Endocarditis

[Purdue]

Good thoughts that your outcome is positive. Had endo after 1st surgery but blood cultures kept coming back negative. Hospital kept cultures for 6 days, versus 3, and positive results for some one in a million odd strain of bacteria. By time it was caught, was already 104F (40C) temp and rigors. Home on IV picc line but it didn't work. 2nd surgery 4 months after the 1st. Stay vigilant on being your own advocate. @Val summary was spot on. Remember the weekly visiting Nurse telling us to not lose or waste the red caps that go on the end of the pic like after each use, she couldn't give us extra. Apparently...people inject alcohol in their line necessitating more red caps than normal. Sober to drunk in 2 sec sounds horrible. Oh...and don't try to replace the clear large bandage that the Nurse does weekly; I tried it and the picc line started backing out of my arm. My wife was not happy.

 

[Gail in Ca]

My hospital also kept culture going so they could see when I returned a few days after discharge the culture had gone from negative to positive.
They might give you a plastic picc line cover for taking showers, if not you can buy one. It just slips on tight and voila, you can bathe without getting it wet.
All these things we know we wish we didn’t know!!

 

[pellicle]

All these things we know we wish we didn’t know!!

I fully understand this sentiment ... yet somehow I value and accept all those things as being what made me me. Happy days have no context to amplify how happy they were, how valuable they were without the dark and difficult days.