Grace & Knowledge Blog

As usual, there are some interesting campus lectures in February and March.

My favorite so far was last night's lecture by John Dolibois (Miami class of 1942 and US ambassador to Luxembourg from 1981-1985), looking back at his time as a US interrogator of Nazi officials in preparation for the war crimes trials.   Dolibois is 94 now, and I was glad to have a chance to hear him speak.

There's an archaeology lecture coming up on March 4.  Brian Rose (a Haverford alum) will be talking about archaeology related to the Trojan War.

Then on March 6, the physics department will be featuring a lecture by Nobel laureate Eric Cornell.  Cornell is also a survivor of necrotizing fasciitis, having lost his left arm to flesh-eating bacteria in 2004.

Philosopher William Lane Craig will speak on March 23 on "Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology"  I'm looking forward to this one too. 

Tags: lectures, necrotizing fasciitis

Today I ran across an article about a Chicago-area hospital where two women contracted necrotizing fasciitis after Caesarean sections.  The hosptial acted quickly to save the women and identify the unwitting carrier of the strep A bacteria. 

The hospital was not able to find any lapses in hygiene to explain the infexctions.  Necrotizing fasciitis tends to pop up rather mysteriously, a reminder of the limitations of our knowledge and in our ability to control things. 

Tags: necrotizing fasciitis

After my own scare with necrotizing fasciitis, I've been interested in keeping up with news stories on this topic.

Just a week or two before my infection in April, an 18-year old in Columbus lost most of both legs to this type of infection.  Now his family is suing the hospital and medical personnel involved.

I can understand the family's reaction. After something like this happens, it's natural to wonder whether a faster diagnosis might have saved the young man's legs.

At the same time, it hardly seems fair to blame the hospital.  NF is rare, very hard to diagnose, and is usually moving very fast by the time it can be diagnosed.

I wasn't there, so I'm not really in a position to judge the merits of this case.  But I'm interested to hear what happens.

Tags: necrotizing fasciitis

Since my run-in with necrotizing fasciitis in April, I have kept up with news stories about the experiences of others who've been struck with this kind of infection.. 

One example that illustrates how fast the condition moves involves a nurse in Iowa who fell on her elbow one night and two days later had to lose most of her right arm!  Fortunately her life was saved.

Tags: necrotizing fasciitis

Tags: necrotizing fasciitis

It has now been almost two weeks since I got home from the hospital, and life is starting to feel more normal,  The stitches came out on April 22, and I can write, trim my fingernails, use dental floss, and sleep without holding my right hand in some special position. 

I also started the rehab process this week.  I'm still a long way from being able to make a fist, but the fingers are gradually becoming more flexible.  Typing is going better.  I still get slowed down on words containing the letter p, of course.

In the hospital we started collecting jokes that friends passed along to us.  This week I posted a list of the 'top nine" consequences of the experience.  (There were originally ten, but one had to be removed.  That happens sometimes.)

9. Added a new term to my vocabulary:  necrotizing fasciitis.

8..Offered a role in new movie ``Attack of the Flesh-Eating Bacteria''.

7. Turned down Adrian Monk's request that I remove my left pinkie to restore symmetry.
 
6. My infection has been officially declared the worst April Fool's prank of 2009.

5. I am no longer invited to tea parties because I cannot hold a teacup with pinkie extended.

4. My grading...

Tags: humor, necrotizing fasciitis

As it turned out, I didn't have to decide which lecture to attend on April 2. 

On the night of March 31 I started having chills and went to bed early.  I woke up on April 1 with a badly swollen right hand.  I gave a lecture at noon using the 3 fingers that weren't swelled up.  But as the day went along I felt worse and worse, and Sherry and Rebekah took me to the hospital at about 6 PM.

It turned out that I was being attacked by some very aggressive, fast-moving bacteria.  Fortunately, the infection was stopped quickly.  I lost my right pinkie, but considering how lethal flesh-eating bacteria tend to be, I got off really easy.  I'm just thankful to be alive.   

Tags: necrotizing fasciitis