Visit once a week in the red brick building Antje Benkel, standing at the edge of the Barmbek hospital. Since late June, she expects in the private practice of dialysis and over again the same procedure: Using a catheter above her breast, which was actually set for dialysis, her blood is drawn. After that shivers the whole family. If the values are good? Is the horror Ehec finally over?
Officially, he is a long time: On 26 July declared the Berlin-based Robert Koch Institute Ehec the outbreak was over. 4321 cases were reported to the RKI until then, in 3469 confirmed the suspicion. With more than 800 patients, the infection was difficult, she fell ill at the so-called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). 50 people died. But although the epidemic is officially history and germ in the news hardly appears, has affected the daily life for many far from normal. Also for Antje Benkel he is still characterized by Ehec.
Six weeks in hospital
In her job, the trained forwarding agent is currently not returned. Before they are infected with the bacterium aggressive, she worked part time at a company in cold churches in Hamburg. Now she is on sick leave, initially until the end of the month. "It is still not one hundred percent." Although Antje Benkel not be on dialysis, she still feels weak. Anxiety make it misfires, it has now and then - then you are not one word or they feel confused in the head. "That's why I'm still a car," she says.
It has the 39-year-old, who with her husband and her young daughter in Elmshorn, lives west of the Hanseatic city, even a blessing in disguise. "The infection was difficult for her," says kidney specialist Kai Toussaint, who runs along with three other colleagues, the dialysis private practice. Total of six weeks had Antje Benkel remain in the hospital. However, serious damage she has no reason to fear most. "It is still unclear whether the kidney values completely to normal," says Toussaint. The organ function could remain somewhat limited, not permanently to hemodialysis must Antje Benkel yet.
It all started on 2 May - with the purchase of sandwiches at the bakery. "With Sprouts", recalls the 39-year-old. The date she knows for sure, since she has recently found the receipt. Then followed the typical symptoms: bloody diarrhea, severe stomach pain. Doctors first suspected a gastrointestinal flu, was detected by the agents in her.
"I thought I did not get out alive"
After a week in hospital Pinneberger Antje Benkel was moved to Barmbek - to the isolation unit. "From one day to the doctors and nurses were suddenly only disguised with masks and gloves in the room," recalls the former patient. Antje Benkel was psychologically stressful. "That was the moment when I realized how serious the situation was." Then followed the ups and downs in blood levels. When they rushed into the cellar again to Antje Benkel felt so weak that she called her husband and grave decorations ordered. "I thought I'd come out of here dead," she recalls.
Almost every day she had to wash the blood, they also received 17 plasmapheresis, in which blood plasma is exchanged. "Both together in one day was the maximum sentence. That was about seven hours are quiet," said Antje Benkel. "It was a difficult time," says her husband Marco, who was running his own company and at the same time took care of the six year old daughter Jette. Like other patients with HUS and his wife suffered from neurological abnormalities such as speech disturbance and confusion. The SMS that she sent her husband in this time, can not read it until today.
Long-term damage still not be estimated
A total of 300 patients were treated with Ehec Barmbeker in hospital, 32 of whom had HUS. 30 patients received plasmapheresis, 19 had in addition a few days or weeks of dialysis. One death associated with the germ had to complain to the clinic. But the fear of physicians that many patients suffer from excessive damages, has so far not been confirmed.
"I expect that less than five percent of HUS patients have permanently on dialysis," said Karl Wagner, Head of the Department of Nephrology. As renal function with age, but am bad anyway, but he considers it possible that a negative effect in some patients with HUS, the existing damage affected by the germ in the future. "It is therefore possible that the kidney works for them now, but they must in some years on dialysis." The long-term damage estimate was not yet complete.
In severe stages of the disease, many patients suffering from neurological disorders. "Over half of all patients had headaches, anxiety or delusions," says Wagner. Meanwhile, this has normalized in most patients. But most were psychologically safe to nibble at some time been experienced, the doctor is convinced.
No more rungs
With Antje Benkel came about a week before the news that has been demonstrated in her three consecutive times in the chair no exciting - and thus as Ehec is free. "I immediately wanted to open a bottle of champagne," she says. "I thought, now you've finally behind you." The catheter is also going on since yesterday. Now just have the blood test results are better. In foods they despite Ehec regain confidence, but rather on rungs Antje Benkel waived in the future.
"For me it was always most important, that my daughter has not been infected," says the 39-year-old. That should really get on that day also a bread with sprouts. But she would prefer the cheese balls, Antje Benkel recalls. "And for once I have approved the sweetness."
No comments:
Post a Comment