Beginning of Severe Alzheimer's and MRSA?

[Poetic_Lass]

I haven't been posting here a lot lately. A lot has been going on. My grandmother has had Pneumonia off and on several times over the last year. Her new doctor thinks that she never got rid of it since she first got it, that it'd be treated minimally in the old hospital and nursing home she was in, and they'd they'd actually send her back before it was completely gone. Her old nursing home was very small, as was the hospital; I don't believe they tended to people as carefully as they should have. I also know there were a lot of residents there that had MRSA (I could tell by seeing residents with wounds that it was obvious). My grandmother was in the hospital a 4-6 weeks or so back(I'm not good with time frames, especially with her in and out so much and getting ill so much), she got out and was in the nursing home about 2 weeks, and now she's back in the hospital again. They've noticed by x-rays that she had Pneumonia throughout her lungs, but they noticed a certain area that they said was strange. They've tested again because her white count is so much higher than it should be. The doctor told us today that she has MRSA in her lungs and blood stream; apparently that was the area they saw in the lungs. A doctor has already told us to prepare because he thought she was entering Severe Alzheimer's, and he didn't seem to think (by how he went on about it) that she'd live much longer.

Has anyone else had a loved one that had Alzheimer's and MRSA? How did everything go? The doctors don't seem to know what we should expect. I thought I'd ask others here what experiences they've had/seen.

Anything would be appreciated.

 

[Helen33]

Hello Carolyn,

Like you I haven't been on the forum much recently. Today I read your thread about your grandmother and I am so sorry. I don't have any experience of anyone with MRSA and dementia but I know there is at least one forum member who does and I am sure she will be in touch if she feels she can help.

What I did experience was the devastating effects of infection on dementia. Even the slightest infection caused havoc with dementia. Alan sometimes lost all his abilities when a slight infection was about and it often took a very long time for him to regain these abilities and even then he never regained them 100%. There was always a little toll taken!!

I do hope that your grandmother is able to be pain free and comfortable and that you get all the support you need to cope with this next stage of your lives.

Love and a (HUG)

 

[Poetic_Lass]

Helen,

Thank you so much for the caring reply.

I guess no-one knows what will really happen. Her new doctor doesn't seem to have seen many cases of Alzheimer's patients with MRSA, but he has said that he thinks she should be put on hospice. They went the strong antibiotic route and it was for over a month; he said it was starting to turn toxic and possibly harming her organs, so he said she will not be put on them again and that if she gets even a cold on top of this, that she will likely not live. I keep hoping that's not what happens. Maybe I should toughen up like some people and just accept it, but I can't seem to accept it as if it were not big deal.

xx

 

[BeckyJan]

Not sure I can help but yes my husband did have MRSA whilst in the NH. It made little difference to his health or wellbeing. Care was taken with washing him and his clothes and it passed without difficulty.

My brother (in NH suffering with MS) suffered after a period in a general hospital. His NH dealt with it carefully and there were no serious after effects.

It seems we have been lucky but I think its thanks much cleanliness in the after care.

 

[TedHutchinson]

At some point we as a nation are going to have to accept that MRSA is in our food supply and we are going to have to learn to live with it and improve our NATURAL immune functions rather than rely on an endless supply of new antibiotics to stay ahead of pathogens ability to mulitpy and become resistant to whatever we throw at them.

It's much easier to blame the hospitals or the visitors or bad luck but we have brought this on ourselves by wanting industrially produced cheap meat. My point is that the infection could have come from someone who had been handling pork, eaten poorly cooked pork or pork products, or been near a pig or to farm worker, abattoir workers and veterinarians who are in contact with colonized livestock (could be chicken as easily)
Just because a vulnerable person in hospital/care home gets MRSA does not necessarily mean the care home/hospital were negligent.

 

[Poetic_Lass]

At some point we as a nation are going to have to accept that MRSA is in our food supply and we are going to have to learn to live with it and improve our NATURAL immune functions rather than rely on an endless supply of new antibiotics to stay ahead of pathogens ability to mulitpy and become resistant to whatever we throw at them.

It's much easier to blame the hospitals or the visitors or bad luck but we have brought this on ourselves by wanting industrially produced cheap meat. My point is that the infection could have come from someone who had been handling pork, eaten poorly cooked pork or pork products, or been near a pig or to farm worker, abattoir workers and veterinarians who are in contact with colonized livestock (could be chicken as easily)
Just because a vulnerable person in hospital/care home gets MRSA does not necessarily mean the care home/hospital were negligent.

Well, that is an interesting way to look at it and I would be the last person to deny that some meats and the processing, treatment and etc are not healthy. I've read several things myself; however, none to do with MRSA. I still can't help but believe that she did in fact get it there; that nursing home has far more residents with MRSA and I do believe neglect, either way. I have seen them tend to person after person and never saw hand washing, even though they claimed it when I was standing right there and knew it to be a lie. They also just left people ill and spread it around. Several times I went to see her and she was on the brink of death and we confronted them to have them laugh at us and say, 'Oh, she's fine', taking her to the doctor each time and having them say her oxygen was at a dangerous level, was dehydrated, not having accurate med levels and many more things.. We've also been told that she's gotten it in the last year or so when she was there and that had she have been watched and had things reported like they should have been, she probably would have a better chance of making it, as with now, the doctor doesn't seem to think she'll beat it because no-one treated it within getting it a year ago. So, yes, you may be absolutely right that it can have to do with food. I'm not a doctor, so as to treatment I would generally leave it to them. Though that doesn't change the fact of neglect and that she will likely not make it, so in that sense, I DO believe if she dies it'll be over them neclecting to care for her, report things to us or a doctor, or the fact of lying saying she was fine, because they couldn't be bothered to do their jobs.

Also, to be honest, I am really struggling here and losing someone that I care for, so shaking your finger at me because you believe it's food and not the workers that you've not seen seems a bit harsh. Maybe you've not intended it to be that way, so in that case, thank you for your attempt to help.