Tag Archives: valley fever journey

Valley Fever Journey~ Chapter 5

I was so sick. I had never been this ill in my entire life. (Feel free to read Chapters 1-4 of my journey for just how sick!) I was in the hospital for 11 days, waiting for a diagnosis of what was wrong with me.

One diagnosis came early, Sweets Syndrome, a “very rare inflammatory skin condition, or Acute Febrile Neurtophilic Dermatosis.” Say that three times real fast! That explained one set of rashes.

On October 18, 2020 I received the diagnosis that I was praying it wasn’t.  Valley Fever, or Coccidioidomycosis.  Apparently, I inhaled a fungus which causes “a disease especially in humans and domestic animals found in dry soils of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. It can be asymptomatic or present as a mild to serious flu-like illness marked chiefly by fever, cough, sore throat, headache, fatigue, and pneumonia but sometimes becoming disseminated beyond the lungs especially to the skin, bones, joints, and meninges resulting in painful lesions, swollen joints, or meningitis.”

After the suggestion that I could have this, I prayed for any other result.  They ran several tests.  But if you know me, you know that I looked up all of them.  This one I did not want, others could go away…this one would not.

Thankfully, early diagnosis is a key.  Many of my friends that live in the Southwest(FB support group) have gone undiagnosed for years.  This resulted in dissemination, loss of lung, limb, meningitis and in some cases, death.

Fast forward….I am so much better.  I am now going to the ID doctor once every six months, so this month I will go back.  I have lesions, nodules and a cavity in my left lung as of six months ago, and my titer has been 1:2 for an entire year.  This reading indicates an active disease, but a good reading.  I am praying it is >1:2 this time around, which would indicate dormancy.

Those of you who have experienced “fatigue” know there is a marked difference in it and “being tired.”  That has improved as well.  I am walking 3-4 miles a day, which is a long way from using a walker for two months.

I still have joint and muscle pain, but it is tolerable.  I “eat to live” rather than “live to eat.”  Anyone that knows me well knows I stick to a pretty strict eating plan, and it has helped me.  I do listen to my body and if I overdo it…my Sweet’s Syndrome rash will break out and remind me it is okay to rest.

As I have said so many times..”everyone is dealing with something.” The pressure is on my friends.  But Jesus Christ has never left me, and He never will leave you. He told us in this world we would have troubles…but that He would bring us peace, and that we could take heart, He had overcome it all through His death on the cross. (John 16:33)

So what about my prayer?  Lord, anything but Valley Fever! He did not answer that prayer the way I wanted. I am not sure why, but I trust Him. He did answer my prayer in getting me through it.  Getting me through those tough days and nights when the pain was almost intolerable….bringing me peace when I was not sure what my future would hold.  Sending confirmations of His love through song, Bible verses and other people.

That is good news.  Remember you are never alone.  Once He is your Savior, He will walk with you through every one of those troubles, and friends…there will be troubles.  We live in a very fallen world.

None of us knows what tomorrow holds.  I know that I will always have to be mindful with my Valley Fever and whatever else this body has to endure. I know that it is okay.  No matter what, He will get me through it.

Jesus Christ is our only true Hope.

I am so grateful for those of you that prayed for me and took time to continue to check on me.  You were used to encourage us.

My prayer for you is that as you deal with the trials of this life, you will have the peace that only He can give. 

~Be Encouraged Today~

   Tammy

Valley Fever Journey Chapter 4

Today is October 12.  One year ago I had to go to the ER.  I was the sickest I had been in my entire life. Fever, coughing, pneumonia, pain.  I had blisters and lesions literally from head to toe.  I think every doctor in the hospital came to see the lady with all the strange skin nodules. 

I laid in the hospital ER for eight hours while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me and get me admitted. The daytime hospitalist was afraid to admit me, and I was going to leave, “come what may.”  The ER doctor begged me to stay, as he wanted to try to get me admitted by the evening hospitalist, so that he could get me to a larger hospital in a metropolitan area two hours away.  

He was able to do so and I was able to get to there within two days. He dedication to getting me to the hospital made all the difference. They tested me for so many things, TB included and I was in isolation because of it.  The ambulance ride at 3am wasn’t something I had on my bucket list, but I put it on so I could check it off!

Fast forward a year later.  I got a hair trim today and went shopping alone.  As I listened to my Gaither Vocal Band CDs (what I listened to in the hospital for the 11 days at Barnes), looked at the beautiful blue sky, drove my own car with the windows down, walked on my own without that walker I used for two months… tears flowed down my cheeks.

Valley Fever is a disease that will alway be a part of my life. Simply by breathing in a small, microscopic fungal spore that became a parasite in my body. My ID doctor said I was “at the wrong place and the wrong time.” It happens in the Southwest region of the country more than we know.

 My CT scan from last week did not show any shrinkage in the lesions, nodules or cavities… but that also means there was no growth.  I still have blood work to do, and hopefully it will show the disease is dormant, but even if it doesn’t, I am better.  I am more myself.  I don’t have severe fatigue every single day.  I am walking 2-3 miles most days. 

I just spent the day thanking the sweet Lord for another year of life.  A life that is far from perfect, but a life He has given me.  It all seems surreal in a way.  If I talked to you in those 13 days, I may literally not remember it.  Evidently, that did happen quite often.  

But I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your care, your prayers, your calls and texts.  Many of you still check on me and that is precious, I know so many of you are dealing with your own trials in life, and I don’t take that lightly.

I am reminded of this story and that fiery furnace from Daniel 3:16-18

“Even if” the nodules, lesions and cavities in my lung don’t shrink or go away,  “Even if” Valley Fever stays with me the rest of my life, “Even if” I have days that I am hurting and am fatigued….

I will still love the Lord and worship Him with my whole being. He is my peace, my grace, my heart, my salvation and my life.

I pray He is yours.

Even if.

Be Encouraged Today~

Tammy

My Valley Fever and Sweet Syndrome Journey Chapter 3…My Hope

Biblical definitions of Hope in the Hebrew and Greek=To trust in, wait for, look for or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future. Anticipation and the absolute certainty of God’s promises, confident expectation.

I was in Arizona, visiting my one and only grandchild and her parents. About a week before I was to come home, I developed a dry cough and thought I was reacting to the dry air and fires. I became very fatigued and attributed it to my Fibromyalgia and overdoing it.

I was wrong.  

Fast forward to October. By October 1st I was very ill and had to go to the ER on October 13, upon the insistence of my husband and neighbor. I ended up being transferred to Barnes Jewish and spent eleven total days there. I was very ill, and they did a lot of testing; I was in isolation and it was a time that the Father showed Himself over and over.

They transferred me by ambulance one evening from my local hospital, arriving at Barnes at 3:30am.  Suffice it to say, I would not recommend a two-hour ambulance ride on a bucket list! I put it on so I could check it off!

I was very ill and alone. I was peaceful, and I knew the Father was with me. We arrived on the 14th floor and the charge nurse introduced me to my nurse for that night and the next night.  

Here is where the Father affirmed his presence, and that He was my hope.

“This is your nurse. His name is Alphonse.”

“No, that cannot be,” I muttered quietly.  

I am sure they thought I was one of “those” patients.

“Yes, ma’am, he will be your nurse.”

“But that is my husband’s name!!”

No one could believe it!  

Who has that name? We all know of Alphonse Capone. But other than the Capone fellow and my husband, I knew of no others.

This nurse, Alphonse from Kenya, was such a blessing to me. His name alone was a comfort since my husband was not allowed to be there. Peace came over me. He was a believer, and we prayed for one another through those nights. 

He had a burden that he had been carrying for years, and I prayed over him. Night was the worse for my pain, so he prayed for me.

All the nurses heard the story and each time they came in my room, “Shang ra La” as I called it, I told them it could be a place of rest. The Lord let me love on every one of them and encourage them in their profession.

“Alphonse” never got to meet my “Alphonse”. In fact, he was not on duty with me after that second night. I told him we were adopting him, after all he was 35 and just a year older than our eldest. He was married, with two precious girls.  

I told our sons that they had an older brother, who just happened to be named after their dad. How “coincidental” is that? I don’t believe in coincidence. It was a “God thing” and will always be.

The doctors continued to test me for all kinds of diseases through that first week. I was in isolation, but with the Father’s continued presence, hope and support… we finally got some answers.

The Father will always be with you in your journey, no matter what it is. He is who I always knew He was. The journey may not be easy, but He will never leave you alone.