From Infection Prevention Expert to Patient: A Survivor’s Perspective on MRSA, Sepsis, and Long-Term Impact

After more than 4 decades in surgical and infection prevention, Bill Schmelzer experienced the reality of health care–associated infection (HAI) firsthand when a postoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection led to sepsis and a lifelong battle with chronic infection. His journey offers a rare dual perspective as both industry expert and patient, revealing the limitations of current treatments and the profound, long-term impact of infection.

Infection Control Today^®(ICT^®) recently sat down with Schmelzer, who shared how his experience transformed his understanding of infection prevention, patient safety, and the human consequences behind clinical outcomes.

Schmelzer is a well-known and inspiring public speaker whose goal is to prevent HAIs and surgical site infections (SSIs).

ICT: You spent more than 4 decades working in surgical and infection prevention spaces before experiencing sepsis yourself. How did becoming a patient change your understanding of surgical site infections and their real-world consequences?

Bill Schmelzer: The biggest revelation was the realization that at this point, with all the progress that has been made in recognizing and responding to bacterial and fungal infections, we still really have no answers for eliminating the long-term impact of many of these infections. Antibiotic therapies suppress growth but have limits and a shelf life.

Elimination of the small colonies (in this case, MRSA) resides beyond the ability to kill off the bacteria completely. In my own case, I have been on multiple antibiotics. Between 2021 (revision to the revision) and 2026, I was on an oral prescription for Doxycycline twice daily for 4 years. But in October of 2025, evidence of loculi began appearing as discoloration beneath the skin. Blood work showed evidence of an abnormal bacterial culture, an elevated sedimentation rate, and an elevated C-reactive protein. Hip aspiration was positive for MRSA. Doxycycline analysis showed reduced sensitivity against MRSA.

The seventh surgical procedure on the infected hip involved a partial revision, replacement of the Ball and Cup liner, and heavy wash and debridement. At incision, the surgeon described pus pouring out along the incision. As an alternative to 8 weeks on a PICC line with IV Vancomycin or Daptomycin, the epidemiologist who follows my case agreed to an alternative approach involving infusion therapy with Dalbavancin, which has a longer duration.

Three infusions were/are scheduled, with the last one on February 6, 2026. This provides about 10 weeks post op coverage before another oral antibiotic (probably Bactrim) is initiated. The concern with Bactrim is that we tried it once before, and my creatinine levels started to elevate, which could have a negative impact on Kidney function. So, at the moment, my colonization and infection are permanent. I may not die from MRSA, but I certainly will die with MRSA colonization.

ICT: You have described your 2016 sepsis event as a near-death experience following a postoperative infection. What moments from that hospitalization stay with you most, and what do you wish clinicians had understood at the time about what patients experience during sepsis?

Bill Schmelzer: When the hospitalist presented the diagnosis on post-op day 13 (I had been admitted 4 days earlier) as septic bacteremia and MRSA, my initial response was to ask my spouse to request a priest as soon as possible. The fatality rate for level 3 sepsis was around 45 to 50% 10 years ago.

As a representative for the corporation’s surgical and infection prevention division, where I had worked for the previous 27 years, I knew those numbers and recognized the risk, and I certainly knew how sick I was. It was a very strange sensation. I felt like I was just fading away. I had little, if anything, left.

The priest arrived that evening, and I gave confession, received communion, and the Church’s final blessing. I was in a good place spiritually. The very toughest moment occurred when my children were with me in pre-op prior to surgery number 2, 14 days after the initial surgery. It was scheduled as a wash and debridement, and possible removal of the hardware and replacement with a nonweight-bearing spacer. At that moment, I said to them, “I’m not sure what is going to happen here, but you need to know that 2 of the best days of my life were the day each of you was born.” I thought I was dying; I was sure I was dying. While I was prepared for that, I did not want to say goodbye.

The surgeon who had performed the original procedure was on vacation abroad, and a senior partner performed the second surgery. When surgeon number 2 met with my family post-op, his description of my situation was “raging MRSA.” My wife broke out in hives, and my daughter developed a mild case of shingles when she was 32. His straightforward description, bluntness, did little to ease the anxiety that all my immediate family was experiencing.

Could he have eased their concerns? I don’t know; the situation was certainly serious, critical. Unfortunately, over the next week, all the cultures remained positive. After a change of IV antibiotics from Vancomycin to Daptomycin, surgeon number 1, who had done the original surgery, came in and indicated they needed to open the hip up again, replace the spacer, and wash it out again. I had no choice but to sign the third waiver. After he left, the weight of everything was very difficult to deal with.

Beyond the immediate sepsis crisis in January of 2016, the recovery was challenging. When I arrived at the rehab facility, they weighed me in. In tennis shoes and scrubs, I weighed 138 pounds. Prior to the first surgery, I weighed 157 pounds. In the 21 days of the readmission hospitalization, I lost 20 pounds. Recovery and rebuilding were challenging. The protocol was 75 to 90 days (ended up being 86 days): nonweight-bearing spacer, abduction brace 24/7, completion of the IV antibiotic through the PICC line. I was 20 pounds under a healthy weight and anemic.

The period of waiting for the reimplant was almost total isolation once I got home. So, the challenge of starting to recover from sepsis was tough. We would do the IV early in the morning, Teresa would leave for work, I’d eat something, read for a while, and then do some kind of workout.

The PT helped me put together 2 different workouts I could do off 1 leg. I have 500 pounds of free weights in the basement. She brought up the 10-, 15-, and eventually 20-lb dumbbells and resistance bands. The first workouts were short, 15 minutes, because my energy level was so low.

After that, mid to late morning, it happened every day, I’d get this wave sensation of exhaustion. I’d take myself into the bedroom, lie down, throw a blanket over myself, and sleep for 90 to 120 minutes, never moving. The fatigue factor post-sepsis lasted nearly a year.

The longer-term impact was a significant loss of hearing. During the 21-day hospitalization, I kept telling Teresa my hearing was worse. I had been using hearing aids since 2014, but even after she brought the hearing aids to me, there was a significant loss. My audiologist had a baseline on me, and when I was able to see her, she compared the before and after, and the loss of hearing was dramatic.

At this point, my left ear is at 2% of normal and my right ear at about 28% of normal. A study conducted in Taiwan assessed more than 3,000 people who had experienced sepsis. Over 18% had suffered some level of hearing loss. I’m getting better at reading lips, but it’s challenging.

ICT: Your ongoing battle with MRSA and multiple hip revisions highlights the long-term burden of HAIs. From your perspective, what aspects of infection prevention are most underestimated when it comes to chronic impact on patients’ lives?

Bill Schmelzer: The epidemiologist who monitors my situation is a wonderful, very capable clinician. My experience is she gets it on every level. The surgeon (surgeon number 3) who did the revision on my infected hip in 2021, my right hip in 2023 (despite the associated risk), and now the revision to the 2021 revision in 2026 is also excellent. I have a high level of confidence in both.

The challenge is the limitations they have because science hasn’t provided any long-term solutions to this chronic infection. The epi’s tools are limited to antibiotic suppression therapy, with no ability to target the bacteria to end colonization and infection. The surgeon’s limitations are cleaning out as much contamination as possible and replacing the hardware. But neither has the tools to end this journey of infection. Work is being done, research is being done, but there are no answers that I’m aware of.

ICT: You have transformed this experience into an accredited continuing education program for nurses. What messages resonate most strongly with infection preventionists and perioperative teams when you present, and why do you think hearing directly from a survivor matters?

Bill Schmelzer: I spent 41 years as a representative for 2 medical device manufacturers. Prior to joining the corporation's surgical and infection prevention division, I spent 31 years with the corporation, including 10 years selling dialysis supplies and equipment. I developed a real respect for the challenges that clinicians face day in and day out in acute and subacute environments.

Doing their jobs right, staying on top of constant changes and challenges, is demanding and relentless. Burnout is a real issue, and performing at a high-level day after day takes tough people, and I use the word “tough” in its best sense. I did a presentation for Perioperative Services recently. One of the nurses came up after the presentation and said, “I kept waiting for you to get to the end, but there is no end.” That resonates.

Prior to the first surgery, I was swabbed for MRSA, and the culture was negative. If I were not the source (endogenous), then the infection came from someone or something else (exogenous). To the best of my knowledge, no root cause analysis was conducted by the hospital where the original surgery was performed. So where did it come from?

I did a presentation for the Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology (APIC) Chapter in Cincinnati last September [2025]. The reviews were extremely positive, with most ratings being 5 on the 1-5 scale. Back in 2018, I presented at the national Association of periOperative Registered Nurses in New Orleans as part of a program with Wava Truscott PhD, MBA. The feedback was very strong. Several nurses came up after that presentation. One said hearing me was a sentinel event for her. Another, in tears, indicated how profoundly it hit her. If this presentation can positively impact and motivate clinicians, if it resonates and helps them maintain and sustain their individual commitment to excellence, then I have achieved my goal of using this experience to help clinicians be their best and, in turn, help patients.

ICT: As you prepare for another revision surgery with the goal of preventing a second sepsis event, what lessons do you hope health care leaders, surgeons, and infection prevention professionals take away about vigilance, accountability, and patient advocacy?

Bill Schmelzer: I have a segment where I talk about advocacy. Patient advocacy starts with the patient. Does the patient prepare themselves for the procedure by following the recommendations given? Most probably do, but some may not. Before the patient reaches the operating room, the sterile processing staff must ensure proper decontamination, inspection, sterilization, storage, and transport of the instruments to be used. Any failures that go unnoticed in that continuum can result in a patient injury, no matter how good the surgical team is.

Does the surgical team follow some of AORN's very basic recommendations? Scrub shirts are supposed to be tucked into scrub pants because of the skin particles shed (the average human sheds 100,000 skin particles every minute). That recommendation is ignored a lot.

Are masks worn properly? I observed many times where masks were tied far too loosely, particularly the bottom ties. Are staff who are not scrubbed wearing professional jackets to minimize shedding? The origin of my infection is unknown, but it came from someone or something. Who or where did it come from?

I’m living with that failure.