Wayne Robert McDannell, Jr.

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My father Wayne Robert McDannell Jr. passed away at the age of 57 as a result of sepsis with MRSA. (Sepsis and MRSA)

Last December my father cut himself shaving and three days later, on the 15th of December 2011, he woke up with the one side of his face swollen and he was in a lot of pain. He went to the ER where he was seen and given generic antibiotics and sent home. The next morning on the 16th of December, my dad called me and asked me to take him to the hospital because the swelling had gotten worse and his eye was swollen shut. I took my dad back to hospital where he first went, where he was admitted into a general room and given doxycycline and IV fluids.

We requested several times during a three-day stretch to have the abscess lanced and drained. On December 19th, they decided to lance the abscess because the antibiotics weren’t working. After the minor procedure to lance the abscess, my father was admitted into the ICU for recovery due to him being a large man and there being concerns over him waking up from the anesthesia. They kept my dad sedated for two days and he woke up Friday evening. We were told the infection was from MRSA and when he cut himself shaving it entered into the cut.

The prognosis at this point was good and he was being given antibiotics through IV. After a few days in the ICU, my father was returned to the medical ward however, his white blood cell counts were high and not going down, and his kidneys began to not function properly. A temporary dialysis port was placed into my dad’s chest and he began receiving dialysis treatment for two weeks, and he continued on a regimen of antibiotics.

On January 17th my dad was discharged from the hospital with an elevated white blood cell count and an open dialysis port in his chest. Initially he was to have a home health care nurse come to his home to properly check and clean his port on a daily basis, however once they found out he didn’t have insurance, he was discharged without the home health care nurse or any other professional to check up and clean the port site. The nephrologists advised that he wanted the port to stay in because he wanted to ensure that my dad wouldn’t need any further dialysis and that he could return to his office in a week for it to be check, cleaned. If he did it would be easier if the port was still there and open. A week later my dad returned to the doctor’s office where he was told to come back in another week. Two days after this appointment my dad was found by my mom in the bathroom unresponsive, profusely sweating, and shaking. He was taken back to the hospital where he was admitted to the ICU with what they were saying was a bladder infection. I explained to the doctors what was going on and that it was probably more than a bladder infection. A few days later I was told he was septic and that the MRSA entered into his blood and the most likely entrance was through the dialysis port.

I was enraged because this should have never happened and was a result of laziness on the doctor, and the hospital staff. My dad went in and out of comas for the next week. After fighting with the doctors and staff at the hospital I was able to get my dad transferred to Cape Fear Valley Hospital, where he received an ICU bed and was placed on vancomycin and other antibiotics. The prognosis at this point wasn’t good and it was now February 2, 2012.

During the next 4.5 weeks, it was one step forward in his recovery, and then three steps back. My dad’s white blood cell counts would go down one day and back through the roof the next day. He was in extreme pain, delusional at times, and was unable to roll over or get out of bed. He was transferred from the ICU to the nephrology ward several times. On March 5, 2012, I was called by the doctor who inquired on a DNR and advised me that my dad wasn’t doing well, and that he became unresponsive. Up to this point in my life this was the hardest choice I ever had to make and I informed him to place him on DNR.

On March 7, 2012 at 2102 my dad passed away. The death certificate had respiratory failure as the primary cause with the sepsis being a contributing factor. MRSA was never on the certificate. I feel that this should have never happened and that if he was given appropriate treatment immediately and wasn’t pushed to the side in regards to them leaving an open port in him upon his initial discharge, he would still be here today. MRSA and sepsis are truly unknown killers to the majority and I hope for further education, programs, awareness, funding for this killer.

Source: by Peter McDannell (Wayne's son)

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