Observations placeholder
Hallucinations and bone infection
Identifier
006443
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
From a site which tried to help people with so called 'hospital psychosis'.
The ‘wound vac’ she refers to is describing Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) - a “therapeutic technique using a vacuum dressing to promote healing in acute or chronic wounds and enhance healing of first and second degree burns”. The therapy involves the controlled application of sub-atmospheric pressure to the local wound environment, using a sealed wound dressing connected to a vacuum pump. The approach is controversial as although it is supposed to draw blood to the area to help healing, it also draws away all the fluids the body uses to protect the wound and cushion the cells as they heal.
A peripherally inserted central catheter – the PICC or PIC line she refers to - is a form of intravenous access that can be used for a prolonged period of time e.g. for long chemotherapy regimens, extended antibiotic therapy, or total parenteral nutrition). It is an alternative to ‘subclavian’ lines, internal jugular lines or femoral lines which have “higher rates of infection”.
She doesn't say which pain medications he was on so I have had to guess at opioids - which may not be correct but at least is in the right area from what she says.
A description of the experience
My husband is only 49 and going through this right now. He has a bone infection in his leg and actually started acting a little goofy at home the day before he was admitted. He's been in the hospital for 12 days now and has had two surgeries. In three days, the docs will decide whether or not this last surgery was successful. If not, he'll need another.
His biggest problem right now is that he never knows if it's day or night or what day it is. He has a window, but that doesn't seem to help keep him oriented. He keeps talking about things that never happened. I wonder if he dreams these things and then thinks they really happened? I wish I could just bring him home, but he's got a wound vac and a PICC line, so that's just not possible at the moment.
He knows that he's not totally with it and worries that he is going crazy. I keep trying to tell him that it's a temporary problem caused by a combo of the infection, pain meds, and just being in the hospital. He doesn't remember what I've told him most of the time. It's very, very difficult to deal with.