quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
Just got an update that the swelling is down in the finger and hand, circulation is coming back. Fever is way down. Only a little tissue loss. PICC line is in. Praise God. Thanks for all you're prayers.

I'm glad to hear this news. I hope it all turns out well.

What a relief for sure, brother.

Good news and glad to hear it!

Just spotted this thread. Glad to hear you dad is improving although not out of the woods yet.

Any report from animal control on whether that squirrel had any nasty disease?

Yes, I forgot about that. Animal control called today and said they tested for rabies and that was negative. I asked what it died from and he didn't know, just that it didn't have rabies.

Good luck to him.

Praise God! Hope is back to his ol' self soon

I was hoping to hear some good news.

Thank you.

Bob

Outstanding. Go Dad!

Very happy to learn that your dad is getting better. Praying for this to continue.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
Yes, I forgot about that. Animal control called today and said they tested for rabies and that was negative. I asked what it died from and he didn't know, just that it didn't have rabies.

I wouldn't be surprise if your Dad somehow killed it when it was biting him, grabbed it, crushed ribs, or smashed head. May not be that noticeable after the fact. Especially since you found it near the porch where the attack occurred.
Testing for rabies they just take the brain, so would really do a real necropsy to find out.

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
Yes, I forgot about that. Animal control called today and said they tested for rabies and that was negative. I asked what it died from and he didn't know, just that it didn't have rabies.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Question?? Any other squirrels in the area acting funnier than normal or appear to be sick ????? Still sending prayers to fathers speedy recovery. ........................ drill sgt.

Your dad is so tough that when he was bitten by a squirrel, the squirrel died. I’m glad he’s doing better. Your dad, I mean and not the squirrel because zombie squirrels would be bad.

I just got a call from the health department. Dad DID NOT have a staph infection. He had a necrotizing version of invasive group A streptococcal disease. So, the same thing that gives you a sore throat? Sort of, but worse when it gets past the skin.

From a New York Health Dept website:

quote:

Invasive GAS disease is a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in which the bacteria have invaded parts of the body, such as the blood, deep muscle and fat tissue or the lungs. Two of the most severe, but least common, forms of invasive GAS disease are called necrotizing fasciitis (infection of muscle and fat tissue) and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (a rapidly progressing infection causing low blood pressure/shock and injury to organs such as the kidneys, liver and lungs). Approximately 20 percent of patients with necrotizing fasciitis and 60 percent with STSS die. About 10-15 percent of patients with other forms of invasive group A streptococcal disease die.

She told me my dad almost certainly had this bacteria already on his skin when the squirrel bit him, and that was how the bacteria got into the body. Not from the squirrel. The bite just created a path into the body for a bacteria he already had on his skin.

I told her that I was really concerned because I found the squirrel dead. Not from any apparent injuries, but just dead. That's why I was concerned for rabies. I found the squirrel spread eagle with its mouth wide open in a state of rigor mortis. There was blood on the squirrels nose and mouth.

She asked me when the bite occurred in relation to me finding the squirrel. I said 2, possibly 3 days after the bite. My dad got sick the say day the squirrel died. She said that is the incubation period for Group A Strep.

So I called animal control back and asked about that damned squirrel. I was told respiratory infections can be fatal to rodents because they apparently can't breathe through their mouths. She said it was possible the squirrel got strep from my dad and that's why it died.

Dude.

So... Your dad is the actual villain in this story/event.?

Not cool that he got sick, but kind of a funny/odd twist he can tell people about later.

Oh... an I hope he has a full recovery and long life to tell the story.

Oh man... wishing your dad the best

Still, none of this would have happened if the tree rat hadn’t sunk his fangs into your dad, damn squirrel damn near took out a two war combat veteran! Excellent your dad is healing up!

He's not out of the woods quite yet. He's still on heavy IV antibiotics. The circulation is returning to his finger as the swelling is going down, but it was blue for the better part of two days so we don't know what the long term effect of that will be. He's got the picc line in. So we're very hopeful that things will turn out well.

The health department not only told me about the bacteria he had, they asked a lot of questions about who has been around him. They want my mom to start antibiotics, too. She scraped her shin when she was trying to help him up so there's a concern that got infected. But my sister who has been cleaning and dressing it and applying antibiotic ointment says it looks good.

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
He's not out of the woods quite yet. He's still on heavy IV antibiotics.

Vancomycin? That's what I've had (several times) via IV.

flashguy

No idea.