I am 19 years old, active and healthy and contracted a severe staph infection in my right knee that had been there for a very long time. I was told that you could only get these bad infections by an open exposed bone, or a surgery, and I had never had either of those, or any other normal way of contracting it. No dental work, nothing. Because of that my condition was caught very late, after I could not walk for 3 weeks and had tempratures of 103-104 for 10 days in a row. I saw 5 doctors and had extensive tests. Finally as my condition was growing even worse, they discovered the infection. There was no heat like the normal cases coming from my knee, but the infection was growing. I had major surgery on my knee to remove and drain it, but I do not understand what it came from. Am I a testament against the odds that it is possoible after all to acquire it? The type I had was S. Aureaus. I had a catheder running from my arm into my heart and IV Antibiotics for 10 days, but even a month later (which is now) I can not walk well. Is there a chance it will come back?

The only trauma I have ever had to my knee was getting in a head on collision with a truck 2 years ago. I was relatively unharmed but with my body thrustinng forward and the truck thrusting back I was left with bad bruised marrow (now healed supposedly), and it likely tore cartilage with it i was told in my knee joint... which ironically enough is the exact spot of the infections' starting point. There was enough staph bacteria in my knee to fill a coke can I was told, and it was alarmingly thick. I have been having on and off problems in the knee for 2 years prior to surgery (the same pain I had before surgery), but it usually went away after a few days.

Why was this episode so bad? Am I the exception to the rule of how you can acquire the disease? If so, I believe knowledge should be spread to let other people know that it is not only from open wounds. Why do you suppose I got it? Do you think I am at high risk for it coming back??

note: 3 MRI's, 2 blood tests, 1 knee fluid test, and 5 doctors could not tell me what I had (all were specialists). This could have been caught early if doctors were more aware of this. And I would not have been so frustrated and sick so long. Should awareness be raised?