Carol Raye
In 2012 I had wrist surgery, which may be where I picked up C. diff spores. My dentist prescribed clindamycin 10 months later, and 24 days later I realized that I was very sick. When I finally saw my doctor, the infection had spread wildly. I had never heard of C. diff before which is why I didn’t seek medical help sooner.
After many months of vancomycin, the infection wouldn’t budge. I was finally cleared for an FMT and that was a saving grace that cured the C. diff infection. Once I was strong enough, I decided I needed to do something to help others who were suffering the same thing that I’d just been through. I started advocating to medical and dental offices and working one-on-one with infected individuals.
In the spring of 2020, I had the great joy of attending the Peggy Lillis Foundation Virtual Summit. The fact that it was virtual was the one upside of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home order.
In a networking session during the Summit I met the senior director of patient engagement at Summit Therapeutics. We had a wonderful conversation and continued to stay in touch. My great joy as an advocate was to be able to present to their entire company in the UK, Florida, and Massachusetts to share my C. diff story and answer their questions. At that point I was so fired up I contacted Christian and I said that I want to work as an advocate with the Peggy Lillis Foundation.
I’m a born networker. I really want to reach out and connect with other people to make a positive impact in the world, to help other people that are struggling with or recovering from this disease, and make a difference in the world. I believe it’s very important that the CDC records and captures the data on community contracted C. diff cases and to make sure that people are aware of it. I had no idea that it even existed until it infected me. In this era of the coronavirus pandemic, my biggest fear is that C. diff will be put on the back burner. I believe that it’s even more important with all that we have learned to record, report, and respond to all infectious diseases.
Other Stories
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Mira
In December of 2019, my husband got sick with C. diff. It was after he was prescribed antibiotics for what they thought was a case of diverticulitis. In hindsight, it’s clear he may have simply had c-diff all along. He was treated with vancomycin … -
Beth W.
My story began in 2018 when I went to see a colorectal surgeon for the incision of a thrombosed hemorrhoid. In order to ‘prevent’ an infection, the surgeon prescribed me both Amoxicillin 800mg 2x daily and Vancomycin 500mg 3x daily. Upon completio… -
Mollie Lauck
My Husband and I were expecting our first child. We were so very excited. My Pregnancy was complicated to begin with- I was considered “Advanced Maternal Age” and had Hypertension and Gestational Diabetes. Though it was a labor of love, Pregnancy … -
Ken Fredrickson
I’m 62 and generally healthy, I’ve never had an intestinal issue. I went to the ER on Jan 2, 2023 and a CT scan revealed Diverticulitis. They sent me home with a 2 week course of antibiotics. Four days after completing the antibiotics, I developed… -
Jan
I am a healthy active older woman. On March 1, 2019 I had an explosive episode of diarrhea, out of the blue, no idea what caused it. The smell was indescribable, like nothing I had ever experienced in my long life. That was the beginning of a long… -
Dr. Melissa Geraghty, Psy.D.
At the start of 2018 I was diagnosed with C. diff. I never really heard much about C. diff outside of people acquiring it in a hospital setting or people of advanced age contracting it. Oh, was I wrong. After being sick for about 8 weeks with w… -
Cassie Padilla
As a nurse for 35 years I thought I knew a lot about C. diff but as a patient I’ve discovered I knew NOTHING about C. diff. I have had 2 episodes of C. diff in my life. The first was in 2017 following (prophylactic) antibiotics after surgery. That… -
Julia
I’ve been suffering from this infection for the past few years. When I was first diagnosed, I was shocked and thought this was something that only the elderly suffered from. It’s been 3 years since my first infection, and I still suffer daily. I’v… -
Sue
I had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and was given SO MANY antibiotics in the hospital. I was also given Protonix for the acid reflux that resulted from all the antibiotics. Looking at the list of risk factors for C. diff, I fit every o… -
Howard
While many of us who battle C diff have quick success with the usual antibiotics, the purpose of my entry here is to emphasize the high rate of success of the Fecal Microbiota Transplant. My C diff experience was such that A) a lengthy course of V…
