PORT ANGELES — A silent auction on Saturday will benefit Joel Roberson, a Port Angeles man who has been hit with a second bout from a life-threatening bacteria, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — or MRSA.
The auction will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Elks Naval Lodge Ballroom, 131 E. First St. Big Fine Daddies will play a concert from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. A $5 cover charge will pay the band.
Local businesses have donated more than 30 items to the auction, including gift certificates and Seahawks tickets.
The grand prize will be a package that includes a night stay at the presidential suite at the Little River Casino in Shelton, with a buffet dinner for two and golf at the Bayshore Golf Club.
Roberson’s fight against MRSA began the week of the Memorial Day holiday this year when a spider bite or a small scratch let the bacteria into his system.
After several attempts to fight the abscess with antibiotics, doctors ultimately had to remove the dead and dying tissue, leaving a deep gash in Roberson’s thigh.
Although doctors considered closing the wound with stitches and skin grafts, they and Roberson will instead allow the wound to heal, even though it will leave an indention in his leg, said Roberson’s sister, Carrie Sue Bennett.
“Joel is absolutely fine with that though — just so long as he isn’t losing one of his limbs,” she said.
Second infection site
Two weeks ago he found another mosquito bite-like wound which turned out to be another MRSA infection, Bennett said.
Doctors put him on strong antibiotics and gave him some strong antibacterial soap and other topical treatment in addition to the medication, she said.
“It seems to be responding well,” she said.
Roberson and his wife, Sandi, are fighting to cover their mortgage payments on the home just west of Port Angeles that they share with their 14-year-old son, Austin, Bennett said.
The couple has accumulated tens of thousands of dollars of debt, Bennett said, adding that the total amount is unknown.
Roberson, a self-employed plumber, had dropped his medical insurance because of the cost of the premiums.
MRSA is divided into two categories — hospital-acquired and community-acquired, said Dr. Tom Locke, the public health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Roberson is fighting the strain that is contacted in the community rather than in a hospital.
Although the community-acquired strain is less resistant to antibiotics that an infection acquired in a hospital, it also can be dangerous, even fatal, Locke said.
Tests in Clallam County about four years ago revealed that between 25 and 30 percent of people carry the parent bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, on their skin at any given time, Locke said.
Of those, about 3 percent carry the MRSA strain, Locke said.
“That translates into about 1 percent of the population,” he said.
Anyone who believes he or she might have a staph infection should seek a medical doctor’s advice, Locke said.
Bennett has set up collection jars for donations throughout town.
To get a collection jar, or to donate money or items for the auction, phone Bennett at 360-452-2388 or 360-460-5682.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
