Home > Case Studies > My Mum Died of C Difficile: Case Study

My Mum Died of C Difficile: Case Study

By: Kathryn Senior PhD - Updated: 21 Feb 2021 | comments*Discuss
 
C Difficile Clostridium Difficile C Diff

Three months ago, 73-year old Louisa died after spending 7 weeks in hospital. Daughter Sandra tells of her plans to battle against the ignorance surrounding Clostridium difficile, the bacterium that took away her beloved mum.

“Just after mum had her 73rd birthday she was due to go into hospital to have a knee replacement but none of us were unduly worried about it. Mum had always been active and the arthritis in her knee had held her back – she was looking forward to gardening again,” explains Sandra.

The knee replacement surgery went well but two days later, Louisa complained of feeling hot and having a tight chest and cough. She was diagnosed with a mild chest infection and was given a broad-spectrum antibiotic for 7 days to clear it up. “The staff got her up each day and she was having physiotherapy to keep her mobile and seemed to be doing OK. We were getting ready for her to come and stay with us for a couple of weeks until she could manage on her own again,” remembers Sandra.

A Surprise Call

Sandra had seen her mother the previous afternoon and was concerned that she didn’t quite seem herself. Louisa had seemed distant and a little confused and had confided that she had made a mess of the bed that morning and had been cleaned up by the nurses. “She was very embarrassed but I tried to reassure her that antibiotics do sometimes cause a bit of diarrhoea. I was bothered all the same.”

Half and hour before she was due to set off to visit again the next afternoon, Sandra got a phone call asking her to come in urgently as her mother had ‘taken a turn for the worse’. Sandra drove straight there to find that Louisa had been moved to a separate room with a handwritten card on the door saying ‘Barrier Nursing’. “Mum was in a terrible state and was constantly passing watery diarrhoea. She had terrible stomach pains and couldn’t even keep sips of water down. I heard C diff mentioned, but nobody explained.”

Catalogue of Errors

Sandra’s relationship with the hospital staff then began to deteriorate almost as fast as her mother’s health. “They started to act like she wasn’t worth treating. They made me wear white overalls to sit with her but bundled all her dirty, soiled clothes into a supermarket carrier bag for me to take home and wash. So much for containing the infection!”

Louisa was then given more antibiotics and Imodium but was not put on a drip. She had a catheter fitted and it was obvious to Sandra that she was getting badly dehydrated. “The urine in the bag from the catheter looked like coca cola – but why did it take me to point this out to a ward of supposedly trained nurses?”

Intensive Care

Sandra was repeatedly fobbed off and became frantic about her mother, who was losing weight and kept drifting off into a coma. “Although the staff had talked about C diff as ‘ a possibility’ there were no test results for days and we were just left in the dark. Six long weeks after she had been admitted for her knee replacement, my poor mum was transferred to intensive care with kidney failure, heart failure and sepsis. The bacterium had burst her large bowel and she was due to be operated on to remove it.”

Louisa lived a further four days in intensive care, barely knowing where she was or that Sandra and her sister Helen were there. “I have never known such an awful time in my life. My mum who had always looked after us and had been lovely, slim and fit all her life looked like she was 100 years old. She didn’t know us and she couldn’t speak. Sometimes she did cry silently, which was unbearable. On day 4, at 2pm, the doctor talked to us about stopping all treatment and letting her die peacefully with dignity. I screamed at him and had to be restrained from actually hitting him. What dignity? What peace? When mum died 2 hours later she had experienced weeks of agony, indignity and had died the most awful way that I can imagine.”

To their horror, the same doctor signed the death certificate for Louisa, citing ‘old age’ as the cause of death. C diff was not mentioned. Sandra and her family are now engaged in a formal complaint against the hospital and are seeking compensation. “If we get the money, we intend to donate it to a fund to research C diff and in mum’s name. The disease is a big problem now in hospitals but turning a blind eye is not the way to deal with it.”

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My mum also passed away from c diff She died in 2011 at just 42 I'm still so angry about it, she had cancer and caught c diff at the hospital and later died at home with family and some nurses looking after her. But while she was at the hospital it was horrible she had said to one of the doctors that she didn't want to die and her reply was .. well we're all going to die! What kind of reply is that? I now work in health care and would never speak to anyone like that. I am sorry to hear everyones stories on here x
Carms - 21-Feb-21 @ 8:44 AM
My mom, who was 67 at her death passed away Jan 1 of this year from C diff she obtained twice at 2 different skilled nursing facilities within 3 months of each other.She was under the care of the same doctor at both facilities.I believe my mom's death was due to neglect.She was recovering from an amputation due to complications from a broken knee after Hurricane Irma.I have been told that I cannot sue but I have filed complaints with the FL Dept.of Health.I hope they will give it a serious inquiry.
Gina - 17-Jan-18 @ 11:24 AM
My mum of 87 yrs was taken to hospital with low stats and lack of oxygen and belly ache she was rushed into ressusatation room she was put on a drip of fluids and antibiotcs incase of infection she had 4 doctors around her.morphine was given for the pain her stats started to get better and she my mum was talking to me i was then asked to leave while they put a cafeter on her so i did when i returned my mother was unconsious and a doctor came and said your mum is dying of a stomach mas what even is in there is untreatable and i advice you to let her die and we will keep her comfortable i agreed as i thought they knew best.she was moved to her own room and a few hours later shw passed away.they then did a autopsy the coroner phoned me to say she had died from numornia and there was no mass in her stomach the guilt i feel is unbarable i let them stop treatment and i let her die thinking there was nothing that could be done only then to find had they treated her for pnumornia she may still be alive my mum dies 26th sep 2017 only last week i dont know what to do is there anything i can do about this as i think its neglect
Mazy - 6-Oct-17 @ 7:52 PM
My mom got it in a nursing home and slowly got worse. She is 87 and now back in the hospital,on a ventilator.Her C-diff diarrhea has stopped but she got a relapse with a core body temperature of 93 ,lethargic, with confusion,delirium and low blood pressure. She is currently in the ICU and the doctor said there is still a possibility she can fight off this insidious infection and pull through. However, at 87, age is not on her side, unfortunately. My mother is my best friend and i am praying she pulls through this nightmare.
bigboy - 19-Aug-17 @ 5:48 PM
My name is Tyesha n I will like to share my story on feb the 2 2016 I got a phone call that my mother was at Miami valley hospital and I need to come I ask what's wrong with my mother the lady replied and said we need you to come her fiancé got on the phone and said I'm sorry she is gone, I screamed so loud n said why, my mother was 54 years old she was healthily she was dealing with her stomach that been hurting her other than that she was just talking n walking find I'm lost for words I just want to know how my mother passed away, the hospital told me it was natural causes why my mom
Ty - 4-Oct-16 @ 4:48 AM
I am so sorry to hear you story, I have had the same after going in hospital to have lung cancer surgery and then catching . C-DIFF in a to hospital ,and then coming home looking like a walking skeleton . And being so upset and embarrassed after this thing blew up when I was at home in bed .My husband had to call my daughter at 1-30 in the morning to help him, they throw all my bedding away , because of the mess and the hospital told me after me begging for help that th runs I had would clear up. My G.P found out with a test that it was this terrible Fiction we need the old fashioned clean g back that the hospital used to have, I never drank or had any food all th time I was in hospital .we found out that it was owing to me having this terrible infection . I am home nowbut still not my old self and it's not the lung cancer its this C-DIFF
Chris - 11-Aug-16 @ 10:50 AM
I was in hospital in August last year I also caught C-Diff, I was in owing to me having lung cancer surgery , after the surgery I was not doing to good , and the doctor kept me in having intravenous drip of antibiotic , just three days later I started with diarrarea no one would help me, then one doctor wanted a specimin which I got for him and from this all I got was a nothing was in it so I got discharged after not eating or drinking for nearly two weeks.I went home still with the runs , has soon has I got home and went to bed 1.30am my husband had to call for help from my daughter the bed and my self were covered in mess and the hospital said it was nothing . The next day my daughter called our doctor who took a sample and sent me straight back in hospital under weight dehydrated , and unable to eat or drink. My doctor found out what I had C-DIFF. I looked like a walking skeleton, I was fighting lung cancer and now I had to fight this horrible thing, Thank god for my G.P he found out what it was but the hospital could not . Toe
Ginge - 11-Aug-16 @ 10:34 AM
My mother recently passed away from a total of 5 infections she had gotten from the rehab/nursing home in phoenix Arizona. one of the infections is C-Diff. I am thankful I read your comments because once I get the death certificate I will make sure it doesn't say natural causes. she was getting better then died after being told of C Diff and four other infections. she suffered in their care. all they said was well she lived her life.
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lorret - 5-Feb-16 @ 3:35 AM
Tomo - Your Question:
I commisserate with you.I have suffered the loss of my mum in australia which I believed was the result of the public health system.Although we had prviate health, the ambulance will take you to the nearest hospital. Which for us happened to be modbury hospital, public health.I watched my mum drown with peneumonis. They had her bed only a little way elevated and placed a cpap mask on her face. No aspiration or oxygen was given. It was like they had written her off because of her age.It is the most distressing thing to see your mum drowning, and struggling, her face going red and puffy, her fingers turning blue.I am still finding it hard four months later. We all know that we die eventually. You can only hope it will be a peaceful death. I had not slept for 10 weeks, as each time mum went into hospital for iron and then a colonoscopy she came home with a bed sore.My mum had diarrhea for months. She was seen by health professionals during this time.I do not know why they did nothing, or did not tell us what was wrong.I can only assume it was because she had already been written off by them 4 years prior, following a stroke which left her paralysed. I cared for her and rehabilitared her to a single stand transfer, on arriving home she was bedbound, ubable to even sit without support.I was told by the public health system that she was unrehabilitatable. In fact she coukd not respond at the tine, as she was so highly meditated by them.I witnessed a few elderly people being left after stroke. Apparently too bad to rehabilitate.I fomed the impressionthat they were deemed too old. 82 years is not that old.It has me worried for my future and old age.I am left broken.

Our Response:
It is never easy seeing someone close to you suffer in such a way. Only time can help you get over this. In the meantime, be kind on yourself, you have been through a massive emotional experience and you need to treat yourself gently. You may find some help and comfort from the NHS bereavement sitehere . I hope this helps.
TypesOfBacteria - 16-Sep-15 @ 10:45 AM
I commisserate with you. I have suffered the loss of my mum in australia which i believed wasthe result of the public health system. Although we had prviate health, the ambulance will take you to the nearest hospital.Which for us happened to be modbury hospital, public health. I watched my mum drown with peneumonis. They had her bed only a little way elevated and placed a cpap mask on her face.No aspiration or oxygen was given. It was like they had written her off because of her age. It is the most distressing thing to see your mum drowning, and struggling, her face going red and puffy, her fingers turning blue. I am still finding it hard four months later.We all know that we die eventually.You can only hope it will be a peaceful death.I had not slept for 10 weeks, as each time mum went into hospital for iron and then a colonoscopy she came home with a bed sore. My mum had diarrhea for months.She was seen by health professionals during this time. I do not know why they did nothing, or did not tell us what was wrong. I can only assume it was because she had already been written off by them 4 years prior, following a stroke which left her paralysed.I cared for her and rehabilitared her to a single stand transfer, on arriving home she was bedbound, ubable to even sit without support. I was told by the public health system that she was unrehabilitatable.In fact she coukd not respond at the tine, as she was so highly meditated by them. I witnessed a few elderly people being left after stroke.Apparently too bad to rehabilitate. I fomed the impressionthat they were deemed too old.82 years is not that old. It has me worried for my future and old age. I am left broken.
Tomo - 15-Sep-15 @ 7:45 AM
my mum ,or the last two years,has suffered with celitus and has been treated by the community nurses (changing dressings etc}.A few times they have taten swabs ,and a couple of times shes had an infection ,the nurses have been keepingan eye out for septis during these times A doctor (g.p) has only called about four times during this and touched her legs and prescribed them.Ithnk he could have done more as on the 30th of may she was taken to hospital where theyare doig their best to get her well again THANK YOU PILGRIM
bevvy - 7-Jun-15 @ 2:51 AM
@Sandra you have my deepest condolences. I share the same story Dad went in for knee replacement on Feb 2. Healthy 85 y/o no history of kidney disease or heart problems. Cleared for pre-op for procedure. Day 3 post op Feb 5 walked into his room he was confused taking gown off and BM was everywhere. Garbage can, sitting areas in room, and bedpans. Abdomen was distended; however he was tranfered to rehab section of hospital where he declined. Blood pressure decreased, Urine was tea colored, he continued to have abdominal distension, and developed a temp. A NG tube inserted to decompress abdomen. Doctors said he was dehydrated and this is what was causing acute kidney insufficiency. Then he was transferred back to hospital setting. IV fluids started. I questioned if he was possibly rejecting knee. Doctors ensured it was not that. His Blood pressure was so low that he was transferred to the medical intensive care unit. Chest x-ray showed pneumonia. He was started on Antibiotics, NG tube remained in place. Doctors ordered a KUB to see if he had a bowel obstruction or ileus. No obstruction or leus, which the initial treatment for a bowel obstruction or ileus is the placement of NG tube. By the next week we were told that they would need to do laproscopy to look at the bowel for obstruction. Even though KUB showed no obstruction. This was on a Friday. Doctors came out from surgery and said they did not find anything, but the instrument tore areas of the bowel which were sutured. Not less than 2 days later surgeons told us they need to go back end to make sure areas of the bowel torn were sutured correctly. Afterwards they told us the areas were sutured correctly, but washed out his bowels.He continued antibiotic while kidney function declined to the point of dialysis. Central line was placed for dialysis and then he got a fungal infection in the central line. By this time no nutrition was in place. More antibiotics added. He began to have diarrhea, come to find out they put him on Lactulose, Mirilax and colace. When asked why he is on all these diarrhea medications they said prophalactically to make sure he does not get ileus, even though KUB showed no ileus or bowel obstruction. He continued dialysis with little improvements. He was then transferred back to rehab section of hospital. I notice the patient next door to him had c-diff precautions on door. One day later we were called and told he has c-diff. He was transferred back to hospital section again. All the while he had been on antibiotics since Feb 5 and it was now the end of March. He steadily declined. Poor nutritional intake, poor kidney function with little urine output, he started refusing medications. Then that dreadful day April 3. Meeting with doctors. they stated they now see an area of the colon where c-diff had actual had mass destruction of the bowel and the only option was to remove colon. They stated it would be a huge surgery and the likely hood of survival is less than 50% because
Cocoa42 - 2-Jun-15 @ 2:44 AM
I have just been reading your evaluation on your mother & what you went threw. My husband past away 5 months ago tomorrow. He had just turned 52. He been in hospital but then caught c-diff. He rang me in saying that "l can come home, but l've caught some kind of a infection". I went to the hospital to pick him up & ask to know what it was & how the hell this happened. I asked for a doctor, which l then saw. He explained to me that my husband had c-diff, l was so angry, l told told him that people die of this, he shrugged his shoulders & made a comment " only old lady's die of c-diff" and he found it funny. I am so angry as doctors refused to treat him, l even had 1 doctor from intensive care tell me that he would not resuscitate my husband. I asked him to wait whilst l got family members so they could listern to what he said. He disappeared. I could go on. They mistreated my husband, bullied him, and my husband got so upset that l had to stay with him 24/7. We kept telling them that threw the c-diff my husband could not eat. He had not eated for 28 days. All they kept saying that he's refusing all the time. I told my sister-in-law about this & she wrote to the hospital. Only then did they do something about it. But things went from bad to worse. I could not do anything but my sister-in-law wrote to QCQ and till this day nothing ever happened. My husband died from neglect in so many different ways. I know we're you are coming from. I would call my husband everyday at 10am. This 1 day he would not answer, so l rang the nurses station. I ask what is wrong with my husband, and was told he was drowsy, now on that day l was shattered & l thought l would go to the late evening visiting, but something told me to go in early. I got there and found my husband not reacting at all. I asked the nurse what was going on & why l wasn't informed, she didn't think it was anything serious. Then l got a doctor in, she asked me what l thought was wrong with my husband. I asked her to wake him up as he is "only drowsy". She couldn't, then all hell broke loose, blood transfusion, katheter, nose feed. My husband was always under temperature. I told them over & over again. It was hyperthermia, they didn't do anything. They wanted me to sign a form that he would not be resuscitated. I had no other choice but to bring him home, and try get help from my doc. But sadly l have no idea what happened he passed away on the 30th October 2014 at 11.55. My husband should be alive but due to the lack of care, and everything else my husband died.
07 - 29-Mar-15 @ 8:36 PM
Hi Sandra so sorry for you and your family on the loss of your mum she sounded a lovely lady.My mum was admitted into southport hospital for a water infection and was kept waiting in a corridor for 9 hours before she was seen too ,she was then wheeled into a ward on a trolley were she was left ,in the end exhausted and upset she fell asleep with her head on the desk in the reception area. I couldn't believe the way my mum was treated at the age of 79yrs when all she has done all her life is love and care for her family, needless to say mum is now 80yrs old and is now suffering from a chest infection but is so adamant not to go in hospital again,we are all worried about her but we must respect her wishes it comes to something when people are frightened to go into hospital.God bless you, and I know the pain will never go away but I hope it has got a little easier.Lou- 14-january-15 @ 23.24
lou lou - 14-Jan-15 @ 11:25 PM
@Omega - I am presuming it was an NHS hospital you were treated in, if so, you can complain via the link here .
TypesOfBacteria - 19-Nov-14 @ 12:12 PM
I came out of hospital a few days a go,after having total Knee replacement. While I was there icontracted a pe and double pumnmonia . Can any one advise on how I go about complaining, I feel awful and after contacting. This hospital acquired pumnmonia ,I feel let down by doctors and nurses. Thank you
omega - 18-Nov-14 @ 3:32 PM
I am so sorry about your mother and what she went through, and for what you had to endure. My mother is just had a hysterectomy she is almost 71, cancer endometrium carcinoma. The doc took everything out, and after a high risk surgery her arm was swollen, the doc said, all good. Well, a male nurse took out the pic sent off to lab, and ultrasound, (blood clot with infection) shortly after she was quarantined for ERG? All her symptoms scream C diff. Long term hospital stay, low immune system, now on third antibiotic, acid blocking med for her stomach as she was throwing up blood. She is home now, and there is so much more to this, but the incompetence in the doctors, and the nurses, is beyond. Are they just dumb, or do they simply not care?
thumper - 9-Oct-14 @ 3:44 AM
Hi Sandra, I can almost tell the same story, my mom had a tumor behind her kidney and went into the hospital to have it burned, to shrink it.Within a week she died of c diff, prior to that she was in and out of hospital, receiving treatment for kidney failure, I believe she had the infection prior to going into the hospital to burn the tumor but was cleared for the surgery anyway.Till this day, I believe my mom was killed by incompotent doctors, I feel your pain, it was terrible to watch.Still think about it everyday wondering why I didn't do more for her.Heartbreaking.
jo - 16-Nov-12 @ 8:12 PM
Hi please can someone help?my dad aged 72 has recently had a heart bypass but 2 weeks after this has developed serious watery diarrhea which at the moment has lasted for 15 days with no sign of stopping. Also he has had no urine for 10 days, even though he is drinking lots . Cdiff has been mentioned but stool results keep coming back negative . Pleas help my dad is no longer my dad but now an old man with all his dignity gone, its so upsetting for all of us.
kimbo - 13-Sep-12 @ 9:07 PM
This is horrible. My mom was in the ER with weakness and uncontrollable diarhea. They admitted her and diagnosed with C-Diff, but we did not know that was the diagnosis. We were told she had an infection in the colon. They gave her a prescription and SENT HER HOME! She was messing her pants uncontrollably in the hospital the day they released her. Two days later we had to carry her into the ER. She had rapidly lost ability to walk and her stool was nonstop, it seemed. She was severely dehydrated and couldn't keep food down. They called upstairs for her records and that is when we found out she had the highly infectious C-Diff. We were SHOCKED she'd been sent home and so was the ER doctor. They admitted her again. It's been four days since she was admitted the second time. She's spent most of that time asleep with IV fluids. Today, we found out she is now in kidney failure and they moved her to ICU. I am so angry I want to scream. Had they been treating her during the time they sent her home to dehydrate, maybe she wouldn't be dying now. I worry about my dad, who spent those days at home cleaning up her bottom with no gloves and no clue that she was infectious. He is also 90 years old. When will hospital workers and doctors get a clue about this disease and do the right thing?
Lois Szy - 6-Sep-12 @ 1:44 AM
That's downright criminal medical negligence. They should have known immediately that the color of her urine alone indicated acute kidney failure. This is absolutely shocking. I was in hospital in ICU for a month with c-diff. At one point early on, a nurse crept into my room and whispered that I had "every right to call in an infectious disease team." I had no idea what she was talking about, especially because I had a high fever and was delusional. Of course, nurses are also not allowed to suggest any kind of potential diagnosis. It took more than two weeks of agony and near death before doctors admitted to c-diff and started intensive treatment. I was lucky to have a very assertive and oftentimes verbally aggressive husband. Months later I spoke to a friend of mine who is a doctor specializing in c-diff. I was unaware of his specialty and he was very concerned when he heard what happened. He inquired as to the progression and treatment of my infection and admitted that I was damn lucky to be alive. He even went as far to say my husband probably saved my life. Doctors are scared as hell of c-diff admits my friend the c-diff specialist. I wonder if they are pressured by hospitals and governing bodies to keep the statistics low concerning the number of confirmed c-diff cases. Since my bout with c-diff I have lingering issues regarding daily nausea, irritable bowel, severe headaches, severe body pain and disabling fatigue. I am very curious to see how survivors of severe c-diff may have been affected long term by perhaps altering autoimmune efficiency. I'm sure studies will be forthcoming once the world has become better acquainted with this superbug and thereby demands better education for physicians and the public, more accurate reporting of the number of actual cases and related deaths, as well as increased measures of early detection and prevention. I cannot tell you how many times I witnessed hospital workers breaking quarantine in my room. And most of these were the cafeteria workers delivering food to all the patients. This in itself is worthy of publicity! I wrote and phoned my local department of health and human services here in the States. They refused to acknowledge any interest in this quickly spreading, potentially fatal disease. I simply do not understand this lack of regard. I am terribly saddened and outraged by Sandra's story. I pray that this story will somehow garner increased public demand of the rights of patients to receive correct healthcare. The ignorance and utter lack of attention in Sandra's mum's case is, as I stated above, undeniable medical negligence. In the US there would be an immediate lawsuit. I'm not a big proponent of suing people just to get something out of an unfortunate situation. But this time I would have to reluctance to do so.
Mimi - 5-Aug-12 @ 6:36 PM
It's shocking that this is happening in this day and age. It's so scary that you can go into hospital with one issue and contract something deadly while you're there. Why aren't the doctors treating this properly? If it was diagnosed correctly in the first place then people wouldn't have to go through this!
scared - 31-May-12 @ 10:33 AM
I'm so sorry for your loss :( That is awful and really makes me angry. at the age of 20 I was admitted to hopsital with suspected apendicitus in 2006 on which they operated on. 3 days later I was not any better and emergency surgery was performed where they then discovered I had a perforated large bowel - which they then removed half of. I was in intensive care for a week and then just in a standard ward for a week after. The doctors there never once told me exactly what was wrong but had mentioned C.Diff - stating that I was a rare person who had this bug - they failed to tell me it was a hospital bound bug!! at the time it killed 8 times more people than MRSA. I was admitted two more times after my initial discharge with severe diarhea - C.Diff had come back/not been treated. I was only placed in isolation room on my own on the second two admissions! The previous ward I was on was full of oldery ladies and I dread to think that me sharing that ward could have potentially killed them! The only way I found out the true facts about Cdiff was because the doctors had forgotten me on their rounds one morning and I was watching the telly when it came on the news! I was furious and so scared!. In this time I had also contracted MRSA in my wound which had become infected! It truly was a nightmare. I did try to take things further as I was not convinced that it was something I already had before I went into hopsital. I think that the bug could have attacked after they orginally operated on my apendix. They said that it was the increased amount of antibiotics I'd had for a reaccuring water infection. If this is true then more tests should have been done to find the reason why I was getting so many water infections rather than just pumping me full of antibiotics (which kill off the good as well and could have meant Cdiff overruled) On all 3 admisions they never issued a difinite diagnose - funny how they managed to figure it out when they were at risk of getting in trouble!!! In the end it was too soul detroying reminding myself of the ordeal so I settled on having reconstructional surgery on my scar from the operation. I regret this decision massively! Please dont give up - they shouldnt be getting away with this!!! Also in the case of your mum - if they already had an idea that it was CDiff then imodium should never have been given!!! all that will do is block in the infection allowing it to do even more damage!!
Shelleyh04 - 31-May-12 @ 9:32 AM
Hi Sandra I can also relate to your sad story about your mum.Please accept my deepest sympathies also.The exact same situation has happened to my sweet 90 year old nanna, she was admitted into Flinders Private Hospital for a bowel prolapse operation and recovered nicely apart from a sore back afterwardsand was put on strong painkillers which caused her bowel to block up so she was taken to Daw Park Repat Hospital where she was given numerous courses of various antibiotics over a matter of 7 weeks for what appeared to be one thing after another.Firstly she got a bladder infection, that cleared then came back, then she developed pneumonia then was told she had a bowel infection which went away then came back.Not once were we informed of which antibiotics she would be given or asked if she wanted them nor were we informed of the side effects of any of them. The bowel infection we found out was c.difficile that she had picked up from the hospital as well as because she had been on antibiotics for far too long and not once given a probiotic to replace the good bacteria that the antibiotics kill off.After having severe stomach pain, vomiting and watery diarrheamy nan was moved to a room on her own for a few days as this infection she has is apparently highly contagious.We were basically told nothing other than it would take a few days to clear up.Two days later she was sent off to intensive care where she still is at the moment.Each day has been aweful.One minute her heart starts racing.Next minute the surgeon is called in to discuss emergency operation if her bowel tears.Next minute shes being rushed to have an xray.Then her stomach is bloated. Its aweful and very cruel to watch a grown woman go down like this after she walked into the hospital with her walking frame and now she is bedridden and on her death bed drifting in and out of consiousness not fully aware of whats going on around her and shes so weak and fragile weighing only 31kg. At the moment its a waiting game...the doctors are monitoring her closely and the xrays are so they can judge if her bowel is going to tear or not.If it does look as though it is about to, the surgeon will operate and remove her bowel altogether however if it tears she will lose her life as the toxins and waste matter and infection will surely spread throughout her frail body. I have been googling c.difficile and its a very nasty infection that is easily spread and highly contagious and the hospital staff do their best to keep the info about it to themselves.Its killing people every day and theres high risk of it coming back time and time again and theres only 2 antibiotics that can treat it and each time it comes back the antibiotics work less and less. I hope and pray my nan gets through this and recovers and returns back to the life she had before she had the bowel infection. I also feel for anybody else who has contracted this horrible c.difficile inf
Lee-Anne - 16-Apr-12 @ 5:48 AM
Hi sandra, I can relate to everything i've just read, your story is almost a carbon copy of my harrowing story, I lost my 73 year old mum on 25th february 2010, mum only went into lincoln county hospital for a pain killing injection in her back and never came out after catching c-diff, SOMETHING has to be done.
fio - 12-Oct-11 @ 3:44 PM
Sandra, Please accept my deepest sympathies for your mother and you and your family for enduring such corrupt, inept, and immoral treatment of your mother. How dare them cover it up and treat her with such complete disregard for her life.Just like the medical profession to throw a poison, disgard the risks, fail to tell of the risks, and cover up their misdeeds, and then go on self-righteously for more of the same.Your mom sounds lovely.I speak present tense, because her beautiful spirit lives on.I am so very sorry for your loss.I appreciate you turning her memory into awareness. I was prescribed clindamycin for a huge infection of jaw (no biopsy), they did not tell me of the risks at all. It accelerated the motor neuron damage and now has extended to complete peripheral neuropathy of all limbs.Colitis or IBS as well, when previously no problems at all. I also suspect kidney damage with bleeding and constant pain nearly a year. I don't want to go near doctors or hospitals. Wake up medical profession.Humble yourself to ask truly if you consider healing a divine responsibility. Take that responsibility.Egotistical, crude, excuse-ridden, and completely unethical standards. Hypocrates said, "First do no harm". Technology has advanced with testing plants at rapid rate.Your drugs are outmoded and proven harmful.Generally speaking, this is the case.Where is the healing from the medical profession?How dare the majority of you call yourself doctors and nurses.You are a dying breed. It will be good to see your profession completely exposed.You are going down fast.Globalization and science is making sure of it.And, the U.S. will not stand for pharmaceutical and government taking away our rights to eat and treat ourselves with food and herbs.The medical profession is absolutely pathetic.There are at least a dozen plants proven to outperform diabetes drugs, eight naturals that outperform steroids, Black Seed Oil/Thymoquinone which reverses M.S. by 50% and is 100% effective against Heroin withdrawal....so much more.The drug companies know it. Do you?If you are a medical professional, why are you not aware or why are you not doing the most you can for your patients without the harm?Because, you are not fit to be a healer.This woman's story is classic. It is not a rare occurance. The horror stories abound. The coverups continue.The lack of accountability and ego goes on.Do unto others as you'd have done to you.Accept for yourself the standard you spit on others.
annonymous - 9-May-11 @ 5:09 AM
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