I just came home from visiting Jude in the hospital: (Monday afternoon) Judy Hoops Room 4159 Genesys Health System One Genesys Parkway Grand Blanc, MI 48439
910-606-5000 - main switchboard Like the rest of us, Jude has her days of despair and her days of determination. Jude had signed do-not-resucitate papers in the past, but said she didn't want the purple DNR bracelet when they admitted her Saturday. She was told she couldn't just go back and forth with this decision and the person insisted on putting the bracelet on her. Jude said as soon as she was able, she starting biting on the bracelet and chewed it off. She was pretty smug about it too! Jude greeted me with a smile when I walked in and we visited for over an hour. She had just finished a late breakfast and wasn't hooked up to tubes of any kind. When I left, her nurse was starting an IV antibiotic - I knew it was time leave - Jude's eyelids were drooping! Jude's news isn't good - she has been diagnosed with MRSA, the staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics. She was moved from the nursing home to the hospital Saturday morning after a culture that was taken Wed or Thurs came back positive for MRSA. The antibiotic, Vacomycin is hard on her veins so they are putting in a pic line today. Jude had a bone scan this morning to determine the depth of the infection that started as a pressure sore. There in tunneling and it might be in the bone. She got this info from the tech, but hadn't seen the doctor yet today. The staff had given Jude a print-out of the MERK Manual definition of MRSA. You might be interested in reading what she and her husband were given to read about her diagnosis. It's harsh. The depth of her wound will be a detriment. Jude has given permission to share her diagnosis with the list as she feels we all need to know what the other is going thru so we can learn and maybe avoid some of the cruelties of TM. She wasn't familiar with MRSA and its life-threatening hold. I hope you will send cards and notes to Jude or send a post to me that I can print and take to her on my next visit. Pam has explained that Jude has no immediate family and her husband's family doesn't call or visit so she really does consider the TM family to be her REAL family. We were talking about many of you by name, but if I tried to recall I'd leave someone out and Jude wouldn't tolerate that! Patti - Michigan
