Living with MRSA Infection

In 2006 I found a boil on my labia and thought it was just that… a boil. Well as time went on it became 3 boils on top of each other and very painful. On 4/25/2006 I was running a fever and drove myself to the hospital. I did not go before because I did not have any health insurance. When I got there they informed me of two things. First was a diabetic big shock to me and second that I had staph infection. They tested me for mrsa and found that I was indeed infected with that and also that my blood was infected.

I was put in isolation and a week later released. I did have to have surgery to remove the infection from my Labia but after I got home I was on vancomyacim IV for 30 days. I have not had an incident since then. What I wanted to comment on is the cleanliness factor. I was and am a very clean person. I do not know where this came from except that being a diabetic makes you more succeptible to infection and colds and flues. I will never forget the pain associated with this and the way people treated me.

Those closest to me were nasty and treated me like a pariah and the people that were just friends were the best. Just goes to show you that in a time of need you never know who you can count on. To top it all off my husband had just died suddenly on 8/20/05 so I was under a lot of stress. If you have a loved one with this ailment be kind and don’t be afraid. They already feel bad enough. Deborah H.