Gary’s Story

Site created on April 2, 2018

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting. This is Gary's story of his journey with osteomyelitis.

On Sunday February 4 Gary woke with pain near a tooth that had undergone a root canal some time ago. He took a couple of antibiotics the dentist had given him before and the pain and tenderness went away. On the following Tuesday night, February 6, he awoke with a slight sore throat, got up and took Zicam, thinking he was getting a cold. On Wednesday, February 7, he awoke with severe pain in both collar bones, but worse on the left side.  I told him he had probably slept wrong and had chest wall pain like I had before. But it kept getting worse, and he said it felt like his collar bones were broken. The pain shifted more to the right, and he developed swelling, redness and pain at the collarbone joint and up the collarbone toward his right shoulder.   

This continued to worsen, and he developed a slight fever. Since we had been exposed to the flu, he took two doses of leftover Tamiflu on Friday, February 9.  We tried to get an appointment with his doctor, but they were closed. So, we went to Urgent Team in Tullahoma that evening, and they tested for flu and strep; both of which were negative. The Nurse Practitioner said the Tamiflu may have given a false negative result. They X-rayed his collar bones and chest, and they looked normal. Then they gave him a steroid shot and a prescription for more Tamiflu. 

On Saturday, February 10, he felt better, so he did not take the Tamiflu. On Sunday, February 11, he awoke feeling bad again. On Monday, he had severe spasms in his neck muscles and his muscles were knotted and hard. We went to his doctor and she examined the swelling on his collarbone and neck and the tight muscles. She gave him a prescription for muscle relaxers and sent him home.

On Tuesday the 13th Gary’s pain and swelling were worse and spasms were really bad. I asked our neighbor who was also a chiropractor,, to come over an try to release the spasms. While examining Gary, he told us it could be a possible infection since the area around the neck and collar bones have a lot of lymph nodes. He said if it got worse we needed to go to ER.

That night, the pain became unbearable, and we went to Harton ER. He was hurting to badly to try to ride to Murfreesboro. The on-call Hospitalist gave him Fentanyl and Dilaudid shots, but they did not ease the pain. They finally did a CT scan and told us he had either a tumor or infection in the collarbone area and that we needed to get to an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible. We were in the ER from 10:30 pm on February 13 to 4:30 am February 14.

That morning after 2 hrs of sleep, I began trying to get an appointment with our orthopedic surgeon. That afternoon we went to our Orthopedic specialist in Murfreesboro. He did X-rays, looked at the scans from Harton and said it was more complicated than he was comfortable handling due to all of the major nerves and blood vessels in the area. He also said it was more sophisticated than the hospital at Murfreesboro could handle. He said we needed to be at Vanderbilt where they had the doctors and research facilities to deal with the issue. He called and arranged for Vanderbilt to see him in the ER.

We arrived at Vanderbilt around 4 pm Valentine's day. The flu epidemic was rampant and people were wearing masks all over the hospital. It was like something out of a science fiction movie. We finally saw a doctor around 10:30 pm. They were going to admit him, but had no beds. So, we stayed in the ER Department for three days. He had a multiple teams of doctors from Infectious Disease, Thoracic Surgery, Spine, Ear Nose and Throat, Speech doctors consulting on his case. He had multiple blood tests and cultures, multiple MRIs and CT scans with and without contrast.

The CT Scans MRIS showed a pocket of infection behind the breastbone, but they didn't know where it was coming from. He had no open wounds it injuries that could have caused it. Again, because if the location of the infection and the blood vessels around it, they did not feel safe in doing a needle biopsy for cultures. He had surgery on February 17 to drain the abscess and obtain cultures. After about 3 days, The cultures showed strep veridens bacteria that live in the mouth and throat.

The medical team first feared the bacteria had seated in the 6-inch titanium plate in Gary’s neck or had come from the ulcers in his esophagus. But the endoscopy and MRIs showed that wasn't the case. So the only thing they could decide was the bacteria most likely came from under the tooth with the root canal.

We were in Vanderbilt on IV antibiotics (Vancomycin) the first time for 8 days. They had to change it to Unasyn because the vancomycin was too hard on his kidneys. He went home on February 22 and was on IV Unasyn at home for 4 weeks. We changed the bag every 6 hrs round the clock til March 18.

We went for a follow-up appointment with the Infectious Disease specialist and had CT scan on March 13. On March 15, the Thoracic surgeon explained that scan showed the infection had eroded the head of the collarbone joint and the bone itself.

On Thursday, March 22 at 11 a.m, they did a second surgery and removed the joint/head of his collarbone and an inch and half of the collarbone itself. They took Gary back to surgery about 10:45 for the prep. His surgery was to start about 11:15-11:39. They told us it would take 3-4 hrs, and he would have a 3-4-inch incision, 2-3 inches deep and go home with a wound vac. He dreaded this so much.

 I don't understand why he has suffered so much in his whole life. He has a big heart and cares so much for other people. But God knows and He always works things for the good for this that live Him and who are called according to His purpose.

So this is how the Lord worked that day..

Surgery went well and was only an hour long. The incision was not as large only about 2 inches long and 2-3 inches deep. They took the joint and about an inch and half of the collarbone. He was awake and doing well. The infection had been eating away at the bone despite all the antibiotics. It was mushy and dead and crumbled when they removed it. He was in Vanderbilt Hospital til March 24. He went home with the wound vac for about a week and a half and on the IV antibiotics for about 2 weeks with Home Health 3 days a week to change the wound vac, They told us it if that didn't work, they may have to take the entire collarbone and possibly the first rib on the right side. He continued with the Ceftriaxone IV antibiotics at home and they added Flagel antibiotic. 

On March 26 the site started swelling and holding fluid, and he had intermittent fevers. The wound looked good when the Home Health nurse changed the packing on Tues and Wed, March 27 & 28, I suspected the site had sealed too soon and had trapped fluid and bacteria behind it the incision. The swelling increased and the nurse could barely get the packing in on Wednesday. I called Dr. Nelson and Dry Grogan's office on the 27th and Grogan saw him Thursday March 29.  When Dr. Grogan’s assistant Ferron examined him, she could not get a cotton swab in very far.  Dr Grogan examined him and said it had closed off. He told Farron to get some numbing medicine to numb the site. She just looked at him. Then Dr. Grogran started talking and joking while he took his finger and punctured the site and opened the wound with his finger. He never numbed this 2-inch incision. Gary just closed his eyes and never made a sound although it was so painful.

Afterwards, Farron began packing the wound using a sterile cotton swab. The wound had to be repacked every day. Grogan took off the wound vac during the office visit on Thurs March 28.  On Friday, March 29 the wound looked fine, pink-red healthy site. On Sat. March 31 when home health nurse unpacked the wound, it was full of greenish/yellow pus and sloughing skin. I immediately began calling Dr. Grogan and Dr. Nelson’s afterhours numbers and arranged for them to meet us in the Vanderbilt ER. Kristen Wernesky from Dr. Grogan’s office said she would meet us there, and Dr. Cohen said if she was already gone when we got to Vanderbilt, she would see us the next morning.

We went back to Vanderbilt ER, had a CT scan, blood and wound cultures, and was admitted. Dr Cohen told us on Sunday morning, April 1, that the CT scan showed infection in the bone again. She said that the surgery team did not send bone from the second surgery to pathology to make sure it was clear of infection and that the wound would have to be debrided and more bone taken til they got to healthy bone and she would make sure it was sent to pathology.

 Gary has surgery today, April 2, at 730 am to debride the wound and take more bone.

We are still waiting for testing for CDiff infection in his Colon, They told us that the only bacteria not covered by all the antibiotics that Gary has been on was MRSA. We are waiting on the cultures to confirm if this is the case. 

Newest Update

April 30, 2023

Journal entry by Tina Barton —

So, I've decided to start journaling again. Not sure why, but  just felt like it I guess. What a ride it has been and continues to be. Gary has felt better the last few months than he has in years. He's back to doing his photography. Some days he goes out during the day while I work. Other days we go together. WOW, I have learned so much from him.

My pride gets the best of me sometimes since I've been taking pictures for more than 30 years even though I've had no professional training like Gary has. But he has taught me so much about lighting, cropping, correcting, positioning and on, and on, and on. We both like different things. I love nature, flowers, birds, animals of all kinds, old abandoned things and industrial sites and artsy, fartsy stuff. 🤣 He likes old buildings, barns and things like that. But He is sooooo good. He sees pictures in the most obvious places that I really have to work for. It's like second nature to him, a gift.

 Truth be told, we are both a bit competitive. We are both human and like to be recognized for our work, and I often don't accept his constructive criticism very graciously. I'm not half-bad, but my pictures will never be as good as his and I continue to learn. 😊 

Gary recently started his own Facebook group, Old Barn, Homes, Churches, Stores and Country Images. There, he shares his photography and provides a place for others to share theirs.  It's wonderful to see him enjoy life again. Praise YOU LORD!!!!! YOU DID THIS.

I'm on my 16th year working from home and am blessed to have the same manager the entire time through 3 different companies. That's a God story for a different day.

Over the past 5 years, we've had wonderful blessings and a few bumps in the road, including COVID. But, the worst was losing Patricia to pancreatic cancer. She came back into our lives when Gary battled the osteomyelitis in 2018. Only 2 years later, in September 2020 she was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She died only 2 months later. 

I'm so thankful that God used Brenda Hitt to bring her back into our lives. We had 2 years with her filled with laughter and fun and lots of love. It was hard to watch her suffer in so much pain and the sadness as she knew she was dying. I lost a friend, and Gary lost the one sister that mean the most to him. He has another sister, but they remain estranged as does he and his dad. The emotional baggage is just too heavy and the pain too hard for all of them, so those relationships have fallen away. God can still heal them. They just have to be willing.

Our oldest granddaughter is married with a little boy who is 10 months old. We've never gotten to meet him and we haven't seen Savannah for more than a year now. My heart breaks and I don't understand why her husband convinced her to leave all of her family. But again God knows, and He still has a plan. Sometimes those plans mean we have to suffer here so that good can come. My suffering and heartache is not always about me. Sometimes He's just working through that. But I know, that I know, that I know that GOD IS GOOD, HIS MERCY IS EVERLASTING and HE LOVES ME!!! His will be done.

Steven finished high school last year and Samantha graduates in 19 days. They are both still at home, but our first grands have all grown up. Sam has been in band since middle school and plans to follow in her dad's footsteps and become an industrial electrician. She has the determination to do just that. Steven is working oh his plans and he will figure it out. He has such a loving and caring nature and he loves children. God has a plan for both of them. They are both precious and so loved and we are truly blessed. 

Logan works in Oak Ridge and stays there through the week in his camper. God has blessed him and he is a wonderful man. I am so very proud of him.  He is loving and so faithful and loyal to his family and friends. Autumn is home with the kids for now since it's Sam's  senior year. She  goes up occasionally to spend the week with him. I am thankful for the love they share. It is so evident how much they love each other. My prayer is that they will find a church home and be rooted there. 

Andrea, Jeremy, and Hudson still live in Lynchburg and Abby is with her other grandmother, Kelli. Huddy loves to come visit us. We recently made brownies together, the way I used to cook with the girls. We haven't Abby in more than a year. Mental health and ADHD issues have taken her from our reach and the grandmother will not allow her to visit us. These issues are so very hard for families. It's been a journey for Abby and hopefully she is healing. The seeds God planted when she went to kids choir with me on Wednesday nights were not sown in vain. God will use them. HE IS ABLE!!

Lord, my prayer is that you will restore our complete family once again.

So to today.... Gary doesn't feel well right now; nothing major I hope. But he had an accident a couple weeks ago while smoking pork chops for supper. The large (commercial) smoker lid fell on his right arm and peeled about 2 inches of the top layer of skin away. It looked horrible. His skin is so thin and bruises so easily. It may be from the iron-deficiency anemia he has from his chronic kidney disease. It is healing though and will be ok.

A couple days after the accident, he went to the Urgent Team (UT) and they gave him Keflex for infection. Two days later he developed a sinus and chest cold. Back to UT on Wednesday the 26th and they gave him a dexamethasone (snot shot) and told him to keep up the antibiotics. If you don't know, dexamethasone is a steroid, and it kept him up all night, literally. He finally laid down about 8 a.m. as I was going to my office to work.

Finally on Friday afternoon, he felt well enough to ride in the Miata and take pictures. We spent the afternoon driving through Warren County, through farmlands in Morrison and the rolling hills of McMinnville. Thank you Lord for such a beautiful day.  Yesterday, he woke with a horrible headache and was in bed all day and still in bed today. I'm hoping it is just a headache from having no caffeine. We will see. Tummy issues for me, so I didn't attend service today. Hopefully, I'll be able to go to our 5th Sunday fellowship tonight.

A week from today, we have a surprise party planned for my mom's 80th birthday. We're hoping her church family from Orange Hill Congregational Methodist and Mt. Calvary Apostolic Churches will be there. Mom has a wonderful testimony of faithfulness to the Lord and so deserving of honor.  She and dad celebrated 64 years together on April 25. They've weathered a lot of storms as well, including the loss of my oldest sister Joy in 2012. But God has kept them and they are both doing well for their ages. Dad was 81 on April 20. 

I guess that's enough for now. I didn't set out to write a book today. :) But, someday, maybe "Down the Greentown Road," will be come a reality. Till then, keep praising the only one worthy of praise, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Keep our family in your prayers. We are not unlike so many other families that satan is trying to rob. He will not win. We have the ULTIMATE WARRIOR on our side. To God be all Glory!!!!!

 

 

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