YOU MAKE IT POSSIBLE: Mystery infection leads to lifesaving care
- cerraa
- Jul 1, 2002
- 2 min read
What Rod Goodall thought was a typical flu turned into a 3-week stay at Sault Area Hospital. Thanks to your donations, he was able to receive lifesaving care, right here at home.
Rod Goodall loves to travel. He and his his wife, Laura, often visit the same sunny spots year after year. This spring, just after one of these vacations, he started to feel “odd”.
At first, he assumed it was the flu. He left work early, went home, and laid down to rest. He warned Laura he was sick so she could keep her distance. Laura is a nurse at Sault Area Hospital, and Rod didn’t want her to catch what he had.
Rod figured after a few days rest he’d be fine – but his symptoms didn’t go away. In fact, they got worse. He was violently shaking in his sleep when Laura went in to check on him. She found him drenched in sweat, and she rushed him to the hospital immediately.
“Dr. Phil Evans and the emergency nurses were terrific,” Rod shared. “He told me that I was sick, but they we’re going to get to the bottom of it, and get me better.”
Rod’s care team suspected infection. His blood pressure was hardly registering when he arrived. He was immediately connected to IVs in both arms, vital signs monitors, and oxygen. All of this critical equipment was there to help care for him because of you and so many generous donors.
“I was admitted and quarantined. The team on 3C that took care of me was fantastic. I started off with, I think, 5 blood tests a day to determine the cause. As they started to rule certain things out, it was less and less.”
The blood tests pointed to Rod’s liver. A CT scan helped his care team find the source: an abscess. Critical equipment in Medical Imaging and the Laboratory helped determine Rod’s care plan, and it wouldn’t be here without your support.
A few days later, Rod had a surgical procedure to remove some of the abscess, and place a tube into his liver. For a few months after, Nurses would have to insert a syringe into the tube, and flush fluid through to help clear the infection. He needed IV antibiotics, and he stayed in hospital until his team determined he was stable enough to go home.
Had Rod not gone to the emergency room when he did, he might have been days from death. Today, his liver is healing and life is getting back to normal. The source of Rod’s infection was never determined, although his care team suspected something he ate on vacation. “One thing I know now, more than ever, is to appreciate the body and its own internal defense mechanisms,” he said.
Until this year, Rod had never spent a day in the hospital. He now has a new appreciation for how important supporting local healthcare is.
"Whether it's upgrading equipment or bringing something new in - donors like us are making sure that our hospital has access to the equipment we all need!" - Rod Goodall, former patient, proud Rotarian and Sault Area Hospital Foundation Donor
Donations help us deliver outstanding care.
