His family was hopeful he would fully recover: Enterobacter Aerogenes infection

On September 2, 2006, 27 year old Josh Nahum was injured in a skydiving accident near Boulder, Colorado. He had broken his femur and fractured his skull and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His family was hopeful that, even though the doctors believed Josh would have a long road ahead, he would, with rehabilitation, fully recover within a year or two.

During his recovery in ICU he suddenly developed a bacterial infection - Staph. His neurosurgeon prescribed Vancomycin which cleared it up. As the weeks went by, Josh began to get better, even taking brief walks with the help of his walker and his Physical Therapist, Brian.

After 6 weeks or so in ICU, he was transferred to a nearby Rehab facility until he suddenly developed a 103-degree fever and was sent back to ICU. Tests reported that Josh had yet another bacteria named "Enterobacter Aerogenes." 

On Monday, October 9th Josh coded and stopped breathing, becoming comatose with no respiratory effort whatsoever. The Emergency Room was called and he was put on a ventilator. An excessive pressure buildup on his brain due to the bacterial infection caused a portion of his brain to be pushed into his spinal cord, permanently interrupting his ability to breathe on his own as well as his ability to move his head, arms or legs ever again. 

In a matter of moments, Josh had become a ventilator dependent quadriplegic. Less than two weeks later, he died, not from his original injuries, but from complications arising from virulent bacteria he caught in ICU.

Advice: Help strangers protect themselves against medical errors by telling your stories widely, as Josh's mother, Victoria Nahum, has been doing.

Read another young athlete’s hospital infection story.

Thanks to Victoria Nahum for the source story in hospitalacquiredinfections.blogspot.com and to Adam Gee and Elizabeth Cohen.

He'll Be Back Playing Football in the Fall: Surgical error

His mother says about her son Jimmy, "His whole life was in a team uniform," first baseball at age 4 and then football at age 7. And he was good--he'd won his local Punt, Pass and Kick competition as a child. Then at age 15 he had a bicycle accident that required outpatient knee surgery. He was told he'd be back on the football field in the fall. But he developed a staph infection, probably from a dirty surgical instrument or doctor or nurse who didn't wash their hands thoroughly enough.

MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and other bacteria had invaded his blood, bones and joints. His treatment has involved massive amounts of Vancomycin and other antibiotics, physical therapy and multiple operations. He requires bone grafts from his hip and heel to replace the lost bone damaged by infection. Now Jimmy Toolen can't go to school, and needs a cane, walker or wheelchair to get around. The hospital infection has also damaged his mother and father's health, and has wrecked them financially.

His mother Lisa Toolen has worked hard to support a state law requiring the disclosure of hospital infection rates in South Carolina. Efforts like hers have persuaded 16 states to pass some form of public reporting law. She has told her story to the Consumer Reports organization, which is collecting these stories.

Advice for parents: Tell your story loud and long, here and elsewhere. Join with other victims' families to get laws passed to reduce hospital infection rates.

Read more in articles by Robert Kittle and David Hutchins.