| The Casualties of Acinetobacter baumannii, MRSA and more... Acinetobacter infections are not required to be reported. These names and stories are collected from local news articles and researched. Many soldiers and contractors were infected nosocomially (in the hospital) after being very seriously wounded. In some cases the infection may have caused the death. In other cases the infection and it's treatment with toxic drugs may have contributed to the death by wearing the body down. Other soldiers and civilians have survived acinetobacter infections but lost limbs that might otherwise have been saved, suffered permanent hearing and equilibrium damage, suffered liver and/or kidney damage, and endured prolonged recovery times. Think of it as undergoing chemotherapy to stop a cancer on top of already suffering from serious injuries. In November, Duane Hospenthal, an infectious-disease expert at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas and a consultant to the Army Surgeon General, said, that he believes there is little cause for concern. "It's a low-grade, low-virulence pathogen that can be recovered from soil and water. Without having it blasted into you or your being immunocompromised, it's not going to hurt you. We still see acinetobacter, but now that it's been recognized, people are less excited about it here. " It's hard for me to even understand if this is a big issue." Mr. Hospenthal, why don't you to go to these soldiers, contractors, journalists, and their families and tell them that ? "about half of those with extremity injuries develop significant infections that require additional treatment and surgery, which often leads to amputation" story here The "hero" was rebounding, too. Then an infection set in and he died. "In my mind, I'm just thinking they're cutting my child away, one day at a time," read here Cytokine Storm Cytokine Dysregulation, often called Cytokine Storm, can occur in cases of Gram Negative infections. Acinetobacter is a gram negative bacteria. Many of the deaths of the wounded soldiers are preceeded by a spike in body temperature. |
| Wounded Merlin Clark July 2003 Contractor, blast wounds, went through Dogwood, Landstuhl, Walter Reed, and on to civilian hospital in Orlando Florida. Tested positive for MDR Acinetobacter baumannii six days into the military medical system. One month on inipenem 1gram every six hours, two months on merepenum 1 gram every 8 hours under civilian doctors and overdosed on Amikacin at three months with Ototoxic reaction and permanent damage. The Amikacin overdosing was done by a civilian doctor. The inipenum they were giving at Walter Reed had been proven to be less effective and more dangerous than merepenum back in 1999. Joe Williams On September 6, 2006, due to continuing problems with infection, Williams underwent amputation surgery on his leg. Bob Woodruff Thanks to Bob and Lee Woodruff's sharing their story on Larry King we know that he also had AB both as pneumonia and sepsis. Transcript KING: Did you ever think, Lee, that Bob might be gone? L. WOODRUFF: Yes, I did. I did. It was touch and go when they first had him in surgery. And then a second nightmare occurred which happens to a lot of the soldiers, sepsis and pneumonia because he was in such a -- his body was in such an embattled state and there say bacteria that soldiers are bringing back from Iraqi soil. The esenito (ph) bacterium. And it is so advanced and so unknown here that they have actually had to pull out antibiotics from World War II to fight it, it is such a tough strain. And Bob had every kind of anti-bottom nick his body and they told me if he did survive, he would probably have organ damage from the strength of them. Peter Reid Peter was at Bethesda then Tampa VA and was fighting a MRSA infection while trying to recover from these grievous wounds. The attack left him without his left eye and with partial paralysis on his left side, a badly wounded right leg and shrapnel in his head and body. He spent more than five months in two military hospitals after being flown to Germany. Kenny Bozeman The latest victim is a 26-year-old man who has been hospitalized at Lee Memorial Hospital since an Oct. 23 car crash, according to his aunt, Sheila Bozeman, who contacted The News-Press on Tuesday. Kenny Bozeman developed an infection caused by acinetobacter baumannii. Tammy Duckworth Duckworth's right arm was in jeopardy and needed repair. For stretches during November and December, she was having surgery every other day to improve the blood flow and to fight a stubborn infection. Staff Sargeant Matt Keil The bullet left him with an aneurism that doctors are anxious to repair. But they don't want to attempt that surgery until they can clear up an infection that has been spiking Sergeant Keil's temperature. A story about Andrew We don't know who Andrew is but we do know he is a soldier recovering from injuries suffered in Iraq. This is a highly likely case of AB, no confirmation. " he had lost both his legs, gone into cardiac arrest, had a bacterial infection, pneumonia, a blood infection, and problems with his lungs and kidneys. " Marine Corporal David Emory Jr Spiritual Warfare Needed "They had him on a respirator, fighting infection, fever, kidney failure and other problems for a time before he stabilized enough (just barely) to make the flight to Germany" Update Marine Hurt in Iraq Develops Complications " he has developed a blood infection that is causing veins and other blood vessels to collapse, said Connie Emery, the injured Marine's mother. "It's breaking his body down," she said in a telephone interview Update Wounded Marine from Bellafonte rushed into surgery The mother of a Bellefonte man and U.S. Marine cricially wounded while serving in Iraq is asking for prayers after her son was rushed into surgery this morning to remove his left leg, shattered in a suicide bomb attack in Anbar province.\ The left leg, in which the femur was shattered, had to be removed to fight an infection that his threatening Emery's life, his mother said Update Infection Taking Over It indicates a blood infection raging in the Marine who, just days ago, was able to communicate with loved ones by pointing to letters of the alphabet or mouthing words when he was not hooked to a Update Infection takes other leg Today we learned that on Sunday, they took him into emergency surgery to amputate his right leg. They are still battling the infection, and his mother and wife remain by his side. We'll try to get more of an update later. Update DJ was scheduled to go back to the OR today for his typical routine. They are hoping it doesn't take the toll on his body that it has been and that he returns to the good state he was in yesterday. Army Specialist Niles Lavey Lavey also had what Johnson calls 'sand fever', an infection that often sets in open wounds in Iraq. Doctors weren't sure if Lavey would make it through the night. But he did. Major K.C. Shuring But the one that hit his left thigh almost cost him his leg, shattering his thighbone in three up near his hip. An infection nearly did the rest until it was brought under control by antibiotics. Cpl. John Lockwood They stabilized him in an alley near his burning Humvee, then rushed him to Fallujah Surgical, where Navy doctors tended his wounds. He woke briefly at some point, then spent the next two weeks in a medically induced coma while surgeons opened his wounds every 48 hours to clean them. The frequent surgeries help fight infection. Lance Corp Derrick Sharpe Sept 24,2006 Sharpe was in a coma. Shrapnel had torn through his abdomen. A chunk of his right leg was missing. Her son was on the brink of death and infections spread through Sharpe’s body. Doctors performed daily surgeries to try to save his life. Sharpe made it through, and his condition improved in the coming weeks. Though still in a coma, he was moved stateside to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Then, one day doctors placed another distressed call to Sheets. They asked permission to remove his leg. The infection resurfaced and was spreading fast. Army Sgt. Paul Gillilan The recovery, however, has not been without complications. He had an infection in his leg, and his wound has to heal before the remaining part of his leg can be prepared for being fitted for an artificial limb. Brian Fountaine The 25-year-old Hanson native’s recovery has been slower than he hoped. There have been ups and downs. Infections in his left leg have stalled his efforts to walk. Doctors said this past week that the problems were caused by osteomyelitis, an inflammation of the bone and bone marrow that is usually caused by a bacterial infection. Fountaine has begun a six-week course of antibiotics. Shane Parsons Injured last September when his Humvee was ambushed by a remote-detonated roadside bomb, and three-times revived when he should have been dead, Parsons lost his right leg in the blast and later had his left leg amputated because of infection. First Lt John Fernandez Arriving at Walter Reed, feet swathed in thick bandages, he figured he was in for some serious reconstructive surgery. But the wounds were grievous, and infection set in. Twelve surgeries later, John Fernandez is a double amputee. Sgt. Don Peters (2003) Peters suffered a broken pelvis, femur and ribs and had a hole in his side. He is at home with his wife and three children, but still has a lot of pain from an infection and a leg that's numb from the knee down Sgt. Eric Edmundson Six months later, after intense physical rehab and an infection that made control of his limbs futile, his morale hit bottom. Marine Pfc. Arturo Weber After stops at a field hospital, a hospital in Baghdad and treatment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Weber arrived at Bethesda April 15. Several surgeries have been performed, including one Saturday, when Carrillo said doctors worked on an additional wound found in his stomach. Tony Larson Doctors had tried to save Larson's leg, but an infection forced them to amputate the bottom portion. Larson had an extended recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Staff Sergeant Chad Jukes Jukes' Humvee was struck by an anti-tank mine shattering his heal and femur. The injury soon became infected. "Based upon the amount of damage done and the severity of infection, I chose to have it amputated." Ed Pulido Pulido spent the next 40 days in intensive care. His body weight dropped dangerously low due to severe infection caused by his injuries. Pulido was forced to make the choice of a lifetime. "I had to make the decision that it was either to live or to die. And that decision was, well you know which one I chose. That was to basically continue to live, but without my left leg," says Pulido. Army Spc. Jesus Edgardo Bustamante Jr. In Germany, "Edgar" developed an intestinal infection and a raging 106-degree fever. On March 24, doctors told his family he might not make it back to the United States. Senior Airman Michael Fletcher Fletcher had more than 60 hospital check-ups and tests and needed three hospital stays, including a 16-hour emergency operation to deal with a wound infection. Fletcher fought a serious infection Brent Bretz But the decision about surgery was put off when doctors found an infection in the elbow. The bone was so infected that some of it looked like cottage cheese. Doctors scraped it out and removed all the pins and brackets that seemed to aggravate the frequent infections. Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob Doctors were anticipating earlier this week that they may have to amputate Jacob’s leg because of infection. But on Tuesday, during a washing out surgery, the doctors decided everything looked unexpectedly good. Pvt Travis Webb Pvt. Travis Webb lost both legs and had to return to the hospital two months after his discharge because of an infection. Staff Sgt Nathan Reed Plus, I had a bad infection goin', which is, they say, is common to most of the guys that are getting injured in Iraq," Reed said. Lance Corporal Jacob Leicht On Memorial Day, the doctor said the skin graft had taken 100 percent,” said his mother, Shirly Leicht. “However, infection leading to amputation is still a real possibility, therefore Jacob will undergo another four weeks of intravenous antibiotic therapy to prevent that Tyler Hall Hall lost 10 teeth and suffered a broken back with three fractured vertebrae, a badly broken arm that needed to be reinforced with a rod, third-degree burns to his hands that required skin grafts, a damaged lung infected with pneumonia and -- perhaps most serious of all -- a dangerous pocket of fluid on his brain. Sgt Shane Cox "There's still more in his leg, but they don't know if they can get it out. He may have to live with it there. There was a pocket of infection, but they were able to get that out of his leg." Brian Fountaine There have been setbacks, most seriously an infection in his left leg that stalled his efforts to walk with prosthetic legs. Army Spc. Travis Sigmon On Friday morning, infection in his lungs was becoming an issue, his father said, "from all the shrapnel he had in him. "Local Soldier's Condition Worsens Spc. Travis Sigmon is suffering from an infection on top of the injuries he received from an explosive. Staff Sgt Daniel Metzdorf Staff Sergeant Daniel Metzdorf, wounded soldier: "It's a big explosion. You got dirt, you got bacteria, you got everything, rocks, everything goes inside, and it went inside my leg." Losing a limb wasn't Daniel's only problem. Sgt. Metzdorf: "Infection is probably your worst enemy after a big blast like this." Jon Harris Like most patients in the infectious disease ward at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Jon Harris has an "A" written next to his name on the white board by the nursing desk. The 23-year-old Army specialist had a leg amputated below the knee after a roadside bomb attack in Iraq. But the capital letter indicates another medical problem that increasingly worries military doctors - an infection from a resilient bug known as Acinetobacter. Marine Jason Keough Jason was injured in the first days of the war. Bone infection set back healing. Blamed on him having to Lance Cpl Lukas Bell Since arriving at the hospital, Wolff has helped Bell through many an energy-draining procedure such as the daily cleansing of his infection. Marine Lance Cpl Ryan Autrey Autery's recovery did not go smoothly. The amputation was complicated to treat. One operation took 10 hours. At another point, a skin graft failed, and he had to have his stump sutured to his side to promote a new graft. He also suffered a bacterial infection and then a reaction to antibiotics, his mother said. Joshua Cooley Inert in his bed, the 29-year-old Marine reservist is a survivor of an Iraq car bombing and a fearsome scramble of wounds: profound brain injury, arm and facial fractures, third-degree burns, tenacious infections of the central nervous system. Marine Cpl Shaun Locker to NNMC in Bethesda. There, doctors found that what was left of his arm after the amputation had been infected with Acinetobacter. Lt. Dawn Halfaker Six days later, Halfaker was a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, about to lose her arm to a life-threatening infection. Travis Sigmon Travis had his left arm amputated, suffered internal injuries and two broken legs. Now his family said their son has pneumonia. CWO 3 Claude Boushey Moved later to Tripler Army Medical Center, the Schofield Barracks pilot found out something else: He had tested positive for antibiotic- resistant bacteria known as Acinetobacter baumanii. SPC Shane Vincent He also has pneumonia. His stomach is healing well but it isn’t closed all the way because of the infection.” www.caringbridge.org/visit/shanevincent. Captain Daniel Gade The parents of a Minot Army soldier who was seriously wounded in Iraq say Captain Daniel Gade is fighting an infection in his abdomen. His mother, Erica, says Gade is struggling and looked like he might die. Corporal Jeffrey Baily Bailey's brain is swelling, and every time doctors reduce the amount of drugs he's taking, the swelling increases. Swellings usually peak 72 hours after an injury, but the three were wounded 11 days ago, Brisebois said. Bailey also has an infection that's resistant to drugs Pte. William Salikin He also has an infection Sgt David "Paddy" Caldwell A soldier who was shot in the neck in Afghanistan contracted MRSA at a Birmingham hospital. Sgt David "Paddy" Caldwell, 32, was diagnosed with the superbug at Selly Oak's Royal Centre for Defence Medicine soon after transferring from a field hospital. Staff Sergeant Robert Hughes Hughes began an intensive chemotherapy regiment at WRAMC and experienced the usual side-effects such as nausea and vomiting. However, a central intravenous line used to administer drugs became infected. During a week of hospitalization, his temperature remained at more than 105 degrees. With Hughes’ immune system damaged by chemotherapy, the infection quickly spread throughout his bloodstream. He became septic. The effects of the infection eventually led to a massive coronary. Other life-threatening medical problems such as liver and renal failure followed. Pvt Adrian Garcia "My gallbladder became inflamed and they had to remove it, and that set me back," said Garcia Army Corporal Tim Ngo He celebrated surgery in September that brought an artificial plate and an end to the device. A week later, when an infection took hold, Ngo refused to let surgeons remove the plate. As the infection spread to his face, surgeons pressured his mother to sign for him. She declined. Her son had already lost too much control. She did what mothers do _ cajoled until he gave in. Sgt Kevin Downs wounded in Iraq on April 13, 2005. and on October 25, 2006 he has a new infection He lost both legs. He was home for a visit in July. Kevin Downs is suffering with a new infection in his left upper arm and there is a possibility that he may lose that arm. Besides being in tremendous pain, he is discouraged and depressed. Army Spc Alroy Billman The Army originally planned to get the family into Army He said his surgeon needed to reclose his wound after he caught an infection, which Spc. Billiman described as a “speedbump” in his recovery. Still, his doctors wanted him to leave the hospital to reduce the chances of his getting another infection, he said. First Lt. Scott Quilty "Doctors had to amputate a portion of one of Quilty's arms, and part of one leg. He is really battling infection, so he has a very high fever. He is still in critical condition Spec Charles Woolwine Woolwine is almost infection-free, so he should be fitting for prosthesis in the coming weeks. Sgt Irene Cornett Sgt. Irene Cornett spent a year in treatment for a wrist injury that occurred when a tent rope snapped. After a bad infection, doctors fused the bone, leaving her with 10 percent movement and eligible for disability pay, according to her hand surgeon. But the officer who summarized Cornett's medical records to determine her eligibility for disability payments reported she had twice as much movement, ultimately disqualifying her from a Marine 2nd Lt Andrew Kinard He lost most of his left leg and his right leg just above the knee, and has spent the last month at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., fighting infection, pneumonia and kidney failure. He has had to undergo extensive surgery on a regular basis. Marine Corporal Kenny Lyon Once he is stabilized he will be flown to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, but infection is the big threat to his life now. Every wound has the possibility of becoming infected and every infection can be life threatening. Nicholas Gilliver (UK) But worse was to come. After Christmas, Nicholas, who had been on a second tour of duty in Iraq, developed a serious infection. Bacteria from the soil in Iraq had entered his blood stream from the explosion. Kevin And our prayers are with Kevin and his parents B & K... Kev has a serious blood infection which he acquired in Afghanistan and is not responding to treatment... SFC Richard C Robertson But there was another hurdle to overcome. For several weeks, he ran a low grade fever because of a fungus that set up in one of his shrapnel wounds. More surgery was needed to clean out the wound. Nicholas Boutin he also suffered an acute respiratory infection in his lungs, probably caused by bacteria in the Iraqi soil. Jeremy Gilbert Two weeks earlier, just as he sensed he was making progress healing, an infection flared up and remained untamed by antibiotics ARMY SPEC. Michael Brown He needs a cane to walk and faces more surgery, including a 10- hour operation in September to treat a bone infection and abdominal damage Sgt Merlin German How in the world did this Marine survive, rebound from infections, and manage to exceed doctors' expectations so many times? Maj James Browning Jr Four times, surgeons at Bethesda have attempted to replace the half of Browning’s skull, which had to be removed when he had a stroke, in order to relieve swelling of his brain. Four times, infection forced them to remove the plate. Browning was hoping to have surgery to replace the plate again later this month. But he just got the news he must wait until October, to lessen the chances of another infection. Joe Lopez He was left paralyzed after a small pox vaccination changed his life forever. "Recovery has been ups and downs so far, you know. Like right now, I'm toward a peak of where I had been back in January. I'm doing as good as I was back in January and, you know, it just goes up and down and hopefully it won't go down after this." Joe had MDRAB twice confirmed by his mother. Cpl Dan Lasko Navy medics cleaned out the wound back at base, then he shipped out to Landstuhl, Germany, where surgeons removed his foot. When he returned stateside to Bethesda, he got an infection and doctors reamputated, just below his knee. He was angry at first, then came to terms with his wound. Scot Noss Scot is now back on 4 different antibiotics. The doctors are having a hard time pin-pointing the infection. Scot does not have a fever and his blood pressure is great. The infectious disease doctors are coming in on Monday to help determine the Months later Scot's white blood cell count is up to 14 today, so they are increasing the amount of antibiotics he is getting. He has some thick gunky stuff he is coughing up and they are worried about pneumonia. We will get the culture results back early next week. Few weeks later Scot has CDif, an intestinal infection, so the poor guy just is not feeling really well right now. Joe Washam A reconstructive surgery above his lip last summer resulted in multiple infections, skin graft sites that did not heal properly and weeks in the hospital. Some of that time, he said, he had to share a room with two other people, including one with a terrible cough. Moke Kahalehoe A vacuum machine that sucks out infection and injects oxygen is attached to his injured leg as he shuttles between hospitals and doctors' offices. Jay Briseno .Finally!!! The bleeding has stop, no fever, and the infection is much more under control, however, the medication for the infection will continue for a few more days. Doctors want to make sure all the bugs are gone. Nick Bennett Nick Bennett has been there, too. Through two hazy, painful months at the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md. Through 27 surgical procedures. Through septic shock and infection Army National Guard Spc. Ryan McCallum At Fort Bragg, an orthopedic surgeon performed surgery on his hand, which was then swollen and filled with infection. Sgt Matt Lammers Infection was a constant threat. High fevers raged, and drugs didn't dull the pain. John Bartlett Over 13 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Bartlett endured 17 surgeries. He learned to walk with cutting-edge prosthetic legs then fought an infection that kept him in a wheelchair for six months. Marine Lance Corporal Brian Chambers He said he had accepted the VA's plan for his son to go to the Tampa VA facility for rehabilitation, but it did not go well. Brian's wounds were re-infected, resulting in a considerable setback. Eddie Ryan "The conditions on the floor were horrible. It was dirty. Our son developed a bedsore from not being moved enough and then it became infected," said Ryan Sgt Jimmy King King was faced with the amputation of his leg or losing his life. “When I first got to Bethesda, at that point in time, I was the worse case of infection they’d ever seen,” King said. “Obviously, they took the leg.” Travis Camps Kamps, now a Montana State University student, said the VA wouldn't let him get tooth implants from a Bozeman dentist but required that he travel to Salt Lake City. After he returned to Bozeman, an infection that felt as big as a softball sent him to the emergency room, where he needed intravenous antibiotics. Marine Sgt. Greg Edwards But he recently developed an infection that forced his return to Walter Reed Capt. Michael Liesmann On tour in Iraq, Capt. Michael Liesmann likely picked up a superbug when he put his finger in his eye under questionable sanitary conditions. Scott Morgan Recovering later at Fort Sam Houston, he endured liver and kidney failure, partial hearing, vision and short-term memory loss, among other ailments. He has had more than 30 surgeries in his titanium- outfitted legs. Staff Sgt. Terry Rathbun Jr. Rathbun will undergo surgery again next month for an infection in his jaw Evan Mattie YAKIMA, Wash - A solider from Selah severely wounded in Iraq two years ago was suppose to return to Yakima today, but an urinary track infection prevented him from traveling U.S. Army Spc. Tamicia McCutcheon. Earlier this year, he didn't think she would live through a staff infection that she'd picked up during her 15-month tour of duty in Iraq. Henry and Earnestine McKinzie flew to a military hospital in Germany to say goodbye to their granddaughter. After she was in a coma for two months, doctors had said she would recover. Terry Fleming In May, an infection forced doctors to remove part of Fleming’s small intestine and colon. He has been on and off a ventilator. In August, he caught pneumonia, and he still is receiving oxygen to aid his breathing. Staff Sgt. Daniel Metzdorf He told the audience of 150 the story of his struggle with life- threatening infection and his battle to stay on active duty in the Army Army Spc. Kevin Mowl Their reports say he has been awake more often in recent days after being treated for a brain infection www.caringbridge.org/visit/kevinmowl 1st Lt. Andrew Kinard After spending almost a year at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and “67 units of blood, multiple cardiac arrests, infections, pneumonia and kidney failure,” you’re still here today,” Brett Wolf He continues to undergo surgery to repair injuries and fight infection and fungus at Walter Reed Hospital Pisey Tan One day when Pisey suffered sharp kidney pain, Dara carried him to an PFC Justin Pinna Complications due to infection and blood clots made his prognosis dicey for quite a while after he arrived at Walter Reed, Mary Jesse Herrera I had a real bad infection and there wasn't any bone or muscle left." Ryan Bowen His medical problems were far from over. His damaged liver developed pockets of infection, causing bile to leak into his stomach — a problem that initially went undetected. Brandon Gauvreau Blake says her son developed a serious infection, which required surgery to remove the bone flap from one side of his head. She says if she didn't insist on tests, doctors never would have diagnosed it in time. Blake finally transferred her son to a private hospital in Seattle Navy Medic Christopher Braley He has spent the past two months at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Doctors there are treating him for an infection around a titanium plate in his brow that could require more surgery if it does not respond to medicine, said his grandmother, Jane Braley. Polilce Chief Jose Pequeño The news was from Washington, where Sugar Hill's police chief had contracted an infection in his hospital bed. Army Reserve 1st Sgt. Bill Krawczyk They discovered it was Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a drug-resistant skin infection commonly found on soldiers in Iraq. Krawczyk was given intravenous vancomycin -- one of the most powerful antibiotics. Despite the vancomycin, Krawczyk developed another cyst on his stomach in December 2005. It was also lanced and drained. Army 1st Lt Melissa Stockwell Her left leg was torn away just below the knee, but infection soon ravaged her leg. Surgeons had to saw off the damaged tissue, leaving her with just six inches of limb. John Hyland As often happens in complex surgery, Hyland developed an infection. The sore in one foot lingered for more than a month. Doctors said they might need to amputate, but on Thanksgiving Day the family learned the infection had begun to ebb. Dr. Slobodan Jazarevic but infection eventually forced him to undergo surgery at the main Army hospital he helped reorganize in Landstuhl, Germany. 1LT Erasmo Valles USMC They tried from March 31st of 2004 through January to keep his right leg. Finally, because of infections he decided to have his leg amputated Greg Gadson Doctors had to amputate his left leg after infection caused his arteries to collapse. Eric Edmundson The start of his treatment was delayed by an infection Brandon Gauvreau She says the worst was when doctors and nurses ignored her for days after she discovered swelling on Brandon's head. "I said 'did you look at the site that was swollen?' he said 'yes I did.' I said 'then how on earth could you not notice that his skull has opened and pus is coming from it?'" An infection had penetrated Brandon's skull. Emergency surgery removed the infection along with part of Brandon's skull. As soon as she could, Blake transfered her son to Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. Army Stf Sarg Dan Nevins Nevins was in such "excruciating" pain that he went to the emergency room. . A six-week regimen of "hard-core" antibiotics made him feel "wiped out." At Baptist Medical Center, doctors discovered that antibiotics had damaged his colon, and it looked as if he'd have to have a piece of it removed. On Jan. 23, after several years of chronic pain and recurring bone infections, doctors at Walter Reed removed Nevins' other leg below the knee. A six-week regimen of "hard-core" antibiotics made him feel "wiped out." He faces several months of recovery and rehabilitation. Staff Sgt. (retired) Andrew Robinson Robinson was back in the hospital last week for his first annual checkup and to have metal tibial nails removed from his right leg, where he has been battling an infection. Robinson was injured June 20, 2006 After being treated at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and a Veterans Affairs hospital in Tampa, Fla., he was moved to a VA facility in San Diego for physical therapy. AND THIS GUY IS STILL FIGHTING INFECTION Mathew Zajac The burn doctors have done numerous skin grafts and fought the infection that has been a constant threat Sgt. Michael Sarro Kelly Sarro recalls that a Beaumont surgeon gave her husband a wrenching choice: to have his foot amputated, or to go through months of operations and pain - and still risk losing the limb to infection. Marine Corp Dan Lasko ''I had surgery in Germany, then while flying back to the U.S. an infection set in and they had to go higher on the leg,'' he said. Marine Joshua Hoffman On Jan. 16, doctors summoned family members. Spinal fluid was leaking into his wound and causing infection. His fever spiked to more than 108 degrees. "We were told he had 12 hours to live," Hazel Hoffman said. "They said to fly the family in to say goodbye to him." Ryan Groves The blast cost him his left leg and severely damaged his right. As he recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he fought repeated bouts of infection and depression. "The optimism just came crashing down," Groves explained. "It's a pretty damn depressing place." Ian Hamilton (UK) Ian was stationed in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan and while in hospital after being caught up in a road-side bomb, caught a serious secondary infection –and was treated in Blackpool. Sgt. James T. Hackemer An infection in the remaining portion of Army Sgt. James T. Hackemer’s left leg prompted doctors to remove the rest of the limb up to his hip, family members said Thursday. “It was really a touch-and-go situation. We were told that they were removing the rest of his leg because the infection was spreading to the rest of his body, and it was affecting his brain waves,” said John Hackemer Jr., the father of the Town of Collins service member. Trevor Greene Greene's apparent depression was but one factor in a host of setbacks that were soon to follow. Already, he had been through one episode of pneumonia brought on by Acinetobacter baumannii, an antibiotic-resistant superbug commonplace among the wounded of Afghanistan and Iraq. Now a second bout was taking hold in his already weakened lungs. Greene's condition plunged further still in May, after a failed attempt to restore the top of his head with cranioplasty surgery, a procedure involving the application of two synthetic plates to his skull. Within two days of the operation, Greene was in intense distress and collapsed in his wheelchair, aspirating into his lungs and triggering the renewed onset of pneumonia. "You can imagine how we felt. Suddenly our son is back in intensive care with pneumonia for a second time. It was a big, big, big setback. It was huge. Sgt Brett Weldon The Army logistics soldier served more than five years with tours in Korea and Iraq. He walks with a limp now, as he sustained multiple injuries and infection to his right leg. With 10 surgeries in two years, he said he feels like he’s been trapped living inside his home and in the hospital. Army Sgt Dennis Cline Cline lost his hand in Afghanistan on Sept. 11, 2006, when his vehicle came under small-arms fire. In the hospital half of his forearm had to be amputated. After a year as an outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he and his family moved to Fort Carson, just south of Colorado Springs. Dennis was rehospitalized because of an infection. Brad Beard “The problem came when they removed my hand. Because of the metal rods in my hand, I got a serious infection. I had to get on major antibiotics.” Tomas Young Tomas and his family have been on a medical rollercoaster ride, in an out of the I.C.U., with rapid improvements followed by sudden set-backs. Tomas began to improve and was talking and cracking more jokes when he was struck with an infection that left him back in an unresponsive state in intensive care. Cpl. Jeremiah N. Luttmer The 23-year-old corporal received shrapnel to the back of his ankle, breaking two bones. More than 3 centimeters of bone had to be removed, and bone from his hip was grafted into his foot. He is also still battling an infection. US Army Maj Anthony Smith Smith has endured more than 30 surgical procedures to reconstruct his abdomen, the remains of his right arm, his burned face and the gaping wound in his hip, now painfully infected. Jeff Srisourath Once, when stitches broke, the heel got so badly infected that it took five months to heal. Then his body rejected the pins placed inside the foot, and he was hospitalized another four months to treat a new infection. |
| Deceased Sgt Merlin German Though he died unexpectedly after a surgery last week, the indomitable spirit of Sgt. Merlin German lives on at Brooke Army Medical Center, friends and family members said during a touching tribute to the Marine called the "Miracle Man." Burn patient Merlin German with Lt. Gen. James F. Amos during a promotion ceremony last May at BAMC. The cause of the sergeant's death was pending the return of autopsy results. Sgt Collin Bowen Staff Sgt. Collin Bowen, a Marion native and 1988 graduate of Marion High School, died early Friday at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The online journal has reported during the past two weeks that Collin’s critical-but-stable condition had become more distressed. He had his final of many emergency surgeries Tuesday to repair damage to tissue in his abdomen, which had become infected. US Army Spc Kevin Mowl His family said that after seven months of intense operations, Kevin was too weak to fight a sudden infection. Kevin had been fighting MDR Ab from his first few days in the miiltary evacuation system . Pfc. Duncan Charles Crookston He had slipped in and out of conciousness these past few months at BAMC, but recently developed an infection followed by a fever, his mother said. "Everyone hoped for the best, but he was always just kind in and out and kept getting infections," said Estevan Ruiz, 20, of Denver, a longtime friend of Crookston. Sergeant Frank Sandoval Contributions to a fund to benefit Sandoval's 5- year-old daughter can be sent in the name of Joelena Sandoval, account number 64756, AEA Federal Credit Union, 1780 S. First Ave., Yuma, Ariz., 85364. There was a contributing factor to his growing anger. Frank was getting sick. In late July, his head began swelling again and became red. Michelle was the first to notice something was wrong. Tests confirmed that he had contracted a dangerous bacterial infection known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which is common in hospital settings. A tired-looking Skirboll, the surgeon, arrived and told Michelle that he had removed the infected bone flap. In six months, they could put in another prosthesis. A portrait in perseverance, soldier slips away The Sandovals returned to Palo Alto earlier this month from their home in Yuma so Frank could have surgery to implant an artificial "bone flap" — a prosthesis that would replace the portion of his skull lost in the November 2005 explosion. Initially, the June 12 surgery appeared to have been a success. But when he did not awaken soon after the operation, a CT scan revealed massive swelling of the brain. Sandoval immediately underwent a second surgery to remove the flap, as well as another portion of his skull, to relieve the pressure. The reason for the swelling remains unclear, and Sandoval never regained consciousness. Spec Ethan J Biggers This DOD press release lists Ethan's death as being caused by his injuries sustained in Iraq. In the day's before his death his fever spiked to 104. He had been battling infection. A Long Goodbye Jonathan Benson Johnathan's fever spiked in the last days before his death. Like many who are wounded in Iraq, he's had a tenacious but mysterious infection that has been causing a fever. His abdominal wounds are not healing, and his mother reports that he has often been near death in the last week. Johnathan is still fighting for his life. Every time he starts to do a little better, He has a major setback... Johnathan has a big hole in his abdomen. The Doctor said it was like sewing up wet toilet paper. Again Johnathan surprised the Doctors. They have found bacteria now. We are excited about this because it gives them something to work on. This will only take 2 days. Maybe now they can get rid of the fever. Pfc. Caleb Lufkin "Here they were trying to fight infection in Caleb's leg and the conditions were just terrible." Gorsline said a number of Caleb's surgeries were attempts to stem infection, yet the conditions in the hospital rooms lent themselves to problems. Lufkin died on May 25, 2006, during surgery on his left leg. Jonathan Gadsden But he still had mysterious symptoms that he couldn't shake, like headaches, rashes, and intermittent fevers. His doctors gave him CT scans, laxatives, methadone, beta-blockers, Xanax, more surgery, and more antibiotics. An accurate evaluation of his case was difficult, however, because portions of his medical records never arrived from Bethesda. If they had, they would have shown a positive test for a kind of bacteria called Acinetobacter baumannii. Staff Sgt Juan Campos At BAMC, Campos was given a 50-50 chance of survival. His wife was told that he would have to undergo multiple surgeries to replace burned skin, and the risk of infection with burn patients is extreme. Army Spc. Mark Ryan Climaco Caguioa "His organs were failing him because he had a massive infection his body couldn’t fight anymore," said Maria Blanquita Climaco, Caguioa’s aunt and family spokesperson told me last week Brad Fulks Fulks didn’t make it, succumbing to an infection 18 days after he was injured. Captain Shane R Mahaffee 2006 Capt. Shane R. Mahaffee, wounded by a roadside bomb near Hilla, Iraq, on May 5, was injected with the drug in the emergency room and during surgery in Baghdad. Four days later, he suffered a pulmonary embolism -- a PE, in medical jargon. He died May 15 of infection and respiratory problems. PFC Ryan Christensen The Army has reversed a decision that had barred a New Jersey soldier who died of an infection contracted in Iraq from being included in a war memorial because his death was “non- combat” related, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith said Wednesday. |
| Third N.C.-Based Soldier Dies After Exhibiting Flu-Like Symptoms Sgt. Clay Garton Reportedly Dies From Infection POSTED: 6:49 pm EST February 17, 2005 UPDATED: 9:04 am EST February 18, 2005 RALEIGH, N.C. -- The mysterious death of a third soldier with North Carolina ties is raising questions. All three died from flu-like symptoms after returning from overseas deployments. Sgt. Clay Garton's family says the Army veteran exhibited flu-like symptoms after returning from overseas deployments. Sgt. Clay Garton was a flight medic at Fort Bragg. He spent 16 months in Iraq and returned home in July. Then, he got sick. His family said he had symptoms like the flu. He fought it for three weeks, but his fever soared to 106 degrees. The day after Christmas, he died. "They came out in five minutes and said, 'He's gone,'" said Duane Garton, Clay's father. According to a preliminary autopsy report, Garton's liver and spleen were swollen. His wife said doctors told her he died from infection. It is the third recent example of soldiers dying after exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Capt. Gilbert Munoz was a special forces soldier at Fort Bragg who was deployed to the Middle East. After he got back, he died from a bacterial infection. Third N.C.-Based Soldier Dies After Exhibiting Flu-Like Symptoms Sgt. Christopher Rogers was a reservist from Raleigh. He went to Afghanistan. After he came home, his temperature hit 109 degrees. His widow, Windy Rogers, wonders whether he had what Munoz had. "Chris was admitted with flu-like symptoms. Whatever it was, it shut all of his organs down -- shut them all down -- and I want to know what happened," she said. Garton's family has questions, too. His wife said while Garton was in Iraq, he treated someone exposed to depleted uranium. Garton's father wonders if that had something to do with his death. "He went through 16 months of hell and he came back and they didn't do nothing for him," he said. WRAL called Fort Bragg, the Department of the Army and some congressional offices. At this point, it does not appear that anyone is investigating the deaths or trying to determine if there is a common cause. |
| February 5, 2007 Covey said that infection rates have climbed above 40 percent for combat orthopedic injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. Infection rates for civilian traumatic injuries are normally less than 5 percent. Once they take root, infections can become chronic, Covey said, and eventually lead to loss of muscle tissue and limb function, amputations and even death. “Some you can’t stop for months,” he said. “It has a direct effect on rehabilitation.” |
| Wounds After the War WBAL-TV 11 news I-Team reporter Deborah Weiner investigated these wounds after the war. Three days after he arrives at Walter Reed, Knight-Major said a medical resident told her that her son's remaining leg is so badly infected, it must go. "I then consented to my son's left leg being amputated to save his life," Knight-Major said. The day after that amputation, Knight-Major is surprised to learn doctors need to amputate part of her son's left hand as well. "In my mind, I'm just thinking they're cutting my child away, one day at a time," she said. |
| Marine gets trip home Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob Leicht By Alyson Chapman The Daily Times Published June 1, 2007 Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob Leicht came home to Kerrville for one day this week because of his successful recovery so far. Doctors said the 21-year-old still has a long way to go in making a full recovery, but the antibiotics appear to be fighting effectively. Leicht injured his right leg in Iraq on May 3 when the Humvee he was driving was hit by a remote-detonation land mine, which destroyed the front of the vehicle. “On Memorial Day, the doctor said the skin graft had taken 100 percent,” said his mother, Shirly Leicht. “However, infection leading to amputation is still a real possibility, therefore Jacob will undergo another four weeks of intravenous antibiotic therapy to prevent that.” According to his mother, Leicht will remain a patient at BAMC until he no longer needs the IV antibiotics or until she and her husband, Craig, who is a medical doctor, can convince the doctors that they can use home health care to administer the antibiotics. |
| War without end Wednesday, March 29, 2006 It looks like Brent was in two different hospitals in the "Valley" area not too long before they had an outbreak of Acinetobacter Baumanni. He was in a Phoenix hospital in October, then a Tempe hospital in February. When Brent returned to Arizona, the bruise on his arm turned out to be trouble after all. He was diagnosed with an infection, landing him in the hospital in Phoenix and delaying his leg surgery at Brooke. He transferred to Brooke in mid-November. It turned out he didn't have an infection after all. He underwent surgery to remove heterotopic ossification, or HO, from his left leg on December 2. He flew home for Christmas then returned to Brooke in mid-January, hoping to complete one final surgery to remove the HO in his right leg and replace the skin graft on the stump. Doctors had already decided not to sew his legs together. They had another plan to provide a cushioned cover for the HO on the right stump. They wanted to use Brent's left biceps. Brent resisted. Losing his biceps meant losing the use of the arm forever, even if an acceptable elbow replacement were developed in the future. He couldn't operate an artificial elbow without his biceps muscle. But the decision about surgery was put off when doctors found an infection in the elbow. The bone was so infected that some of it looked like cottage cheese. Doctors scraped it out and removed all the pins and brackets that seemed to aggravate the frequent infections. Brent went home to Arizona in early February with an IV bag pumping antibiotics into his body 24 hours a day for six weeks. By then, Brent was beginning to consider using his biceps to cover his right stump. Using the biceps meant doctors could leave the HO as it was, avoiding the risk of shortening his leg as they cut away the rogue bone growth. He still hasn't made a decision because two weeks ago the infection in his arm worsened. Brent became ill at a restaurant one night, and his cousin Jason Jones rushed him to the emergency room. He had a 1021/2-degree temperature. He could barely hold his head up. He was admitted to the hospital in Tempe, then transferred to Brooke in San Antonio. Doctors there performed surgery on the elbow to remove antibiotic "beads,'' which had been implanted months ago and had run their course. Brent is still being tested to pinpoint the source of the new infection and to determine how to treat it. Brent's mother, Kathy, said Tuesday that they hoped to have answers in the next day or so. They expect, in any case, that Brent will be on intravenous antibiotics for six more weeks. |
| Injured alongside Dozier was Staff Sgt. Nathan Reed. Shrapnel shattered his right knee. "Plus, I had a bad infection goin', which is, they say, is common to most of the guys that are getting injured in Iraq," Reed said. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Note: The military knew that they were the source and that they were spreading the Acinetobacter to the patients well before Kimberly Dozier was even injured. Still, to this day, Kimberly Dozier believes the bacteria that infected her and everyone that was injured with her, came from the soil in Iraq. Can somebody get her the truth? Kimberly Dozier on CBS News When everyone thought I was doing well and on the road to recovery at Bethesda Naval, actually every week there was some new nightmare, some new horror that would appear that required me, us as a family, to decide which option we wanted to take. Because they don't know. I had Acinetobacter, an Iraqi bacteria, it's also prevalent throughout the Middle East and Europe. Normally innocuous. But you blast it into a body that's compromised, that's immune compromised because of the trauma it's going through, and all of a sudden it flourishes, and it flourishes to the point that it can kill you. The problem is the medicine that treats it also destroys your kidneys. So I had to choose – after about two weeks on the medicine, my kidneys were tanking. And I had to choose between getting my kidneys cut out or going on dialysis and then having the kidneys removed and continuing to take the drug, or just going off the drug and hoping that my body was healthy enough at that point to take over the fight on its own. Now I was very lucky. But that was one of the things that every single guy on my patrol who was injured went through. I didn't know about it. Americans don't know about it. So that story, extremity war injuries, to try to bring that to light – Kimberly Dozier Testify's to Senate Defense subcommittee Start video at 2 hrs 25 mins Kimberly Dozier on Larry King What is this Acetinobacter? A kind of bacteria that occurs only in Iraq? DOZIER: That is exactly why we nickname it "Iraqi bacter." It's actually pronounced Acinetobacter. And it's one of the injury's side effects that nobody tells you about. You hear these headlines -- two soldiers injured, three soldiers injured and it doesn't quite hit home like the -- the numbers of dead. What you don't realize is the kind of stuff that they're having to battle once they get back to the hospitals back home. One of them is this bug. Now, this bug complicates recovery, sometimes causes people to need to get amputations and legs that could otherwise be saved, limbs that could be saved. And it's something that hit my system. The problem is there's only one drug that's pretty good at treating it, about 90 percent effective. That drug, however, has a pretty nasty side effect. It destroys your kidneys. |
| Healing with New Limbs and Fragile Dreams Most of the amputees returning from combat zones have an infection, because a bomb blast can embed bacteria, dirt or pieces of clothing deep into the wound, Colonel Pasquina said. A severe infection could require further amputation or possibly be fatal. |
| Buthaina H. Muhammad Approximately three weeks ago, Buthaina H. Muhammad, 38, was severely injured when her house in Baghdad was struck by a mortar fired by unknown forces. She was rushed the next day to a US army emergency hospital, but was soon transferred to an Iraqi hospital which lacked the facilities and supplies to treat her. She was already suffering from septicemia (bacteria in her blood), due to contaminated conditions. |
| Wednesday evening August 8,2007 Nick Narron Nick went into Jewish Hospital in Louisville Kentucky for heart surgery. He is fighting for his life as I write this. He has been suffering from co infections with MRSA and MDR Acinetobacter baumanni. He has been on dialysis from the toxic drugs used to treat his infections. He went into the hospital for life saving surgery and ended up with two (that we know of ) life threatening bacterial infections. Monday August 13, 2007 Nick continues to hold on to life though he is non responsive. Please send all your best hopes and prayers his way. Wednesday Aug 29, 2007 Nick died early this morning with three infections after being removed from life support. |
| ODU Student Home from Iraq Bartlett was a cocky, 5-foot-11 track athlete when he enlisted in the Army a month after graduating from Norfolk's Maury High School in 2003. A year later, his Korea-based infantry unit was dispatched to Iraq. He was at the wheel of a Humvee south of Fallujah when the bomb hit. One of his legs was sheared off below the knee; the other had to be amputated. Over 13 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Bartlett endured 17 surgeries. He learned to walk with cutting-edge prosthetic legs then fought an infection that kept him in a wheelchair for six months. |
| Tampa VA REINFECTS Wounds Craig Chambers is the father of Marine Lance Corporal Brian Chambers, who was in the same intensive care unit at Bethesda Naval Hospital as Vincent Mannion during many weeks of recovery. He said he had accepted the VA's plan for his son to go to the Tampa VA facility for rehabilitation, but it did not go well. Brian's wounds were re-infected, resulting in a considerable setback. "It wasn't great, to tell you the truth," Chambers said of his son's six weeks at the Tampa TBI center. "There are some good people there, for sure, but understaffing is a real issue. Salt Lake City VA Infects Kamps, now a Montana State University student, said the VA wouldn't let him get tooth implants from a Bozeman dentist but required that he travel to Salt Lake City. After he returned to Bozeman, an infection that felt as big as a softball sent him to the emergency room, where he needed intravenous antibiotics. |
| It's been here for awhile but this is the first confirmation to us from a civilian hospital. Hospitals do not have to report these infections to anyone. Completely Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumanni Forty nine year old Charlotte Nunez dies at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans, LA, from Acinetobacter baumannii which was tested for susceptibility to every drug. This strain was resistant to every one. The hospital admitted to her family that she got this bug in their hospital and there was nothing more they could do to treat it. |
Acinetobacter baumannii
in Iraq
Casualties of Acinetobacter baumannii
in Iraq
Casualties of Acinetobacter baumannii
| 9-year-old Mustafa by the AP Firas holds his nine-year-old son Mustafa Wednesday, March 5, 2008 in Baghdad. Mustafa was shot at a U.S. checkpoint while riding in the back of his family's car last August. The boy was first treated at the U.S. military hospital in Baghdad's Green Zone and then at the Balad Air Base north of the capital, as well as at a few Iraqi hospitals. But they did not stop a potentially fatal infection. His last surgery, performed in October in Jordan, managed to halt the infection. The cost was covered by the war victims fund, named for Marla Ruzicka, an American humanitarian activist killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005. |
