I work in an institution for traumatic brain injury residents. Many of them have had outbreaks of MRSA. Three years ago my (then) 12 year old daughter had a horrible bout/hospitalized with abscess' in her armpit. It then reoccurred a couple months later. Thank the good lord, she is fine now. However, a week ago I noticed a pretty bad "pimple" on my left buttock. I couldn't get to it and asked my husband to squeeze it, it hurt really badly. The next morning I woke to my whole cheek shiny red, in severe pain and felt a softball size lump in my rear (I only weigh 125 @ 5'8". I went to work anyway but left after an hour. My doctor cut it open and drained some, packed it and gave me 800mg of Bactrim 2 X's a day. I went back next day; she cut another spot, drained some and upped my dose of Bactrim to 3,600mg. a day. I have made a trip to the dr. every other day for going on two weeks, am missing work because some of our patients have low immune systems, plus the pain, ouch. I want this to go away, it's scary and I feel really dirty!!! I have to sanitize the house constantly, I wouldn't wish this on anyone!!

In 2004 I was hospitalized for spinal surgery for scoliosis from t-1 to s-1. I was released 8 days later. I don't remember anything but screaming in pain. My partner called the surgeon and my internist and they subjectively thought I was seeking drugs. My partner knew differently and called the ambulance to take me back to the hospital. They thought I had a UTI, it turned out I had a bleeding kidney that was cut during surgery and an impacted bowel. They still didn't catch MRSA until four weeks after the surgery. I was initially treated with vancomycin and went into anaphylactic shock. At this time they changed my drug to Cipro which had little impact, after that I became septic and almost died. I don't remember much because of the massive amount of steroids and other meds I was on. I had 15 specialists in all during that 6 month period of hospitalization. After another five months I was able to walk with two canes. The pain was still intense. I was bent at a 30 degree angle because they had removed all the metal placed in and on my spine for the scoliosis. By the summer of 2008 I was told to see a surgeon because pain management wasn't working. A doctor found l-4 and 5, had been completely eaten away. I now stand straighter walk with one cane but my physiological functions are very different. I didn't sweat now I sweat profusely. I have little libido, tire very easily, have no appetite. I was fed by peg tube for three months. I want to know what is the prognosis for persons who have survived sepsis. I am now 68 years old and do not know my body. I did before the surgery. I am also on thyroid meds, narcolepsy, meds and meds for depression. I work part time which is all I can handle as a mental health/substance abuse therapist. I have lost over $300,000 in income because I lost my job. MRSA has been a truly catastrophic illness for me. I would love to hear from other survivors that were not expected to live.

I developed MRSA two years ago following a spider bite. It started with severe itching and then began to burn. My skin turned gray, and I developed shortness of breath. I passed out twice. I went to see my doctor immediately. He immediately called a surgeon to his office who performed the incision and drainage. I was then hospitalized. It was determined that I had MRSA, and it was septic. I was experiencing multiple organ failures. I was in the hospital for one week on antibiotics and morphine. The pain was excruciating. The MRSA has never returned in that same area, but is has been recurring at least monthly.

I had brain surgery last year and developed MRSA on the wound site. I had a pic line inserted & was put on antibiotics. In Nov. a bump on my head developed and in Feb of this year it burst. I had a MRI done and it showed that the MRSA had developed under my skull. I was taken into surgery right away and the right side of my skull was removed because the MRSA had eaten it away. My brain and scalp had to be scrubbed to remove the infection. I no longer have the membrane protecting that side of my brain and was warned that if I get the infection on that part of my brain, I could die. The infectious disease specialist said that MRSA attaches to metal. I would like to know what my options are for a replacement skull.

I woke one morning with an itchy area along my jaw line. Within four days it was large; it appeared to be a "pimple - gone BAD!" It was too sore to touch or try to pop. I saw the doctor on day 5. He numbed the area, opened and drained the sore and took a sample. Due to my sensitivity to sulfa-based drugs, he prescribed Ciprodex for 10 days. That, with the several follow up appointments, changed packing and dressing, has cleared up my MRSA infection. It is now day 18, and there is a slight hardness to the area, a very small scab and an indentation in my face. I'm so glad I intervened.

I developed MRSA after I scratched what I thought was a pimple on my right buttock. Two days later, I got this huge lump at the area where the pimple was. The following day, I went to our Immediate Medical Center and was started on Bactrim. I was told to hot-pack the lesion. After I hot-packed the lesion, the infection spread like wild fire. The following day, I was unable to walk because my entire buttock was purple, full of pus, and extremely painful. My primary care doctor sent me right to the hospital where my surgeon performed emergency surgery on me. I now have an 8-inch surgical incision that has been laid open so it can heal from the inside out. The wound is now about 3/4 inch deep and 2 inches wide since it has healed somewhat thanks to the "Wound Pump" I will be wearing for at least another three weeks. I was hospitalized and given massive doses of antibiotics and will be on antibiotics for another three to four weeks, or more if necessary. My surgeon told me that he had seen many cases of this sort, but none that compared to the amount of necrotic tissue and pus he had to remove from me.