John Haverty: Stories of Antibiotic Use and Resistance

I have a prosthetic joint infection in my right leg. It all began just a few weeks after knee replacement surgery in December 2008. As I was getting out of my car, I slipped on some ice, twisting open the incision and providing the world of bacteria the perfect gateway in. I underwent 18 surgical procedures over a 13-year time span and experienced infection with five different strains of bacteria.

In the beginning of my medical journey, antibiotics were effective when used after a surgical wash out of my leg and knee, but over time and repeated use, I developed reactions to one, then another class of antibiotics. I also had a severe skin reaction called Red Man Syndrome from the use of Vancomycin. I experienced insomnia from another antibiotic that kept we awake for five days. It got to the point of telling my wife I would be happy to trade my life for five minutes of good sleep.

As time went on, even with all the antibiotics and surgical procedures, bacteria found a way to survive. After four debridement surgeries since Christmas 2018 to wash out my infected leg, my surgeon sat on my bed and told me he was out of options. He told me that I could either keep coming back for more wash outs, or, when I tire of that, and I agree to it, he will amputate my infected leg at the hip in order to save my life from the infection that could ultimately kill me. I was also informed that I would not be a candidate for a prosthesis.

The next day, an infectious disease doctor mentioned an experimental therapy called bacteriophage. Me being out of options to keep my leg, they thought I might want to participate in a clinical trial. I was not selected for the study. The good news is that a month or so after exhausting my anger and frustration, accepting my fate and shopping for a wheelchair, an agreement to collaborate was reached between my hospital and bacteriophage researchers. The use of bacteriophages caused visible improvement of my leg in just a few days, and I never experienced any negative side effects.

The tough part is and has always been dealing with drug reactions, developing allergies, and adverse reactions to almost everything to do with antibiotics. When antibiotic resistance and adverse reactions to meds are an issue, what most people don’t know or think about are the psychological effects of never feeling well, anticipating the next cycle of infection that will knock you down. Sometimes it’s hard to want to keep getting up. Depression and a loss of hope are constant companions.

I am hopeful that through bacteriophage therapy, the long, hellish medical journey I had will be unnecessary for others, even unthinkable. The science of bacteriophage is still in flux, but I have heard that antibiotics coupled with bacteriophage for infections could continue to help patients in the future. With fewer chronic infections because of bacteriophage use, it might help to decrease resistance and leave the door open to use antibiotics for that patient if needed down the road.