Been off the grid for a while. C Diff warning. Please read.

Father-in-law was in the hospital since the middle of Aug, went into rehab in Sept and passed the beginning of October. It's so strange how these things happen. Man was raking in 90 degree heat and got dehydrated, put him in the hospital for dehydration and a UTI and while there contracted C Diff. All I can say is it is like MRSA in being highly antibiotic resistant and it runs rampant through hospitals. It took two rounds of antibiotics to stop it, but left him so weak he couldn't lift the cup of water or feed himself. We thought we were good when he finally went to rehab but the bacteria took it's toll and he went into stage 5 kidney failure in a matter of days nearing the end of his rehab. My warning to you is sometimes you don't know who has it until the symptoms are very pronounced, the Infectious Disease (ID) Dr said it was highly contagious to be careful what you touch in a hospital, such as hand rails, elevator buttons and door knobs, that Purell does not kill it you need to wash with good ol soap and hot water and for gods sake don't put your hands near your face, remove and wash your clothes as soon as you get home. This bacteria is very hard to kill, if the antibiotics don't work the last option is a stool pill, yes a pill with poop in it. The shocking thing is how some of the staff cleaned him up and put the dirty linen on the chairs and sofa, yes they are plastic but it just spreads the germs around, some staff were more careful than others. Then I found out the rehab center also has it's fair share of C Diff patients and the CNA's are far less careful then the ones in the hospital. It seemed as if the newer ones fresh out of school would be the ones to gown up and being careful with the soiled laundry but I came in one day and it was sitting on his electric wheel chair!!! The CNA was called away, so when he went to rehab the PT's were exposed and the patients after were also exposed and all the equipment he used probably had the bacteria on it. One of the things they did was feed him live culture yogurt with every meal and the Dr suggested that anytime you take an antibiotic you eat live culture yogurt with every meal and a probiotic pill. It can be compared to parvo in a dog and dysentery from the civil war, yes you can die from diarrhea and they don't give you anything to stop it to flush out the bacteria, so imagine 20+ days of diarrhea the consistency of water and being unable to stop it from coming out. The infectious disease Dr said it will overcome MRSA and Staf as the most highly contagious bacteria's in a hospital, it will kill the young and old and those in-between will wish they had died. I saw his misery first hand and witnessed people with small children just strolling into rooms with out gowns and gloves with the warning and gowns/gloves right on the door. As winter comes people will be entering the hospital with pneumonia and if you go visit, wash, wash, wash is what the ID Dr. told me.

So sorry to read about your loss. Hospitals are a hotbed of bad germs. Your advice about hand-washing and watching what surfaces you touch is extremely helpful. Also good to know that the hand sanitizers are not good defenses for such serious bacteria. I had a former teacher who went in for a hernia repair years ago, sometime in mid-October, and contracted MRSA. She had a long fight with that, and did pull through it after 6-8 weeks - which was tougher for her since she was diabetic and took longer to heal. I remember going to visit her in January after she had been finally transferred to rehab. It was a brand new building and she was the first patient to be in her room; by that time she was over the MRSA infection, but they were very good about keeping an eye on her just to be safe.

Wanted to bump this back up to the top as I found a previous co-worker lost a family member due to complications and this terrible bacteria. It's out there folks, make no mistake about it, she told me the Infectious Disease (ID) Dr she spoke to also said people are not paying enough attention to the signs on the hospital room doors and just walking right in, they think they won't get it if they don't touch the patient but its on the furnature, door knobs, tables etc. My co-worker also saw someone leave a room with the gown and gloves on and was touching the phone, rails that run down the walls and chairs in the waiting room before they were caught and someone went down and tried to wash everything they touched. Be very careful.

People need to be more aware when they are in hospitals and around sick people. Currently I'm working with a play that has a cast of about 75 adults and children, and I used to be worried about children being a source of germs. But I'm finding that adults are the ones who try to 'tough it out' when they are sick, and come to rehearsal. The children are more likely to be kept home by their parents :) Tonight when I mentioned to the director that I thought I was coming down with something, she immediately provided a vial of essential oil 'caplets' and had me take some right away (and gave me the rest of the vial). I actually feel better now, and will continue to take these until we are done with the production!

Bumping once more, my sister works in a hospital that is almost completely full, they are having to double up single rooms and flu season isn't even near it's the peak, lots of phenomena, bronchial issues, strokes and heart attacks (I guess from the stress of the holiday season but that is another post all together). Please wash your hands regulary not only for this one bacteria but for all the others floating around. Please take notice of the signs on the door asking you to gown up but more importanly remember most people don't. I have a friend who is considering bring back that 1950's fashion accessory staple, gloves, I told her as long as you don't just put them in your purse.

After reading my 12-21 post I wonder if it wasn't COVID already rearing its ugly head, she kept talking about how early this was happening, all the lung issues and how many seemed to be dying from treatable illnesses.

With all the safer cleaning practices C-Diff is still a huge concern, I am suprised, hospitals are supposed to be really locking in the new and improved practices and products.

Hospitals are filling up again, my friend lost her husband due to complications after surgery, it was one of those we do this all the time but there are risks. She had mentioned all the signs on the doors asking people to gown up and put on gloves but didn't know what it was all about. So be careful out there, wear your mask when you go out, wash, wash, wash because purell doesn't kill everything.