Cprigirl,
Sorry to hear about you and your husband's experience, but glad to hear all is now well. Since hookworm is more common in the tropics (although it can be caught in other regions as well) - a quick trip to any pharmacist here on the island would have let you know a short treatment with Mintezol would have handled the whole thing very quickly. Children are the most common effected and they are treated without incident. There is even a brand of treatment marketed to parents here in colorful little boxes with a very cartoonish spelling of WORMS right on the label.
All the pain for your husband may have been caused by the what sounds like some kind of misdiagnosis of the hookworm problem.
According to the US CDC "Hookworm infection is mainly acquired by walking barefoot on contaminated soil." :
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/hookworm/
Contrary to what you stated, there is no direct risk of loss of life or limb from hookworm - both the US CDC and the USA National Institute of Health dispute this conclusion. The CDC states "The most serious effects of hookworm infection are blood loss leading to anemia, in addition to protein loss. Hookworm infections are treatable with medication prescribed by your health care provider." Links to more information are provided below:
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/hookworm/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001653/
It would seem that your husband's original diagnosis may have missed infections that may have led to his hospitalization which in turn may have increased the risk of getting other infections which became part of his terrible 4 month ordeal. Even the USA CDC admits that at least 1.7 million Americans contract infections in US hospitals each year. There is a US organization that explains the problems contracting (HAI - hospital-acquired infections) that are a major issue in the US:
http://www.hospitalinfection.org/essentialfacts.shtml
Back in the 80's, I contracted hookworm on a cruise ship (no idea which island) and it was misdiagnosed when I got back to Ohio. Luckily enough, on my second visit to the doctor a second doctor happened to stop in and countered the useless and possibly harmful treatment I was receiving by the first doctor. A short treatment with the appropriate treatment quickly solved my problem.
Since Lisa and I have both lived here for nearly a combined 30 years, and neither of us have contracted it here, there are some simple things anyone can do to minimize the chance of getting hookworm. First, wear sandals when possible, walking barefoot at the shoreline or in the hot sand should not be a problem. Second dont walk barefoot in areas where you have seen cats or dogs hang out. Thirdly, as strange as this may sound, wear your sandals when going into darkened areas, walking around town or when using bathrooms at any establishment. It may seem like a no-brainer, but we have seen it done more often than we can count. And should you even suspect that something isnt right, just go to any of the local pharmacists as they will be able help you immediately.