Re: [Paddlewise] A Different Storm

Bob Denton wrote:

> To a fellow Nordkapp paddler who has always reminded me: "Same boat,
> different sport", I wish you a speedy recovery. How did you get hit with
> this nasty bug? Too much cold water and adrenaline? Was it water borne?

Sorry for the slow response -- I'm just dealing with some post-op
challenges. As far as Streptococcal  fasciitis, as a public service to
Paddlewise, I'll briefly mention my thoughts. My wife had a severe Strep-A
throat infection for a number of weeks and was on a regime of antibiotics.
She reinfected and got sick again. We had the whole family throat swabbed at
our insistence. My daughter was a carrier but non-symptomatic. My wife
again, and now one of my daughters went on antibiotics. At the same time, I
had a bad case of athletes foot from wet weather cycling to work. My wife
also has a skin graft on her foot from previous cancer, and it split from
too much walking. Strep-A germs were leaking from her foot. Put two and two
together. Some kind of mutegen got into my foot, and the rest is, well,
flesh under the bridge.

One fellow who lost his private parts had a daughter with Strep-A throat
infection. He had a small pimple on the inside of his thigh. In his case,
the issue would appear to be air-borne. Other folks were infected while
gardening through a small finger cut, so who knows.

Certainly personal hygiene can make some significant difference, and I would
highly recommend a lot more attention be paid to washing one's hands much
more frequently with warm, soapy water (antibacterial soap isn't necessary).
We are becoming religious about it now. As far as back country paddling, I
would recommend a bit more of a civilized approach to personal hygiene, good
small wound management (at home too), and certainly take that VHF radio so
you have some contact with the outside world. An emergency locating device
might also come in handy. NF can move at 3 cm per hour. Seeking medical
attention quickly can be the key to surviving (as with a number of different
infections). Do not, whatever you do, ignore an area on your body that has a
disproportional amount of pain if fever, chills, or flu-like symptoms are
present; or, especially if you have had or have been in close contact with
someone with Strep-A.

In my case, I was miss diagnosed with cellulitis at first. But fever spikes
hitting 39 at 40 Celsius in the ER got me admitted on Tuesday, Jan 1st. I
first got sick on the Saturday night. I went to a clinic on Sunday, but they
missed the symptoms and gave me a shot for a severe migraine. My headache
was so severe from fever and toxins, and sweating episodes while being as
cold as I've ever been in my life, along with delirium and ankle pain that
prevented walking, including red streaks to my groin, eventually led me to
the ER.

They delayed treatment until the Friday, which was rather silly. If the
bacteria got into my blood, it could have been lights out. They were also
talking about removing my leg because the infection extended all the way to
the groin. The CT scans were not showing gas bubbles under my skin, and the
raw area by my ankle was moving too slow for a correct diagnosis. The
leading NF specialist in western Canada pulled me off antibiotics and said
I'd be home in a few days recovering from simple cellulitis and strep
infection in my leg. I got upset with him, and lay back, fully accepting my
fate. My flight or fight response I usually use in kayaking turned to a
relaxation mode, and I left it in God's hands. The new weekend surgeon came
in to see me late that Friday, took one look at the leg, put me back on
penicillin, and ordered the microbiology team in for 1:30 am. As soon as he
walked into my ward and I saw the older, well experienced surgeon, I knew I
has been saved. I was transferred to CCU then ICU then went through two
surgeries to remove the growing black bacteria under the skin. Bottom line:
Scissors wins over paper (i.e. the infectious disease specialist's
credentials). Also, everyone's physiology is different. My ability to keep
the NF from spreading in a normative pattern almost worked against me.

>
>
> I hope you're back on the water as soon as possible.

Thanks Bob. This will be my last post on this non-paddlewise topic. I will
send the list my recovery technique for stretching, as it has broad based
sports appeal, in the next day or so.

Doug
CU2

>
>
> Cya!
>
> Bob Denton

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