We May Have an Answer

A Post from Patrick:

As we have seen many doctors at the Cleveland & Mayo Clinics, it seems that they have given us many "possibilities" of things that Kami could have...and we are thankful that the life-threatening ones have been ruled out.

Well, the Mayo Clinic has finally found something that Kami does have.  She has been diagnosed with a Non-Contagious Form of Tuberculosis.

This past week, Kami underwent several induced sputum tests to determine if the TB that she has is the contagious Pulmonary TB (in the lungs) kind or the non-contagious Latent TB (dormant) or Extra Pulmonary TB (not in the lungs) kind.  The sputum tests all came back negative which means that Kami has the Latent form or the Extra Pulmonary form, both of which are the non-contagious forms.

What is the difference?

Active Pulmonary TB -  is the infectious kind that infects the lungs (the kind that makes people cough and is transmitted through coughing/laughing.)
Extra Pulmonary TB - is the kind that infects other parts of the body but is not in the lungs. (ie: it infects areas such as the kidneys, brain, lymph nodes, joints, or bones.)
Latent TB - this is the dormant form that means the bacteria is in your body (you have been exposed) but the bacteria has not actively infected your body as of yet.


What does this mean for us?

- We have to go back next week to the Mayo Clinic to have a PET scan done which will help to diagnose if the TB is in her bones...(Bone TB is a form of Extra Pulmonary TB.)

- Her last blood tests will take 8 weeks for the results to be ready.  This is due to the "culture" time and will help to indicate if the TB is Latent or Extra Pulmonary.  These tests will also help to determine which kind of antibiotics the TB is resistant to. (The doctor must know which kind of antibiotics will be effective during treatment.)

- If the TB is the latent form, then this is not what is causing her current problems/symptoms.  (Latent TB has no symptoms because it is not actively attacking the body.)  As her ID doctor said, "This might be just an incidental finding...something we found but has nothing to do with your present illness."

- If the TB is the Extra Pulmonary form, then we have found the "mystery" illness!  (This is our hope because it would mean that Kami can begin a treatment to fully recover from her illness!)

-Either way, Kami will have to undergo antibiotic treatments for 6-9 months and then she will be re-tested to make sure the TB has been wiped out of her body.  The doctors will also want to monitor her liver during this time as the treatments can adversely affect her liver.


We appreciate your continued prayers for Kami and the upcoming test results...we'll keep you posted!