My dad was WW2 and Korean War veteran and was the toughest person I ever knew. Your dad will pull threw. Like they said your dad killed the squirrel in a round about way. Payers sent.

quote:

Originally posted by bgouker:
... your dad killed the squirrel in a round about way. Payers sent.

It's a theory but would explain the mysterious death.

And again, thanks all for the kind well wishes.

Wow. Just wow. I’m so glad he’s on the mend, and hope it continues.
What a shitty thing to happen with such a pleasant pastime.

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.

most excellent. good news. happy for the family

Good news!!!

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.

Glad your Dad is on the mend. I didn’t say anything before because doctors check for it and I didn’t want to creat drama but a squirrel in Colorado tested positive for bubonic plague last July. Squirrels may not be big rabies carriers but they’re known to carry plague.

Just saw this post and I'm hoping your dad has a rapid and complete recovery!!!

That's good news! I'm glad he's recovering.

Really good news on the progress so far. If it were my parents I would be looking for a Rat Terrier to purchase for them.

Just got words that he is off IV antibiotics and they are considering releasing him as early as tomorrow with home health care. I am resisting that and asking that they keep him until next week. He has sent home health care away in the past when he fell and broke ribs. And neither me nor my sister have any idea what to do with a picc line. I don't even know how long that stays in.

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
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.

I think this is what happened to a friend of mine. He had a small skin breach on a thumb (?) near one corner of the end of a nail. He'd worked out at the gym that day. Next thing he knows that thumb is getting sore. By late evening it was turning red and swelling up. Off to urgent care he went, at his wife's insistence.

Nearly lost the thumb. If he'd let it go any longer he could have lost more--including his life.

He spent five days in the hospital.

It turns out picking up such infections from gym equipment is not at all uncommon.

I am now very careful. In wintertime my skin gets dry and I sometimes get cracks in my fingers. I've taken to wearing full-finger gloves when I work out in wintertime.

(Ironically, I'm probably less exposed than I used to be, what with my gym's Wu Flu hygiene protocol.)

Glad to hear your dad's apparently on the mend.

And... he's home. I thought the earliest he could come home was tomorrow. But my sister just got him home tonight. Good Lord, they just won't keep a patient very long. He's got a picc line. I thought a picc line was to drain the wound, but it's apparently a tube for IV injections. It's in his armpit of all places. His fever is gone. He's lucid again. The nurses will start coming by tomorrow on a daily basis to check his hand and give him his boopsters through his picc line. I haven't seen his hand, it's all wrapped up. He says he's still not out of the woods with respect to his finger. I can see the tip and it's orange, but that may be iodine.

Anyway, I can't thank you all enough for your well wishes and prayers. I'm a believer in prayer. Dad let me take this photos of his hand tonight.

Good to know he’s home and doing better.

Eventhough he may be at home prayers are still inbound for speedy recovery. ............................... drill sgt

I wish your father well.

My 92 yr Dad is a Korean vet too.

The Picc line goes directly to the heart as to efficiently deliver the antibiotics into his system.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PR64,

Glad he is home. Prayers sent.

Glad your dad is doing better. It is crazy how something that seems to be nothing can turn into a life threatening situation so quickly.

That's GREAT news. Fantastic.

Don't fight with old guys. They'll just kill you instead, squirrels included.

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:
And neither me nor my sister have any idea what to do with a picc line. I don't even know how long that stays in.

Send me a PM if you have any questions on the PICC, they are very easy to care for as long as you follow a few simple rules and do the flushes properly. Our son had a PICC and then triple lumen central line in his chest for over a year, so I am well versed in central line care, home IV administration, etc. Glad to hear he didn't lose more of his hand and is home.

Very glad he's home and feeling better, and that no rabies was found.

Hope he recovers well and that his hand heals up quickly.