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[Mammajell]

My husband had a stroke in 1994 which led to him having the valve in his heart replaced. He had problems after his surgery with his lungs and he never fully recovered enough to return to work. In about 1997 he started to get a sore here and there on his body which would not heal. One was on the back of his head about the size of a half dollar ,one was on his fore head. they looked like a small crater with a ridge around it. He went to his Dr. and after tests to rule out cancer he was given a prescription for a salve which did nothing to heal them. After a while they healed themselves leaving a scar, and the hair on the back of his head would not grow back. All the while he was having countinued problems with his breathing. The Dr's said he had emyphazima and he was put on disability. His breathing got worse every year and one day I got a call at work to come home because he was gasping for air. I took him to the hospital where they admitted him and put him on oxygin. When he still had breathing problems they called in a specialist from Abbott Northwestern Hospital in the cities and they finally took a lung sample and we were told he had blastomycosis. By now he was in a coma and on a resperator. They transporated him to the cities and had him in intensive care for 10 days. I was told he had it so badly it had taken over his whole body. It was in all his major organs, lungs, kidneys, liver , and heart and they were doing all they could do to make him comfortable, but he passed away on my birthday only 10 days after being admitted to the hospital. He used to do alot of coon hunting and had a beautiful  walker named Boss dog. The last few years of Roy's life he had to hard a time breathing to go hunting anymore, and Boss Dog was diginosed with Cancer and we had to put him down  a year before Roy died. The Dr at the cdc told me Boss may have had blastomycosis also and not cancer.

Please be careful of this . It can be a killer and had the Dr's ran the right tests earlier I might still have my husband.

[Doris3175]

I'm sorry for your lost.

I don't know if you read my post, Blastomycosis in Northern Ontario, but I just lost my younger brother in January.

All the stories that I read talked about people having it for years with wealths and sores and my brother didn't have that and he left us within 5 days.

If you have done alot of research on this since 2000 have you ever heard of other stories where the person went so quickly?

All the doctors we talk to are baffled on how it progressed so quickly with my brother.

Where are you from?

Your husband got it from hunting in the woods and us the doctors are saying my brother got it from his wood chip hauling job and if this is so...the other men that do this kind of work need to be aware. 

Ontario needs to make this a reportable disease and educate the people in the medical field of this devastating fungus.

Hoping to hear from you.

[tjell91]

Hey grandma

i know how you feel cuz he was my grandpa the only grandpa i ever knew. it was a very sad day. i was in english today and i am doing a speech on this disease and i came across this web page so i clicked on it and was reading the
links and i saw yours i clicked on it cuz i knew that was the year grandpa died and i instanly knew it was yours once i opened it cuz of how it said mammajell and then i read it and almost started crying



i love you so much


 

[Milwaukee]

I too lost my husband to blasto on Thanksgiving Day 2006 after 9 months of hospitalization.  I feel that because of the lack of knowledge of pulmonologists that many people die or have serious repercussions.  My husband was referred to a pulmonologist in October of 2005 for chesst pain and caoughing.  After  a chest x-ray and CT scan, the dr. diagnosed him with sarcoidosis and said he would just monitor him.  However,  in Feb. of 2006, he started having problems with his eyes so his opthamologist sent him for a Mri WHICH SHOWED A OESION ON HIS BRAIN.  a NEUROSURGEON SUSPECTED A SECONDARY TUMOR AND WAS READY TO REMOVE IT.  wE TOLD HIM ABOUT THE SARCOIDOSIS diagnosis but he didn't think that it was that.  After surgery, he indicated that it was an inflammation and said that it could be from the sarocidosis - He and the pulmonologist put him on heavy steroids to reduce the inflamation - wrong move.  My husband was doing well after the surgery until the steroids kicked in - he got weak.  Finally went to ER beginning of March as he couldn't breath.  He was move to the ICU on oxygen.  Doctors did not know what was causing the problem.  Finally did a bronchoscopy.  After 5 days it was found that he had blasto and was started on Ampho.  He was on a respirator because by now his lungs were really bad - they finally put in a trach.  I could go on and on about all the problems that developed - spleen and gall bladder removed, chest drains - one hospital infection after another.  Move to an acute care hospital where the same pulmonolgist controlled his treatment.  Hoopsital personnel told us to get him move out of there after dr. said he would never get off repirator.  After fighting with insurance co. to move him, he was finally transferred.  He was no on fluconazole as it has better CNS penetration.  He was finally able to get off ventilator and put on a trach mask.  Had to then move him to another acute care facility - couldn't go to original one as the pulmonolgist was chief there and was insulted that we had my husband moved for a second opinion.  At the second acute hospital, the trach was removed and he was finally beginning to eat and do some therapy as he was so weak he couldn't walk or even sit for long periods.  While it seemed he was making good progress, he suddently developed a very bad lung infection & MRSA and was rushed back to the ICU on a ventilator.  Needless to say, this latest setback put my husband in a deep depression and he just seemed to go downhill from there.  His organs started failing and once the renal failure kicked in, we lost him.  The story is much longer and sadder, but I've tried to condense.  I am wondering if anyone has pursued again a doctor for malpractice in misdiagnosing blasto.  If he my husband could have been on the ampho immediately in October 2005 before it penetrated throughout his body and was NOT put on steriods, the outcome might have been different.  If anyone has any experience with this type of malpractice, I would like to hear from you.

[Wilson3]

this is all soooo sad!!
I just do not understand why Drs. and vets here in Milwaukee do not want to consider blasto?
I know a lady at work,her mom same thing. Found out when it was to late.
very confussing to me why Drs. ignore this.

wilson3

[Tgrrrl]

The same thing happened to my son- please see my postings - Cerebral Blastomycosis almost killed my son -
Derek went through many months of misdiagnosis - Sarcoidosis being one of the most "Probable" diseases.
He was mistreated with Empirical doses of prednisone that immunocomprimised him further.
He went downhill after that. Almost dying of hydrocephalus.
He had a lesion on his Pituitary Gland and in his Frontal Lobe.
Derek's Pituitary gland at age 13 is dead now and he requires expensive life-sustaining horomone replacement therapy for the rest of his life because of the oversight.
I have always thought that there may be a medical malpractice suit.
Does anyone have any thoughts?
We are Canadian , and I realize that there are different laws affecting our patriotige.