at the first surgery suggested time of course.

David was admitted Jan 18th and had the stroke February 14th as they could not get the primary site mass out, which was his heart valve. It was a hemorrhagic stroke that rendered him brain dead. Before that David got back his kidney function and his liver function etc and got off of the ventilator, was eating etc etc. He was lifted to a chair with the mechanical device as he did have damage and was physically, but not mentally, impaired. He had a fever all of the time as they could just not get rid of the infection in his heart valve and did not think he could survive the heart surgery (which I understand was correct when they did the autopsy). He had had too much damage from the heart valve infection.

I know that there is a change of thought by some on taking antibiotics for dental work if you have heart valve issues. However, I was pretty scared of dentists before David's death and know both doctors and nurses who do take an antibiotic for dental work when they have heart valve problems. There is a movement to use less antibiotics as so many infections are becoming resistent to antibiotics. That is the primary reason............NOT YOUR INDIVIDUAL HEALTH.

I don't know if they did blood work at the clinic where David went that Friday. I think if David and my daughter had a second chance they would have gone to Stanford that first Friday when he was sent home with the flu from the clinic and again asked to not come in on Sunday when they called back to the clinic again. On Monday morning they had to call 911 as David was on the floor and could not move well enough to get to the car. His mother and my daughter could not get him to the car to go to Stanford which is two towns away. Melissa and David both went to Stanford Business. I think it is the general thought that the delay in treatment was harmful, though they have accepted that it was what it was and are not blaming any one as far as I know.

Staph needs to be treated as quickly as possible. It can become deadly quite quickly. A friend's son recently had a Staph infection. He was admitted and sent home after IV treatment. He was readmitted. His father is a Boston cardiologist. He told my friend not to worry as the son did not have any heart problems. Since David's death I have known several who have had Staph infections. Don't wait seconds, much less days or weeks. Staph is becoming a huge killer. I agree that early work at less respected places can be helpful to the major institution making the diagnosis. I also believe that major medical centers have better records of saving lives all things considered. GO TO ONE IF YOU CAN. THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY HORROR STORIES OUT THERE. The four little ones were ages 1 to 6. It is just very very sad. I did not mean to hijack this thread and am happy to just have us all have a happy and healthy 2011!!! So no more on this as it is too depressing. :rolleye1:

[Waterbaby]

I'm so sorry to hear your story, what a horrible loss.

[Waterbaby]

Out of curiosity, had he gone to the dentist in the weeks prior to getting the vegetation (endocarditis) on his valve? Did he have any congenital valve defects suchs as mitral prolapse or bicuspid aortic valve? You may not have that level of detail but those are frequent items that predispose people to what your son-in-law encountered. The roughened valve surface makes a person more probe to lesions forming on the valve surfaces.

This is more common than people think.....

I have read so much about dental health affecting heart health, and your questions have reminded me of that. I always thought a lengthy period of poor dental health is what would affect the heart, but is it possible a dental problem (i.e. infection) could hurt a heart that quickly?

[lawn psycho]

I have read so much about dental health affecting heart health, and your questions have reminded me of that. I always thought a lengthy period of poor dental health is what would affect the heart, but is it possible a dental problem (i.e. infection) could hurt a heart that quickly?

There is a lot of data that shows poor dental health and cardiac disease are linked. Floss those teeth! :D

Your mouth is full of undersireable stuff. When you go to the dentist and they disturb the gums which are very vascular, it opens you up for things to enter the bloodstream. Add in the risk of poor sterile procedure by the hygenist or dentist and you're risk is worse.

So yes, right after going to the dentist an infection can spread quickly.

[Coolbreeze]

I personally thank all of you for the useful information. My heart is heavy hearing luckys story. I can't imagine the pain your family goes through everyday. However, kudos to you for having enough strength to share this experience with us. You have truely helped me in something I knew nothing about. I am a wiser person and know now to ask more questions.

[SIKSUKR]

I happened to have a dentist appointment this past Thursday and after reading these posts on heart issues I was very inquizative.I had a deep scaling/cleaning done which cleans below the gumline and produces a lot of blood.When I was finished I was given a persciption for Chlorhexidrine Gluconate rinse for killing bacteria.