Prisma Health

Today is day four of sitting bedside with my father. He’s stable. He’s going to be OK. But the truth is, had I not made the call to EMS and gotten him out of the rehab facility he was in, he may not still be with us. He fell and broke both his arm and ankle and needed rehab due to limited mobility. His arm surgery was major. Fifty-two stitches from shoulder to elbow. Because of that, proper wound care was critical. It wasn’t happening. While he was there, he developed an infection. When I visited Monday, his arm was bandaged, so I had no idea how bad it truly was. Then I learned he had a fever and wasn’t eating or drinking. I went back Tuesday. This time I asked to see the wound. What I saw is the gnarliest infection I’ve ever seen in my life. I took pictures. He told me they weren’t changing the bandages often enough, and some days they weren’t changing them at all. His bed linens and gown were dirty. I kept telling staff that with an open infection like that, he cannot be lying on dirty sheets. I took more pictures. That’s when I made the decision to call EMS and get him out of there and into the ER. Thankfully, the ER doctor acted immediately. Two IV antibiotics. A full round of tests. He’s having surgery today to reopen the arm, clean out the infection, and remove the hardware. In six weeks, he’ll need another surgery to reconstruct the bone, because the infection prevented proper healing. By some miracle, he wasn’t septic yet. If I showed you the deformity that infection caused to his arm, you’d lose your lunch. Moral of the story: Be an advocate for your loved ones. In hospitals. In nursing homes. In rehab facilities. Ask questions. Look closely. Speak up. Trust your gut. We are also filing a formal complaint with the state. I’m beyond grateful I listened to that inner voice. It might have saved my dad’s life.