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A friend of mine is on life support and could use all the prayers he can get.

The husband of a woman I've known for 40 years was admitted to a Plano hospital on March 9 to have a small, non-malignant mass in one of his lungs removed. It was a "minimally invasive" surgery, meaning they didn't have to open the chest at the sternum, but went in between ribs to perform the procedure.

All seemed to have gone well. At first.

Due to an error made when removing the drainage tube on March 11 in preparation for his planned release March 12, he developed something that was new to me: subcutaneous emphysema. A procedure was performed to reinsert a drainage tube and remove the excess air under the skin, which was causing significant breathing difficulty.

The subcutaneous emphysema was corrected, but he got worse. Feverish, even delusional.

Fast forward 12 days after his admission. He's now on a life support machine to do his breathing for him, being kept sedated, and is being pumped full of multiple antibiotics that I'd never heard of...for a hospital-acquired MRSA infection.

I had naively thought that MRSA, since the problem was diagnosed years ago, was less of a problem now in modern hospitals. Evidently not so...even though statements from the CDC say that proper hand washing and environment disinfection by healthcare workers is effective in controlling it. There are about 12,000 hospital deaths in the U.S. annually due to MRSA infection.

My friend could sure use your prayers that he doesn't become part of that statistic. We should know by Tuesday if the antibiotics are working.

Prayers sent.

Surgeries that were once complex are now routine. The new threat is hospital infections that are many times far worse than any procedure. MRSA is the lead complication from surgery these days.

Prayers for your friend that they may kick this and fully recover.

I will be praying for your friend.

Subcutaneous emphysema is not that uncommon. You'll see it frequently in vehicular trauma, gunshot, and stabbing cases. It kind of turns the skin into "bubble-wrap", and it is really creepy, but it is more a symptom of injury (usually collapsed lung due to an internal injury like a broken rib) than a cause of injury. If the patient can be stabilized as to the original injury, the subcutaneous emphysema will usually resolve itself over time.

It sounds like he picked up a wound infection from the insertion of the chest tube.

Prayer's that our Lord place His Healing Hands upon your friend's body that he may be healed. Amen.

Prayers sent

Prayers sent. I hope your friend recovers; blessings and miracles happen, I believe that. I've seen that.

MRSA is a tough bug. I worked in hospital microbiology for many years.
We used to only see it in the hospital, with other Staph aureus strains in the community much more susceptible to antibiotics.
Now, they all look the same...antibiotics are just marginally effective. Prevention is possible, but hospital workers must be very careful and diligent.

LabRat

Your friend has been in our prayers, but I couldn't get in to post.

Chas.

Prayers sent from here too.

That's a horrible situation to be in.

Praying for your friend.

Prayers sent Puma Guy I hope everything works out

I'll keep your friend in my thoughts and prayers.

Many, many thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Today, his carbon dioxide levels remained too high, his breathing rate too rapid and shallow. The doctors' decision was to put him on meds that effectively paralyzed him, shutting down his own breathing and allowing the ventilator to do all the work. His body, even though heavily sedated, was fighting the machine and working too hard.

We so need a positive turn in this battle. His wife, my close friend since 1975, is understandably barely keeping it together. Your continued prayers are deeply appreciated.

Prayers continue to a positive change in his condition.

Praying