Speaker Hastert Admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital for Skin Infection

[qanda]

WASHINGTON, July 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert today was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital to be treated for a bacterial infection of the skin known as cellulitis.

The Speaker's physician is requiring him to remain at the hospital over the weekend and be off his feet for at least 72 hours so that it can be properly treated with intravenous antibiotics before returning to his normal schedule next week.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20060713/pl_usnw/speaker_hastert_admitted_to_bethesda_naval_hospital_for_skin_infection136_xml

[Master Mahon]

1. Guess indictment is on the way!

Trying to avoid the 'perp walk' probably!

[OKNancy]

2. please provide a link as soon as

one is available

Thanks

[qanda]

4. I will

Thanks

[Monkeyman]

25. Suntime has it link does not work

[northernsoul]

3. Alright, I wish him a speedy recovery

We all need to remember the basic humanity of our opponents because we imperil our own if we don't.

[midnight]

11. Northern soul you are kind.

[northernsoul]

16. not really, but I'm trying

I can be one vengeful, mean-spirited SOB if I don't actively strive towards being compassionate at all times.

[eleny]

5. Just saw that

He felt a hot spot on his leg and it got worse. He's been told to remain in the hospital for 72 hours.

[OzarkDem]

8. Cellulitis

often caused by staph virus.

[UpInArms]

12. I thought it might be Fasciitis

:D

[MaineDem]

13. Sounded like cellulitis

They'll put him on a strong IV of Keflex or the like.

[midnight]

19. How lucky he is to have health care.

What would he have to pay out of his own pocket if he did'nt have health care coverage?

[pitohui]

34. is it? staph is no joke

i've heard of people losing limbs over it

the story wouldn't open for me but it sounds damn scary

[MissWaverly]

56. It killed my parrot, but that's a long story

[pitohui]

66. i would be interested in hearing the story

i keep parrots

[MissWaverly]

68. Well, I had a green parrot, his name was Fred

I think he was an Amazon, he was really a character. He used to make a noise like my microwave
oven when I sat down to read the paper just to psych me out. He started bleeding from his nose
and by the time I got him to the vet, he died (this happened in under an hour). I had him tested and they said it was from a staph infection which he had gotten from a tiny scratch on his foot.

[pitohui]

69. crap that is scary as hell

i'm really sorry you went thru that, amazons can really be something special

[MissWaverly]

70. then there was the time I took him to the vet for a terrible cough

He had this terrible hacking cough, so off I went, the vet says, birds do not get colds, I
said, Oh, yeah, then what is he doing, cough, cough, cough, gasp. He said birds are excellent
mimics, he's imitating you. $35.00 please.

[pitohui]

72. my parrot is guilty of that little trick!

fortunately he seems to have forgotten that one over the past few years

[MissWaverly]

79. I hope you enjoy him as much as I did Fred

as you know it's hard to discipline birds, well, when he would start to shriek over something
that pissed him off, I would say that's it, Dolly Parton does not sing for bad boys, and he
would stop immediately and I would put on Dolly singing Islands in the Stream, he LOVED
Dolly Parton, and he would sing along.

[pitohui]

84. i do, very much so

they steal our hearts, don't they

[MissWaverly]

87. Yes, Fred's favorite song:

the Blue Bird of Happiness

[Roland99]

6. Can't he just call his drug-smuggling buddies in Turkey?

[eleny]

7. Here's the link

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20060713/pl_usnw/speaker_hastert_admitted_to_bethesda_naval_hospital_for_skin_infection136_xml

Speaker Hastert Admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital for Skin Infection

[qanda]

10. Thanks for the link

[midnight]

9. They needed to reinstall his chip...

It helps them guide his thinking, and know where he is at all times.

[Auntie Bush]

14. I wonder if he got that flesh eating disease?

[kestrel91316]

58. Well it says he has Staph. "Flesh-eating" bacteria is Strep.

Different genus of bacteria.

Multiple-drug-resistant Staphylococcus is potentially VERY dangerous and a public health hazard, BTW. But necrotizing fasciitis caused by that virulent Streptococcus is even worse.

[Mnemosyne]

15. How nice HE has health coverage. n/t

[tabasco]

17. Yep, must be nice to have free guvmint health care.

The same he would deny to the People.

[midnight]

20. We think alike.

I posted above, and was thinking about another post I read that a Blue Ribbon Panel has recommended taxing healthcare benefits.

[Flirtus]

62. What?!? Taxing us for benefits already taxed before payroll deduction?

Or taxing the portion the ins. co. pays the medical provider?

What kind of blarney is this?

[B3Nut]

81. Not only that, but

getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2386768

Oy oy oy, those BASTARDS!

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

(edit: found the dog gone link...those people belong in the klink...)

[Mnemosyne]

21. I just wonder how many will die of the same disease while

he's "resting" for 72 hours.

Nasty prick.:grr::nuke:

[Monkeyman]

26. Yep for guy who cut an ran in a Military Hospital hmmmmm

[Mnemosyne]

82. And he cut eldery and poor health care, let us not forget. prick. n/t

[benburch]

18. His skin is rejecting him...

...trying to leave.

[Sadie5]

23. cellulitis

Thought it might be scabies, or just plain fungus of the foot from sticking it in his mouth too often.

[Guaranteed]

22. Dennis, don't you know that you have to wash between the folds of

your chins?

[Monkeyman]

27. Now you see why here in the fight in IL we call him fatman lol

www.john06.com

[Amonester]

32. Maybe Denny can't reach

the folds of his chins? :evilgrin:

[Tight_rope]

24. Why wasn't he in ASPEN where they drop dead!

[bluedeminredstate]

28. Very uncomfortable, sore and hot.

I had a patient in the hospital for a week and it was just on her foot. The infection can turn nasty and grow if not treated properly, and God knows he's got the real estate for a big ole case of cellulitis.
Of course I wish him recovery, but the bitch in me hopes it's on both cheeks of his butt and he's got all 300 pounds sitting on it, making it a bit tender.
He must have a pretty significant case for him to be hospitalized and in bed for 72 hours. You can have a double hernia operation and walk out of the hospital the same day now that insurance is the way it is now. Having a baby might get you a 23 hour stay in some states. My husband's neck fusion last month was an 18 hour stay. Hastert's lucky his insurance allows for a sore skin infection getting him a bed for three days. Is it wrong to hope it hurts bad?

:eyes:

[spotbird]

42. My son had a minor case

The pediatrician drew a line around the parameters and said if it spread at all we were to go directly to the er. As it was, the doc was very aggressive with the antibiotics, cleaning process and follow-up.

[Oak2004]

63. I'm a medicaid recipient and for cellulitis I was in 3 weeks

and had another few weeks of twice a day in-home nursing care.

Cellulitis is nothing to sneeze at. It can take a limb or kill, and it can do it faster than you'd ever think an infection can move. People do get hospitalized for quite a while when it is severe enough to warrant IV antibiotics, assuming they have any sort of insurance at all (and sometimes even when they don't have insurance -- it's considered a life-threatening emergency in the ER).

[pitohui]

95. yes you are right

this is scary

i hope you are completely ok now

[Sgent]

77. Most insurance co's I know of

will pay for 72 hrs (or more) of a significant staff infection needing iv abx.

[Monkeyman]

29. You know now I am pissed off

We got veterans cuts troops coming home not being taken care of an this cut an ran fatman goes to a Military Hospital crap

[midnight]

33. I didn't think about him going to a military hospital.

Didn't they close a military hospital this past year because they couldn't afford to offer these military people.

[Monkeyman]

37. Walter Reed will be closed

[Joanne98]

30. Can we have a closeup of the infected area plezzzeeeee

[rodeodance]

31. scumbags make me itch!

[LiberalEsto]

35. Eeeew. Cooties!

I knew all those nasty retugs had cooties!

[mitchum]

36. I wouldn't cry if his goddamn skin rotted off

[Monkeyman]

38. Hey guys remember the picture of him and Bush in lab coats

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Bush gave it to him LOL

[Mind_your_head]

39. Why did he go all the way to Bethesda, MD?

There are MANY fine hospitals in the Chicago, Cook/DuPage County area where he lives. :shrug:

[Monkeyman]

44. We don't want him LOL

Good Sam,Edwards,Hinsdale all good hospitals have face budget cuts because of this mans agenda opps I mean Rove's agenda

[Mind_your_head]

46. Hey, let's not forget the Edward Hines VA Hospital....

isn't that as good as Bethesda???? (that's a rhetorical question) - talk about suffering from 'budget cuts' :eyes:

There's CDH, Northwestern, and many others still.....Mayos' not too far away up in Minnesota. I still wonder why Hastert chose to go to Bethesda (won't get many visitors there, either. hmmmffff)

[Monkeyman]

67. Hines the vets would give him a blanket party

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. Disagree. It's wonderful skin!

[nevergiveup]

41. I wish him well and also

hope it itches like hell.

[unkachuck]

78. I also wish him well....

....but if not, may he have a slow and pleasant death....

[Monkeyman]

43. You know even if he beats John Laesch

He will not be the Speaker the Republicans will vote him out he has not been able to push Rove's agenda

[MrPrax]

45. It's a cover up!!!

They report cellulitis; but we all know it's

Morgellons!!!

Morgellons - Weird 'Alien' bug hits USA

Over 1000 people in Texas, Florida and California are saying that they are suffering from a nasty new skin complaint, but doctors are telling them they are 'delusional'.

It is a weird 'bug' which sounds like something from an 'X Files' script, but it seems to be real, despite official denials from the US medical establishment.
...
However, now there is mounting evidence that it is the doctors and the US medical establishment who are 'delusional', not their unfortunate patients.

There are currently over 1,100 hundred known cases in the U.S., mostly in Texas, Florida and California of what is being called 'Morgellons', and it is spreading.
...
The fibers have been analyzed by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and have been identified as cellulose. Since true fungi are not able to synthesize cellulose, the Foundation is currently focused on the 'Oomycetes' class of fungus-like organisms. Apparently 'Pythium insidiosum' is the only Oomycete which has been documented to cause human infections.

Schmoo UK

(yes...I am kidding)

[kestrel91316]

59. "Morgellons" is what happens when you pick at your little skin blips and

they get infected and bed lint sticks to them. IMHO.

[union_maid]

47. My mother had that

My mother had cellulitis in her old age. It caused her a lot of trouble. She had insurance and everything, but she was never admitted to the hospital for treatment. These guys are treated like they're made of out of bone china.

[WhiteTara]

48. I wonder if he has diabetes

that is one of the severe problems for diabetics is that they get a small cut or scrape and because their blood sugar levels are so high, it acts as a toxin to the body and lots of antibiotics are used, along with insulin and powerful healing agents. Of course, they often lose limbs due to this. Could Denny be so lucky?

[Mind_your_head]

49. I dunno, but all I can think of was there was a color picture

on the front page of the Chicago Tribune last week (Saturday?). The headline said, "I'M ALIVE"....the picture was of a guy who had lost both legs and an arm to an IED in Iraq being carried into Lake Michigan by a definitely 'good friend'.

This young man was finding joy in the fact that he was alive...I TRULY admire his courage & determination.

I loathe the people that "put him in that position/circumstance". Denny Hastert, former coach/'teacher' (God help us from 'teachers' such as this) is one of the people that allowed/pushed the Iraq invasion to go forward and hence, this young 20-something man will be for the rest of his days with only one of his limbs!!!

So...although I don't wish 'bad' on anyone. Perhaps God/karma has a way of teaching one (Hastert) some 'empathy' for others....even if it means losing a limb or two (or THREE) in the Tribune's soldier's case! :cry:

[kestrel91316]

60. He's obese and seriously corn-fed, so I betcha you are right about this.

Fat Denny's little secret is out.

[pitohui]

94. yes he does have diabetes

did anyone ever answer yr question?

my understanding is he is at v. high risk for losing the foot but i have heard no more

i hope he's OK, schadenfreude is all well and good but it's scary when someone w. all the money in the world can't get something done abt this, what chance the rest of us?

[PassingFair]

50. AllRight, I give up, who's got the picture of Bush and Denny in

their little white coats?

Maybe Bush caught IT!

[la la]

52. I got it, I got it ----

the picture, that is!

http://tinyurl.com/gnu5f

[PassingFair]

55. He had it when it was taken...

You can kind of tell that something is amiss with him...
Shrubbie looks clueless as usual, but Hastert is SUFFERING.



Thanks!

[Thor_MN]

51. Maybe Fatstert was out clubbing with Anna Nicole's "step son"???

Didn't he just die of "an unsual infection?" :shrug:

[Straight Shooter]

53. Very nasty stuff. Surgical site pic of what they want to avoid in Hastert

edit to add link to site, good explanation of cellulitis and what it involves:
http://www.surgical-tutor.org.uk/default-home.htm?core/preop1/cellulitis.htm~right

[Monkeyman]

54. Yep thats the one

You know I care about people but dam I hope he hurts just like the 600,000 veterans denied and put on waiting list do to his support of Bush's budget cut to veterans health care

[Mind_your_head]

57. Geez-Louise......I could never be a doctor (looking at those pics)

God bless all of those/you who ARE doctors and nurses!!! You're really special folks, that's for sure

Thanks for all that you do/have learned/share with 'all of us' :applause:

[kestrel91316]

61. In a cat I would look at that as an exciting problem to be solved. In

humans I almost can't look. It makes me nearly pass out, lol.

Feline wound management is my favorite area of practice.
Humans, not so much.

[Mind_your_head]

90. Thanks to all of you who take care of our kitties, puppies, farm animals,

and "All creatures great and small" (<---------that's a GREAT BOOK, btw :-) .... You are all very special people. Thank you for ALL you do (and all of us creatures that you love/appreciate) :-) :applause:

[kestrel91316]

91. Well thank you!

:pals:

[mikelgb]

64. WebMD link

http://www.webmd.com/hw/infection/tr5108.asp

You may be at increased risk for cellulitis if you have:

* A cut or injury to the skin, a surgical wound, a skin infection, a burn, or an animal or insect bite.
* Skin lesions, such as ulcers, eczema, psoriasis, or a fungal infection such as athlete's foot. One study found that inflammation caused by toes rubbing together (toe-web intertrigo) is often a cause of cellulitis in the leg, and that treating this skin inflammation could prevent cellulitis.1
* Certain medical conditions, such as a circulatory disease, fluid buildup in the body tissues (edema), an impaired immune system, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, or being overweight.
* Impaired lymphatic drainage or blood circulation after surgery, such as after having a breast removed (mastectomy) or having a vein removed from your leg for use in coronary bypass surgery.2, 3
* Liposuction, which is a procedure to remove excess fat tissue.3
* Injected illegal drugs under your skin.

[Vidar]

65. How often do snakes shed their skin?

[Mad_Dem_X]

75. LOL

God forgive me, but I feel no sympathy for this man. I won't wish him ill, but I'll save my sympathy, thanks.

[The Stranger]

71. Please tell me it is a fatal disease.

[nealmhughes]

73. Not cleansing the sheets of santorum is a likely cause.

[dogfacedboy]

80. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[dogfacedboy]

74. I live in Jabba the Hastert's district.

Anything that might lead to this diseased pig's removal from office is welcome.

[blue neen]

76. Well, he makes my skin crawl.

Can someone treat me for that?

[gohuskies]

83. Didn't think a snake shedding its was a skin infection

So Denny got an owee from shedding his reptilian repug skin. Couldn't happen to a nicer creature.

[pokercat999]

85. good

[chaz4jazz]

86. HE SHOULD HAVE HAD THE LAB COAT BUTTONED UP TIGHT

EOM

[spanone]

88. He declared we were winning the Iraq war last week.

He should be in an asylum, heavily medicated and forced to resign from congress until he comes to his senses.

[rppper]

89. it's the scales protruding through........

the real reptile is forcing it's way out......

[cascadiance]

92. Hmmm.... I smell Negroponte going after him...

... for raising a ruckus about the Porter Goss "ouster" to get Negroponte's man Hayden into lead the CIA! Just wait... "The Ambassador" is starting to flex his muscles here now!

[pitohui]

93. does anyone know what happened?

must as i may dislike hastert, someone w. the best of medical care being eaten up by this is not real encouraging for those of who can't afford the best of etcetera

i've been wondering if the dude is even still alive