Hi there,
I am hoping to find support from people in the same postion as I am. But, I will take any advice or support I can find. My son just started dialysis about a month ago and since then, it seems like everything else is going downhill.
He has been in the hospital since Friday, a week ago. This latest adventure started out with a call from the dialysis clinic that he should go to the psych ward as they felt he was a danger to himself. I was to meet him after dialysis. By the time I got there, he had a fever that kept climbing and now had to be admitted for medical reasons. Then we find out he has MRSA and also a growth in his heart. He also has a problem with his blood vessels. He has temporary caths and a permanant one that does not work. He had a test yesterday to check his liver and gall badder. No results yet. Today he had a full body bone scan. No results on that either.
Anyone with any ideas?

He propably got an iinfection for the repeated injection sites from the dialysis. I have no suggestions for you but I will be praying for you both. Please keep us posted.

What was his kidney function before this?

What is MRSA - I think I know but dont want to assume?

Was this fully clinical dialysis or home dialysis?

Does he have any deformities of the kidney that you are aware?

Do you know what caused the kidney failure to begin with?

Thanks for responding. I had to print this out to answer all the questions! His kidney failure is a result of diabetes. He was diagnosed at age 8. No deformities that I know of. The first we heard of kidney problems was a few months ago. He went to the eye doctor and was scheduled for surgery because he was legally blind. The surgery was a success, Thank God! Just hours after the surgery was over, we got a call that the blood work showed kidney failure. His kidneys were operating at 35%. He was scheduled to meet with a nephrologist. Too little, too late. By the time he could get in there and have more testing done, his kidneys were now operating at 10%. He has been going to a dialysis clinic three times a week since that first hospitalization. MRSA has been big in the news the last few weeks. It is the new superbug. Don't ask me what it stands for. I couldn't even begin to write it, OR say it! It is a bacterial infection that is resistant to medications. That is MY understanding anyway.
Thanks for listening

Hugs brdela.

I'm sorry your young son is so very, very poorly & hope that he can be helped by caring and effective medical treatment. Why on earth would someone so physically ill need admitting to a psychiatric ward? What is the growth in his heart, do you know?



(We have MRSA, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, in all our hospitals in this country, caused by a lack of hygiene in them. I hope that strong antibiotics will cure your son of this.)

I was afraid that was what the MRSA was. The infection can cause all sorts of neurons in the brain to pop causing the psychotic snap for lack of a better term. Once the infection is gone, the psychiatric problems should clear up.

If they can fix the MRSA they may also be able to reverse the kidney damage - or so I hope so.

Thanks for responding. I had to print this out to answer all the questions! His kidney failure is a result of diabetes. He was diagnosed at age 8. No deformities that I know of. The first we heard of kidney problems was a few months ago. He went to the eye doctor and was scheduled for surgery because he was legally blind. The surgery was a success, Thank God! Just hours after the surgery was over, we got a call that the blood work showed kidney failure. His kidneys were operating at 35%. He was scheduled to meet with a nephrologist. Too little, too late. By the time he could get in there and have more testing done, his kidneys were now operating at 10%. He has been going to a dialysis clinic three times a week since that first hospitalization. MRSA has been big in the news the last few weeks. It is the new superbug. Don't ask me what it stands for. I couldn't even begin to write it, OR say it! It is a bacterial infection that is resistant to medications. That is MY understanding anyway.
Thanks for listening

I am so sorry that your son is doing so poorly. It is tough on him, but really hard on you too. I have had diabetes since 1966 (I was 2) and I was on dialysis for a year before my cousin gave me a kidney. Hemo dialysis was not fun. but once the team gets the prescription down pat, he will probably be feeling better.

I doubt that the MRSA came from the dialysis needles. The problem with in-centre dialysis is that there is a huge stream of people going through there - staff, patients and family members - and it only takes one and you can pick it up. I hope it gets under control soon.

I'm a bit surprised that the kidney problems went undiagnosed. Very often in people with diabetes the eyes and the kidneys have problems at the same time. His eye doc should have spoken to him about about getting his kidneys checked.

As for his heart, dialysis and kidney problems can also cause blockages in the heart. This is due very often to calcium imbalance because the kidneys are not filtering it out properly. Hopefully, something can be done soon.

Does he have someone who can donate a kidney once all the other medical issues are sorted out? The anti-rejection meds can seem scary, but they are much better than dialysis and I have a much better life now than I did before.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted.

Cora