What a scare we had! My son, Garrett, had been sick for about 4 weeks. His symptoms looked like a sinus infection, walking pneumonia, or allergies. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him. He was treated with a z-pack for walking pneumonia (didn't help). He was treated for allergies (didn't work). After 4 weeks, they decided to test him for the "weird stuff" as the doctor put it. They tested for tuberculosis (negative), pertussis (negative - yes, whooping cough. I found out that the pertussis vaccine only lasts 4-5 years, so take your kids and get them a booster!). Then they tested for histoplasmosis (histo-what?!!!) I had never heard of this before. It turns out this test came back positive. It is a type of yeast you get this from bird and bat droppings. Garrett got it in his lungs. He had gone into a hay loft here on our new property and pulled out some old hay (God only knows how long it had been there). He must have been exposed to a massive dose of the histoplasma, because young people in his good physical condition and health usually don't get it that bad. We found out on Wednesday, July 26th that he has this histo-thingy, and the doctor ordered a chest CT scan for Friday. He had had 2 chest x-rays that showed nodules on his lungs, which turned out to be the histo, and they needed a CT scan to see if these nodules were calcifying, which would mean the histo was running its course and didn't need to be treated medically. We had the CT done at 2 pm, was told we would get the results on Monday, and we went home. I hadn't been home long when the doctor called me and told me that in fact the histo was not calcifying, but more disturbing than that was that he had a huge amount of fluid around his heart (they were not expecting that at all). We had to get him to the hospital immediately. So we through some clothing into bags and drove to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati.

One little jag off the story here: If your child is ever seriously ill, I would recommend this hospital above any other. The care Garrett received there was outstanding. The way they treated me with respect and deference as a parent was phenomenal. The way the staff worked together was amazing.

Garrett's blood pressure began to drop steadily around 10 pm and they called in a cardiologist, who did an echocardiogram. Based on this, they decided they needed to remove the fluid around his heart immediately. So off to the ICU we went, where they stuck a needle in his chest (he was anesthetized), and pulled out an enormous amount of fluid. His vital signs began to normalize immediately. He was in ICU for 3 1/2 days and then returned to a regular room for 2 more days. We have been home a week now, and I am still afraid to leave him alone for very long. He's pretty weak, and can't move around a lot or the histo gets stirred up and he coughs a lot, and sometimes develops a temperature. He gets another echo done this Friday, and if that one shows no more fluid I will rest a lot easier.

The good news is that he should have no long-term effects from the histo. The bad news is that he has to take a liquid anti-fungal medicine twice a day for 4-6 weeks, and they don't anticipate him returning to 100% for 2-3 months. I am so thankful for all the prayers and concern from everyone. Some of Garrett's friends even mowed our yard for us. It's at times like these that you realize how many people care about you, and I am eternally grateful to everyone for their help and prayers.