Quote:
Originally Posted by tophcfa
This is no joke, it is a very real and serious situation. It’s an easy situation to ignore or label as fear mongering, UNTIL YOU ARE THE ONE THAT BECOMES SICK AND NEEDS A ROOM.
I recently became acutely ill and had a close brush with the grim reaper. I spent 12 hours in the Villages ER only to be mis-diagnosed and sent home because they had no beds/rooms. As I continued to get sicker at home, I refused to call 911, knowing I would get picked up and dumped off at the same incompetent and over stressed hospital with no open rooms. I quickly became too sick to drive and was convinced I was going to die at home (a week earlier I was an extremely healthy and active man for my age, who worked out daily). Fortunately, my wife (and guardian angel) canceled everything and rushed down to our home in the Villages to rescue me. She first brought me to the Ocala Regional Hospital, which also had no rooms and was a wast of the little valuable remaining time I had. She then decided we needed to get further away from the Villages in the hope of finding a hospital with an open ICU room. She took me to Gainesville and brought me to a stand alone ER affiliated with the North Florida Regional Medical Center. At that point I was so sick I don’t remember much, but my wife told me they quickly ran a bunch of tests, accessed me, and determined I needed an ICU bed ASAP. An ambulance brought me to the main NRFMC building where I checked into one of the three remaining ICU beds. After keeping me barley alive and running every imaginable test for four days, they finally figured out what was wrong with me. As it turned out, I was bitten by a tick up north before going to our Villages home. Lyme disease from the tick was the least of my problems, the tick also injected a nasty parasite into my bloodstream called Babesiosis. The closest thing in this world to Babesiosis is Malaria, which is a parasite that attacks and kills the hosts red blood cells. Once properly diagnose and treated, the very long and slow recovery began. If it wasn’t for my wonderful wife, and the NFRMC, I would have died.
The moral of the story is, don’t underestimate the severity of not having open hospital beds, it could easily kill you.
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Wow---this is an amazing story---a case of babesiosis in Central Florida. Almost all cases are found in the Northeast or Upper Midwest, no wonder any doctor here would have trouble making the diagnosis. Plus it requires specific laboratory confirmation.
Another problem diagnosing in this particular case was the severity---apparently you were critically ill----most cases of babesiosis have no symptoms whatsoever. But. for a few people this can be VERY serious. From the CDC:
Many people who are infected with Babesia microti feel fine and do not have any symptoms. Some people develop nonspecific flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, sweats, headache, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea, or fatigue.
Because Babesia parasites infect and destroy red blood cells, babesiosis can cause a special type of anemia called hemolytic anemia. This type of anemia can lead to jaundice (yellowing of the skin) and dark urine.
Babesiosis can be a severe, life-threatening disease, particularly in people who
Do not have a spleen;
Have a weak immune system for other reasons (such as cancer, lymphoma, or AIDS);
Have other serious health conditions (such as liver or kidney disease); or
Are elderly.
Complications of babesiosis can include
A low and unstable blood pressure;
Severe hemolytic anemia (hemolysis);
A very low platelet count (thrombocytopenia);
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (also known as “DIC” or consumptive coagulopathy), which can lead to blood clots and bleeding;
Malfunction of vital organs (such as the kidneys, lungs, and liver); or
Death.
Stay well.