Sandra Tocyloski

I had back surgery (laminectomy) on 10/13/22. (Sepsis and Surgery) I went home the same day. I felt great for a few days. Slowly my pain was intolerable. On 10/23/22, I went to the emergency room. I was admitted with a blood infection (Pseudomonas Aeruginosa). (Sepsis and Bacterial Infections) They put me on Dilaudid for pain and I was put on a few intravenous antibiotics. The pain was terrible.

I was in the hospital for 9 days. My stay at the hospital was horrific. I begged for pain meds and for help to get to the bathroom. I waited for someone to help me to the bathroom. No one came. I used my walker and somehow got myself to the bathroom but I didn’t make it without urinating all over myself and the hospital room floor. I called for help. A male nurse came in and put towels all over the floor. The towels stayed on the floor until the next day. I was humiliated. It stunk. I would have to roll over towels to get to the bathroom with my walker. When a janitor came in the next day, I embarrassingly told him what had happened, and would he mind cleaning up my mess. He was kind, and mopped up the floor.

I had a PICC line put in for antibiotics and went home on 10/31/22. I had to go back to the hospital every day to have them put more antibiotics (Cefapime) in the intravenous pump. After being on Dilaudid for 9 days, they sent me home with no pain meds. I called my family practitioner’s office for pain meds.

They got me in to see the doctor on 11/2/22. He prescribed me Tramadol. It really didn’t even touch the pain. I got sicker and sicker and the pain was unbearable. On 11/14/22, I went back to the hospital. (My husband had to convince me to go back. I was so upset about my first stay that I was so very frightened to go back.) The infection was now in my spine. I now had osteomyelitis (bone infection). I was admitted again into the hospital. I was in the hospital for 8 more days getting intravenous antibiotics. Twice they had to aspirate the abscess. I also had a 2nd surgery to clean out the wound and have a drain put in on 11/16/22.

They released me from the hospital on 11/21/22 to home health care. I still had an IV PICC line. They taught my husband how to change the antibiotics (cefepime) every 12 hours. A home nurse would come each week to tend to the PICC line, draw blood and check my vitals. Turns out I was allergic to the cefepime. My arms were covered in a horrible itchy rash. I remained on the IV cefepime until 12/28/22. I was on the IV antibiotics for 67 days. I missed Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve.

It didn’t just affect me. My husband was the one changing out the IV bag every 12 hours. The doctor that did my surgery has not yet acknowledged that I had osteomyelitis but I have paperwork that shows that I did. I have never been in so much pain. At times I was delirious. I was hearing and seeing things that my husband said were not there. I’m still in physical therapy. I’m still in pain. I have read that Pseudomonas Aeruginosa predominantly comes from a hospital. (Sepsis and Healthcare-Acquired Infections) I still have scars on my arms from my allergic reaction to the cefepime. The cefepime was the only thing that was working on the osteomyelitis so I just suffered through the allergic reaction just to get this all over with.

It’s been 10 months since this all started. I’m still in pain. I feel weak and unsure of my self. My balance seems off. I’ve fallen at least 6 times. I’m so afraid going up and down stairs. I can’t think or remember things. I sweat so bad. Will I ever feel like myself again.