‘It was everything’

When Charles Ludden began feeling fatigued in spring of 2026, he thought it stemmed from a previous heart procedure. But when it progressed to fever, chills and night sweats, the 63-year-old began fearing the cancer he’d fought and beat in 2019 had returned.

In the end, the culprit was something unexpected: bacteremia – bacteria in the bloodstream – resulting from a dental procedure months prior.

‘What’s wrong with dad?’

Ludden, an avid boater, described himself as someone who’s always on the go. But in March, following dental work he had done the month prior, he began feeling sluggish.

“I just didn’t have any ‘go,’” he recalled. “I would go to work, and I’d get so fatigued that when I came home my daughter asked my wife, ‘What’s wrong with dad?’”

Thinking he had a virus, Ludden went to an urgent care clinic, where he was prescribed a round of antibiotics. When that didn’t work, he followed up with his primary care physician, who tried a different type of antibiotics.

“Then in April, I had a root canal and the dentist put me on a week of yet another antibiotic,” he said. “In hindsight, I think that was me battling the bloodstream infection.”

He first thought his prosthetic heart valve was leaking, forcing his heart to work harder and leaving him exhausted. When the fever and chills set in, he thought the valve may be infected.

“It got really bad the night of May 20, so I called my cardiologist’s office,” Ludden said. “The after-hours on-call doctor said I needed to go to the Emergency Room and tell them I had a possible prosthetic heart valve infection so they could start blood cultures immediately.”

Those blood cultures – lab tests that determine whether there’s bacteria in the bloodstream – came back positive. Ludden was immediately admitted to Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, where he was started on intravenous (IV) antibiotics.

Recovering in comfort

Ludden remained hospitalized for five nights. During that time, he continued receiving IV antibiotics and getting blood drawn for cultures to see if the bacteria had cleared from his blood. Because he was stable – and bacteria can take days to grow in a culture – he was given the option to continue his treatment through Baptist Hospital at Home.

Baptist’s Hospital at Home program allows certain patients to recover in the comfort of their own home while continuing to receive hospital-level care. Hospital at Home patients receive:

• A personalized care plan developed by physicians, nurses and other health care professionals.
• At least two daily in-person visits from a community paramedic, plus a daily virtual visit with a physician.
• Hospital-level services at home, which may include labs, EKG monitoring, IV infusions, medication management, respiratory care and imaging.
• Continuous remote monitoring with two-way audio/video connectivity.
• Comprehensive care management.

Lizza Bojito-Marrero, MD, was the internist who discussed the Hospital at Home program with Ludden while he was admitted, and continued his care virtually while he recovered at home.

“I would have appointments with her via their tablet,” Ludden said. “She was absolutely incredible! Probably one of the most compassionate doctors I’ve ever met. She and all the nurses who I spoke with virtually were so kind.”

In addition to the virtual monitoring, Ludden had in-person visits twice daily from a community paramedic.

Now recovered and looking forward to being out on his boat, Ludden is grateful for being able to recover in his own environment. “To be able to move around and see my family, it was amazing. It was everything,” he said. “Everyone was timely and professional. It was a great experience, and we told all our friends.”

Learn more about Baptist Hospital at Home services.