Prayers for the heart

Felix always seemed to have a ready smile for those around him. Even the first time I met him in the hospital when he was suffering from an infection in his abdomen. Unfortunately, he had complications following a surgery and now required antibiotic treatment. I realized he would need long term therapy, so he would need a PICC line (which stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter). With the PICC line, he could finish his antibiotics at home.

Felix went home and continued his treatment. A short time later, however, I was called urgently to the Emergency Room. Felix had returned with fevers and chills. He felt very ill and appeared ashen. I listened to his heart and heard an unnatural sound – it was a heart murmur. Blood cultures confirmed he had a heart infection, or ‘endocarditis’. The PICC line had to be removed. I called the thoracic surgery team to assist – but unfortunately they wouldn’t operate on Felix. They said his condition was too poor.

I knew this meant he would die. Without functioning heart valves, the heart would soon become exhausted, his lungs would fill with fluid, and he would pass away from us. It was an awful prospect. He was so young. Even though he was gravely ill, he still managed to smile at us. His mother looked to me for an answer. I tried not to take away Hope, but it was a bleak prognosis. Without the surgeons help, I didn’t know how much time Felix would have left.

I decided to use a powerful antibiotic called daptomycin. This medicine would at least kill off the germs responsible for damaging his heart. Each day I made rounds, expecting to find an empty room. Each day I found Felix, still smiling, with his mother close by.

Day after day became week after week. Felix hung on. His heart somehow kept going and his lungs remained clear. After THREE weeks, the surgeons seemed to realize they could operate after all. Felix underwent valve replacement surgery and had an uneventful recovery.

I could hardly believe his good fortune. Medically speaking, he shouldn’t have survived. Those were impossible odds to overcome and I never knew ‘how’ he did it… until just recently when I bumped into his mom. She told me her secret “I prayed for him every day” – then I knew, of course! I smiled to myself, this really was a fantastic miracle.
RW

Miracles of healing with hyperbaric oxygen therapy

I just finished a continuing medical education course on wound healing and hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Columbus, Ohio.

It was an intense week listening to many presentations and case studies. I heard many miraculous cases from our instructors, particularly regarding hyperbaric oxygen or HBO. This therapy consisted of pressurizing a patient in an oxygen chamber, so that very high amounts of pure oxygen could be given. It was considered safe and effective. The results were amazing.

One young girl had severed her ears after an assault. It seemed like such a horrible injury, I wondered how possibly she could be treated. A team of doctors including plastic surgeons and wound healing specialists using HBO worked very intensely to save her ears. It was fantastic to hear at the end of three weeks she recovered with a very good cosmetic result.

Another young lady lost both her legs below the knees from an accident. She wasn’t healing well because of her depressed condition. She endured many weeks of wound treatment including including HBO. Slowly, she improved and her wounds healed so she could be fitted with artificial limbs. Our teacher held back tears as she told how the patient returned to the wound center, rose out of her wheelchair and walked easily for her care team to see. She had persevered and chose to live in the best way she could.

Another doctor told us about a few patients with diabetes who were cured from their disease with an experimental procedure that used stem cells and HBO. I was amazed to hear their pancreatic function recovered and they no longer needed to inject insulin because of the disease. It was just incredible.

I felt lucky to have received such important training. I’m looking forward to improving lives with hyperbaric oxygen and other wound care techniques!

RW

The Pink Rose

Mrs. Peone was a relatively young woman, fifty-something. Too young, for the Fate handed to her. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer just a few months before.

Unfortunately, the initial surgery and harvest of lymph nodes showed widespread disease. The cancer had taken root. Her plastic surgeon tried to reconstruct the breast area after that initial surgery. It was a valiant effort, but complicated by infection. Microbes took advantage of the patient’s weakness, festering into the area. I saw redness and breakdown of the tissues. The pain was palpable: this was as much a psychological wound as physical.