Time for Change
I have worked in various fields of healthcare, from CNA to pathology. One time, I went to visit with a friend and learned her grandmother was now living with her. She had cracked her femur and was now immobile, catheterized, and on some strong substances.
I walked into her room to say hi and was hit with the unmistakable smells of severe infection. I looked at her cath line and, instead of clear yellow urine, she had milky reddish urine with chunks of sediment in it. I asked how she was feeling and she said well enough but added that her stomach was really hurting.
I told my friend to call an ambulance, as grandma has a severe bladder infection and needs to be seen now. The doctors couldn’t believe it. She had a severe E. Coli infection in her bladder and, due to the painkillers she was on, was also very constipated.
It was amazing that she was running no temp and was lucid. Said, “This woman was brought in just in time. If you would have waited any longer she could have gone skeptic or developed a high enough fever to end her life.”
Turns out the infection was caused by a piece of trash home healthcare agency that never changed her Foley. Catheters have to be changed and flushed to prevent infection and, in three months, they never did. She’s okay now, though. She is walking with a walker and has a great home nurse.
Whenever I go to visit my friend, she comes to say hi and calls me her “infection angel.” Story Credit: Reddit/whoatethekidsthen