We are now one and a half weeks into his stay. Last weekend Ethan tested positive for c difficile. It is a common bacterial diarrhea infection in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Ethan's case was likely brought on by frequent antibiotic use. If not caught early enough, it can cause more serious intestinal conditions like colitis and in rare cases can be fatal. Because of all the antibiotics he's been on, the healthy bacteria in his colon got wiped out and allowed the c difficile to thrive. Due to the risk of colitis, we have had to hold his probiotic because if the infection gets into his blood stream it could then become fatal.
They've told us it is a spore and when handling his diapers, etc we have to wash our hands with soap and water to kill the bacteria. It cannot be killed by the hand sanitizer. The spore is able to live for long periods on surfaces. They have to come clean the room twice a day in an effort to control the risk of outbreak; once to kill the spores with a peroxide mixture and the second time for the usual cleaning.
To complicate matters a bit, Clayton has gotten an infection and has been put on antibiotics. He will not be doing any of Ethan's care for at least 24 hours from the first antibiotic dosing and it may be longer depending on what the doctors suggest. We do not want to risk him sharing his infection with Ethan nor Ethan sharing c difficile with Clayton.
Oh my friend, my heart is just breaking for you. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it better for your little cutie pie. Hang in there, call me if you need to talk, ok.
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