Action Plan for Back Pain

(Teri Writing) Hello everyone.....Carla and I took Brad to Dr. Sims this morning.  His specialty is infectious disease, and we all were very pleased with him.  He said that he recieved an early, preliminary report on the biopsy from yesterday, and that Brad does indeed have a fast-growing staph infection in his back.  Dr. Sims said the infection causes the disc and surrounding areas to be very swollen and he said it definitely causes severe pain.  He gave Brad IV antibiotics through his chemo port and he will go back tomorrow and Friday for more.  By Friday, the biopsy culture will be complete, and Dr. Sims will know specifically which type of staph Brad has.  After knowing which type, they will then give Brad an IV antibiotic, targeted to that type, to take for a few weeks, to be given at home.  Dr Sims  said it's a simple-to-use antibiotic that Carla can just attach to Brad's port, allow it to go in, and then detach.  Once the infection and swelling is under control, Brad will probably not need the "Kyphoplasty" surgery.  Brad was sooooo happy to NOT be in extreme pain while coming home from a doctor visit or procedure, as has always been the case.  We were all having a little celebration in the car on the way home.  We are very encouraged that at long last, we may have the answer to his back pain.  It will take a few days for him to really feel the benefit of the antibiotics, but we are rejoicing that we are on the right track!  He has scans on his lungs and brain on Friday, and we are hoping that 2 days of antibiotics might make his back not so painful during the scans, (where he has to lay on his back).  One additional thing the doctor said to do, was to take 600 mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours and it should help with the inflammation as the antibiotics do their work.  It feels good to give encouraging news!