Thank you for the comments!

Healthy changes have been happening in my life, but I have not had the opportunity to share or update on prior posts in a long time due to computer issues. But have no fear, there is tons to discuss!!

As I was going through my old posts, I came across this comment on my post from April of 2006 (found here: http://healthnwellness4u.blogspot.com/2006/04/cellulitis-and-staph-infections.html).

Anonymous said..

I am currently recovering from a Cellulitis based Staph Infection on most of my face. I just spent 4 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics. My skin is still itchy but I feel a lot better minus the lack of energy.
I was wondering if you have had any signs of it returning since this happened to you?

December 01, 2007 3:10 PM

Here's my answer:

What I encountered after the round of Vanco was recurring fungal infections. When I was in the hospital the last day I started to get a fungal infection on my hands and feet. Apparently I had a mild case of athletes foot before my staph infection, which didn't go away completely. The vanco, of course, knocked my defenses out, so the altheltes foot just took a hold and caused much undue pain and suffering in my hands and feet. It caused my feet to swell up dramatically- I couldn't walk or put normal shoes on, it was that bad. And unfortunately, as we all use our hands to put the anti-fungal cream on our feet, I had some of the fungus stay on my hands. Obviously hand washing after applying the cream wasn't as effective as I thought.

The doctor prescribed me a powerful anti-fungal cream to dry it up, which thankfully worked. However, I came to find out that certain things would cause it to flare up. Processed sugar being one. That was the prompt for me to post about the dangers of processed sugar (http://healthnwellness4u.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html).

It took me over a year to completely recover from the effects of the staph and vanco. My energy level was what took the longest to recover. To this day I watch all my cuts and immediately wash them and put an anti-biotic ointment and cover them. Thankfully I have not had a recurrence of Staph, but I know that it's lurking out there. I pray that I never have to deal with it again!

In Honor Of Congenital Heart Defect Week!!

A friend of mine posted about this in her work at home forum. The following is from her post:

As you all know my daughter has a Congenital Heart Defect. She just turned a year old and is going well. This week in Feb. very important to me. I wanted to take one big donation from the At Home Resource boards to donate to Congenital Heart Information Network. I want the donations to start today and end Feb 5th. I will donate all the money to help out these very special little children. I am currently trying to get the Govenor of Maryland to pass a bill to support goals and ideas of this week. If you are interested in donating you can send payment to paypal at athome@athomeresources.com Thanks!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An international coalition of families, individuals, non-profit organizations, support groups, and health professionals participate in a campaign to increase public awareness of Congenital Heart Defects and Childhood Heart Disease.

In November, 1999, Jeanne Imperati, organizer of the Awareness campaign, encouraged members of our online support groups, visitors to our site, and interested health professionals to write to their governors, requesting that February 14, 2000 be proclaimed as A Day for Hearts: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day™ in their state.

Within several weeks of her initial announcement, Mrs. Imperati and members of our online community received proclamations from forty-four states!

In 2006, well over 100 hospitals, practices and organizations throughout the world participated in awareness activities, celebrations, media events, and local press interviews.

Congenital Heart Disease is considered to be the most common birth defect, and is a leading cause of birth-defect related deaths worldwide.

Despite the fact that CHD affects millions of families, a relatively small amount of funding is currently available for parent/patient educational services, research, and support.

By sharing our experiences and providing information, we hope to raise public awareness about conditions that affect approximately 40,000 babies each year in the United States alone.

It is our sincere hope that efforts to educate the public will result in additional funding for support and educational services, scientific research, and improved quality of care for our children and adults. http://tchin.org/aware/index.htm


Erin will actually be accepting donations continuously!! Visit her forum at www.athomeresources.com to get more information!


My next posting will be ways to protect your heart!! Keep your eye out for that!! ;)