new nurse dead at 23

Specialties Disease

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I am in shock! Last May started to work as RN with this very nice 23 yo guy. He had just graduated also.

Found out Monday that he was in ICU on vent. Found out yesterday that he died on Tuesday. Nursing assistant that had his same group of patient's is in another area hospital in ICU, not sure if she is on vent. We do not still work at same facility so details that I have are very limited. All I know is that CDC is at hospital, they are speculating that whatever he had in lungs came from patient with MRSA/leg wound. He presented to hospital with flu like symptoms and within hours white count dropped to 0. All body systems shut down very quickly.

Does anyone have any idea what this could have been? I have been so sad, :crying2: because he was such a great guy with such a bright future ahead of him. Thanks for any responses made to this troubling question.

I sorry about the passing of the young guy.

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I have to wonder...bird flu?? My grandfather (Mom's dad) remembered the epidemic of 1918 (he was 11) as did my father's mother (who was 12). I'm terrified of avian flu. If it behaves like Spanish flu did, that's the demographic it will primarily kill - 20-30 year olds. People were alive one day and dead the next - literally.

If it WAS bird flu, we won't know for a long time - and in the meantime I would BET no one would be talking about it. I am TERRIFIED of bird flu - especially with DH overseas all the time...in the Middle East....

Do they report cases of MRSA and VRSA and/or their joy-filled cousins to the CDC? Because if they do, I'd be willing to bet Atlanta will be wanting some samples from these folks.

Just a note - the ER doc with AIDS had to be diagnosed many years later....HIV was not identified as what caused AIDS until it was either 1985 or '86, and there was no test for it until then - because they didn't know what was killing the T cells, so they had no idea what they were looking for. (In fact, they had a hard time FINDING the thing because of the nature of a retrovirus - they didn't know that's what they were dealing with, which compounded the situation.) And I can imagine the number of health care workers who WERE infected during that time before the identification and it's horrifying. We talked about that a LOT in my medical sociology class.

I am very interested in infectious disease and epidemiology and diagnostic medicine...but I'm also chicken (no pun intended!) when it comes to dealing with it. Hats off to those of you who DO do it as I study it from afar....

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.

Scary. Reminds me of a time when I cared for a very sick child with Gastroenteritis back in the late 70's. 48 hours later, I became deathly sick with the same thing while visiting my parents. Less than 48 hours after I returned home they came down with it, too. Two nights later, I awoke hearing my husband throwing up in the bathroom....

Can you imagine unleashing an illness like this one, in a LTC facility?? Think about it.....:eek:

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Scary. Reminds me of a time when I cared for a very sick child with Gastroenteritis back in the late 70's. 48 hours later, I became deathly sick with the same thing while visiting my parents. Less than 48 hours after I returned home they came down with it, too. Two nights later, I awoke hearing my husband throwing up in the bathroom....

Can you imagine unleashing an illness like this one, in a LTC facility?? Think about it.....:eek:

That's just it - I can't. :eek: :o

Your experience must really drive the whole thing home.

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Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

Carolinapooh,

Reading your post, your would totally be awesome as a public health nurse or a nurse specializing in worldwide travel health. Think about it...

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So sorry for the loss of your friend. What a shock. Honor him by remembering his gentleness and proficiency when you need to draw strength.

ElkPark, I absolutely agree with your thoughts on nurses being in the background (compared to other service providers) when risk or danger is present in the workplace. This is truly one of my biggest disappointments in my career choice, that we are taken for granted so often...

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Specializes in Case Management.

This whole MRSA problem just keeps getting worse. I remember 10-15 years ago while working on site at a large teaching hospital we were dealing with MRSA pneumonia in patients who had been on vents long term, and in diabetic patients with chronic wounds. I remember thinking at the time, how are they cleaning these vent machines between patients, because it seems like every long term vent patient had it.

Then last Christmas my daughter and SIL came from San Diego where he is stationed. While staying with his mother, his 16 yr old younger brother was admitted to the hospital with MRSA pneumonia. I heard that the CXR looked like the entire right lung was eaten up by a big tumor. Two months after going back to San Diego my daughter went to her PCP about "bumps" on her legs. The doctor did a culture and sent her home with phosohex wash and a cream for itching. about a week later she called me because 3 of the "bumps" had gotten large, hot red and swollen and one had broken open and oozed green pus. I insisted she go back to the doctor. She called instead. they said they got the culture back...you guessed it! MRSA!!

If we don't get a handle on this problem, it will become an even bigger one:eek:

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Specializes in Peds ED, Peds Stem Cell Transplant, Peds.

We see alot of community acquired MRSA in chicago even in the pediatric realm

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Specializes in Everything but L&D and OR.

I had a 14 y.o boy with Community Aquired MRSA after an infected spider bite last year. It looked horrible!!!!!:eek:

Christy

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