Stories about Hospital Acquired Infections
My Hospital Infection Nightmare
I was admitted to a hospital in Colton, CA because I contracted an intra-spinal infection from a different doctor and I would not recover.
When I got a fever of 104 degrees, I had a terrible headache. I did not get any antibiotics for my headache. I was told that I had contracted the flu from a “flu-like” infection that I should be treated for. It took me two weeks to get a proper infection and start to take antibiotics. I was given antibiotics to treat the infection that had been caused by a surgical procedure at the same hospital. I called to complain about an infection that I had developed at the hospital but was advised to go to the infection control doctor’s office right away. I was told to go straight to my doctor because they would be very discreet and it would be very difficult for them to tell me about my condition and what had caused me to have it. I was told that I was a burden to them. My condition seemed to be an infection that needed to be treated. I went to the hospital and asked to stay a few days to have an MRI and be tested for infection. The staff said it had nothing to do with the hospital or the surgery and advised me to see a chiropractor. I had a fever of 104 and a terrible headache. I was told that it was probably an infection, but there was no mention of it.
My condition worsened so I went to the ER in Lake Arrowhead, CA. They diagnosed me with a herniated disc and said it was not serious and that I should go home. I thought I had a herniation in my disk, but the surgeon in Lake Arrowhead, who knew I had more severe problems, told me to go straight to the ER at a hospital in Colton, CA where they had the necessary equipment to diagnose it. I went to that hospital and was given antibiotics. I went into a hospital in Colton, CA and was warned by the doctor that I needed to go to the ER for an MRI and perhaps have surgery. My condition worsened and I became very weak.
My organ systems were shut down and I was looking like death. I was sent home with pain medications, and my doctors said that I would need to get an MRI. It was going to take a long time to get the MRI, but then they said they would notify me once the MRI is back. I complained to the hospital’s CEO that they had not treated patients properly and had not had proper antibiotics given to me for an infection. I was told that after a week at Colton Hospital, I should be admitted to an ER for an MRI to rule out a serious infection. I was advised to re-try my condition. I was a few days after being found with a five inch (1.8 cm) deep pus in my spinal cord. I was sent to the hospital’s in-patient hospital and put on antibiotics. I was given antibiotics to kill the bacteria that had infected me. My stay was extended to 2 weeks. I was diagnosed with Strep Group B infection, and was prescribed antibiotics for 3 months. My infections lasted 2 months and I had antibiotics given to me via a plastic catheter. I was told that I would need to be hospitalized for a long time to recover mentally and physically.
I was able to use a walker and a cane for about 3 months, but I still felt very terrible. I did not feel right and the injuries that I had been wounding did not heal. I started seeing a new doctor who was aware of the severeness of my condition and said yes to the treatment. He called my hospital after he saw me. I soon was ruled out as having a Staph Infection (MRSA) and was treated like other patients. I think I contracted the infection while I was hospitalized at the Colton Hospital.
Because of the constant infections, my life was in peril. My entire family has been affected by my hospitalizations, and I am extremely thankful that I was able to stay alive and care for myself.
MRSA to Handicapped, incontinent and can hardly walk
I was having severe pain in my back that stayed in the exact spot all night. I thought it was a kidney stone, so I went to the ER in the morning and it was discovered that I had a stent in my kidney. It was removed. I started to itch, so my doctor came out to do an ultrasound and an X-ray. There was also evidence that my kidneys were not working properly. But on the CT scan, there was no evidence of a kidney stone, but the doctor noticed a big bruise in my right kidney. He decided to order an MRI. I was fine. Until the doctor saw the large bruise on my kidney. MRI scan showed that I had a tumor in the right kidney which was cancerous. They said that I would need to have surgery to remove it. I agree. One week later, it was found that the stent had been inserted in my kidney. I went to see a urologist who decided to take me to NYC to have the tumor removed surgically and save the kidney. I had an abscess that got worse from being in a bad position on my cervical spine to the back of my head. They were concerned that they might damage my stent. So they ran a CT scan on me. It showed that there was a large cyst that was buried under the back of my head.
I had to go to a hospital in New York to have the surgery. They saved almost 90% of my kidneys. Then the next month, the tumor was very painful in my right kidney. They put a stent in it to keep the kidneys from bleeding. I was able to save 95 percent of my kidneys. I did not need any chemo or radiation. They put a stent in my kidney to keep it in place and to make it easier to take the urine out. They said I would have the stent out in 4 weeks when the swelling was healing. I did not have to stay in the hospital very long because they said that I would be discharged in 3 days. I could shower and go to work. I had no pain in my right side, but the pain in my left side was worse. They put sterilised strips around my neck and they said I would be discharged in 2 weeks. In just 4 weeks the stent in my kidney would be out. I would then go to my urologist and request that he remove the stent for me. I was told to stay home and rest. I went to my daughter’s house in CA to stay with her for a few days. I was allowed to stay there for a few days, but I had to go back to work. I went to see my daughter who lived in LA. She suggested that I go to the hospital in CA and have the stent placed on my kidney. It worked great. I went to work that day. I told her that I would go back to work the next day. She agreed.
In the meantime, my back pain got worse. It was almost like I was lying on my stomach and not on my stomach. When I finally got into CA, I started to feel sick. It was as if I had the flu. It took a week for the doctors in CA to do an MRI. I had a swollen shoulder and neck and the temperature was 102. I started to feel awful and could not even get out of bed. The doctors in New York said they would have it removed, but they did not. I started to get worse and could not get off the pillow. My wife got an ambulance and drove me to a hospital in Southern California. They ran tests on me and found that I had a small infection in my brain. It turned out that I had meningitis. It was a normal day. I did the CT scan, but it showed a cyst in my right kidney.
It was very painful. They took me to a hospital in California, and blood work revealed I had an infection. My right shoulder was getting worse, and so they did a CAT scan on me. It showed that there was a massive abscess inside my spine. They also told me to have an MRI done, but the doctors in New York were afraid that metal might be in my stent. They also had me put in an MRI machine, but they were worried that they would damage the stent in my kidney. It was painful to see the doctor from NYC and took two days for him to get to the doctors in CA as my condition deteriorated. I had a tumor in my kidney that was causing pain in my neck (C-3 to C-5). They were able to do an MRI on me which showed that I had a severe pustule on my neck. I had surgery for MRSA and osteomyelitis. It was impossible to delay doing surgery. I was rushed to the surgery room and they showed me that I could not use any of my limbs.
I was in such bad shape that they brought in another neurosurgeon. He did a total brain anaplasty, put a wire between my vertebrae, and fixed my back with 4 screws. They waited for 2 more weeks and never felt better. I had to stay in the ICU on a ventilator to be able to breath. Doctors said it was possible that the infection that was infecting me could be removed in 4 weeks.
I started to improve and eventually was off the ventilator for about 6 days. I had an infection in my left kidney and they had to put me on a ventilator to try to move some muscles. I went to rehab and had to start all over. I was paralyzed and spent 1 1/2 months in rehab. They tried to put me in an institution in New York that had a rehab facility near my house. Doctors said the infection was caused by a metal stent that was in my bladder when I had a heart attack. I began to work on walking again. Doctors called me a miracle. I have been without health insurance since November 2011 and have had 12 different doctors and 4 MRIs. I cannot even get physical therapy any more because the co-pays are too high. I need it at a minimum twice a week. I started walking again, but I have not stopped moving. I am always in pain. I started taking pills and exercising every day, but since I started taking medications I was told that I would just become a number. I have been very active and fit for many years. I was a very active woman and my spouse cares for me all the time.
Stories about Doctor Accountability
Michael Skolnik of Colorado
Michael Skolnik was born in 1979 and died in 2004. It was very hard for us to not be sad because our son, Michael, who gave us a lot of joy, was no longer here to serve us. Michael’s death has left a lasting scar that cannot be hidden beneath a smile. Michael died on September 4, 2001, while he was still able to do all that he did – even lift things. It was apparent that there was a small cyst in Michael’s brain; however, despite what the scan indicated, it was not symptomatic. I listened very carefully to what a neurosurgeon told me that it was necessary to put Michael in an ICU immediately for observation.
The neurosurgeon warned that it was wrong for the hospital to rush him to surgery. Michael was in ICU for nearly 16 months. Michael had to have surgery on his brain in two days. It took three hours and six days to operate on Michael. He was so dehydrated that he could not use his right hand. Neurosurgeons often do a lot of things to the brain, and they never even have to enter the brain to remove a cyst. Apparently, the cyst was large, and it was preventing blood from flowing to the brain. It took them three hours to find the cyst; they never discovered it. Michael had an operation that harmed his brain; it was as though he had been severely manipulated.
His hospitalization was for a single day. After that, he spent five months in the ICU, 22 months in another hospital and the last six months of his life at home, in our own “ICU.” Upon additional examination, it became clear that the neurosurgeon’s pressure to have Michael operated on immediately was unwarranged. It was then that Michael began to have serious brain surgeries, and in several months he suffered many brain injuries and many illnesses. He had problems with vision, hearing, speech, and even suffered severe seizures. He was totally dependent on himself and was totally disabled. Michael was unable to eat, talk or move anything because his hand was completely disabled. Michael used the only control he had to form a gun out of his fingers and hold it to his temple. He was no longer able to help us as an EMT or as a nursing student.
He was less developed than a child in his third grade class. Michael’s bills had already risen to a whopping 4.5 million dollars; his attorneys were just starting to collect the legal costs. Doctors testified that they had not operated on Michael in many years but that it was only the third time they had operated on him. … And it was the first time that we were able to verify his medical credentials. I felt I should do something for our family; our son was never going to come back, but maybe someone else will come back and take his life. We have been fighting for physician profile transparency and disclosure in Colorado since Michael died. We learned that other cases were awaiting trial, and that a number of complaints had been made to the Colorado Board of Health. At the time, no one knew this information. We worked to change the law so people would know the truth. We tried to get this information out to the public. We had no idea what these doctors did for money.
Governor Ritter signed into law the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act on the same day that he died. In my state of Colorado, it is now mandatory that all physicians be reported to the state board of medical examiners. Doctors have always been respected by our society; we trust them greatly.
The information presented on this site has been gathered through voluntary Hospital Quality surveys published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These surveys provide information about how well hospitals treat adult patients for certain conditions.