Thursday's Internet Edition, March 11, 2010.
battles bone infection
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| WEAPONS OF WAR – Six year old Shay Bradshaw holds the “medicine ball” and syringes her mother, Shmay uses to administer her IV antibiotics every six hours. Shay found out a few months ago that she had developed a serious infection in the bone near her knee. Surgeons removed a great deal of bone and prescribed the aggressive antibiotic treatments in hopes of curing the infection within the next six weeks. |
One day her little sister Zoe accidentally kicked Shay in the leg while they were roughhousing, causing swelling near her knee. Although Shay had become more and more exhausted after every day, she still didn’t stop her activities, as a matter of fact, it was after bouncing on the trampoline that Shay’s mom, Shmay noticed that the swelling had become severe and decided to take her to the doctor.
After examining the little girl, the doctor ordered an MRI and then referred her to Scott and White Hospital where she had a CAT scan. Doctors recommended a biopsy so they could determine whether the swelling was being caused by a tumor or an infection. Shay and her mom expected to be in the hospital for about a day but ended up staying for a week.
Doctors were astonished to find a severe infection in the bone near Shay’s knee. The infection was so serious that the surgeon had to scrape away a large amount of bone from their young patient’s leg and insert a time released antibiotic to help rid the bone of infection.
“The doctors still don’t know what caused it. They’re treating it as a staff infection,” Shmay said. “It had been there for several months before we knew. We had no idea what was wrong; we were just worried about her because all she wanted to do was sleep. The infection was draining her body of its energy.”
Shay is home now and her mother has been trained to administer intravenous antibiotics every six hours around the clock, a procedure that takes about 30 minutes each time. The medicine, which must be kept refrigerated, has to be removed to room temperature not more than two or less than one hour before administration.
“I have two alarm clocks set to help me keep up,” said Shmay, who, besides Shay and Zoe, also has a 14 year-old-son, Jimmy and a daughter Brenna who is almost 11.
“They wanted us to find a pediatric nurse who could come to our house every six hours to give Shay her medicine, but there isn’t one in our area,” Shmay said. “They offered to let us stay at the Ronald McDonald House for six weeks, but I told them I have three other children at home to take care of.”
Shmay decided that the best solution for her family would be for her to learn to give the medication herself.
Shay makes frequent visits to the lab at Hamilton General Hospital to have her IV line cleaned and replaced and she has weekly appointments at Scott and White.
Because of the amount of bone that was removed, Shay, who now feels well enough to be restless, is not allowed to put any pressure on her leg because there is a possibility of a break.
If the infection is cleared up in six to eight weeks, doctors will perform grafts using bone from Shay’s hips to help rebuild the area.
Because Shay requires around-the-clock care and close supervision, it is necessary for Shmay to be at home with her for at least the next six to eight weeks.
Shmay, who has lived in Hamilton since January 2007, is a cook at the Crossfire Café at Circle T Arena. She also helps out cleaning stalls or making preparations wherever she can during events at the facility.
Medicaid takes care of the medical bills for Shay; however, the family relies on the income from Shmay’s job for their living expenses. The family is facing serious financial hardship for the next six to eight weeks and for as long as Shmay is not able to work.
Shmay’s friends and co-workers have set up a fund at Extraco Bank in the name of Shay Bradshaw. Anyone who would like to help may make a donation there.