Oxnard woman battling Valley fever

[Guest guest]

Oxnard woman battling Valley fever

By Constina M. Baylor

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Ventura County Star

Camarillo, CA

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/sep/20/oxnard-woman-battling-valley-f\

ever/

It started with flu-like symptoms that escalated into a permanent flu-like

state. I had briefly heard of Valley fever before. An acquaintance I ran into

mentioned she was recovering from it. She had to quit her job because she

couldn't work anymore and had moved out of the area. I remember her looking

awfully tired. I also remember her mentioning how the disease had altered her

life. Her recovery had been a long and slow progress. At the time, I hadn't

given it much thought.

The second-born of seven children, Vikki seemed the oldest. Not because she

looks older than the rest of us, but because she has always been the most bossy

and controlling. Her life has always been full of order and control. Her spices

and canned goods are neatly stacked in her kitchen cabinet, her clothes

organized by color and style, her relationships divided into three neat and

simple categories: those she could trust, those she wanted to trust, and those

she should never have trusted.

If you could be trusted, you found a friend for life. If she wanted to trust

you, she would give you more grace than you were probably entitled to; and if

she couldn't trust you, she would be more upset with herself than with the one

who violated her trust.

Always for the underdog and an advocate for the down and out, she collected

friends like valuable charms on a bracelet. She was driven to help people. She

was working on her doctorate in clinical psychology when this disease invaded

her space.

When my sister was initially diagnosed, my first response was to find out as

much about the disease as I could. I learned that Valley fever is a fungi in the

soil that when disturbed can be breathed into the lungs. More than half of those

who inhale the fungi have few, if any, problems. But some, especially pregnant

women, people with weakened immune systems and those of Asian, Hispanic and

African descent, may develop a more serious and sometimes fatal form of

coccidioidomycosis infection.

Mild cases of Valley fever usually go away on their own. In more severe

coccidioidomycosis infections, doctors prescribe antifungal medications that can

treat the underlying infection (MayoClinic.com).

The disease is not curable, but the expectation is that the antifungal will

control the spreading of the fungi. My sister was prescribed a high dosage of an

antifungal medication. This alerted us that her infection wasn't necessarily

mild.

She was seeing a local infectious-disease-control doctor who had limited

experience with Valley fever. When she would call his office to make an

appointment or complain of some physical condition she felt was related to the

disease, she would be referred back to her primary-care physician who would

refer her back to the specialist. Because of the high rate of Valley fever cases

in Bakersfield, it was recommended that she see a doctor who specialized in its

treatment there.

Finally, Vikki became confident in her doctor and her treatment. For a while, it

seemed like she was on top of the disease. They would monitor her progress with

painful spinal taps and it appeared that the antifungal was doing its job.

However, my sister's symptoms didn't seem to be improving. She constantly had

severe headaches, excessive coughing and chronic fatigue.

One day, she woke up so terrified by her condition that she called me begging me

to remember her final wishes just in case. She felt out of control — a desperate

feeling for her.

This, the most feisty sibling of all of us, the one who had survived a broken

marriage and broken heart; the one who had fought to keep from losing her home

when the financial burden of single parenting overwhelmed her; the one who was

raising four boys as a single parent and well into recovering from that found

out she was pregnant with triplets; the one who was so determined not to be

robbed of her dream, continued her doctoral program while juggling appointments

with her primary-care physician, her specialist in Bakersfield, and now her new

ally, her neurologist, was losing the battle against this disease.

My sister completed her doctoral program this year. She fought hard for it,

maybe too hard. Her battle with Valley fever isn't over. The fungi has moved

into her brain. Her motor skills have been affected as well as her cognitive

ability. Her doctors aren't sure that she will fully recover, but my sister is

still a fighter. She's fighting for her life right now.

I know more about Valley fever than I would care to know. I know that my sister

has a severe and extreme case. I know that her team of doctors is working

diligently and cooperatively for her recovery. And I know how not to give up. I

have a good example in my sister.

— Constina M. Baylor lives in Oxnard.

Progress

Vikki's progress can be followed at

http://carepages.com/DrViKKiLeWiS_KaTeS.

— Constina M. Baylor lives in Oxnard.