Bad Boy Babesiosis

He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. (Psalm 103:3)

Last week about this time, Andy and I were in the Emergency Room at the local hospital. That morning, we took his temperature because he was complaining of intermittent chills & sweats. The thermometer read 103.5 degrees. We both had a hard time believing that was accurate, so I shook the thermometer and told him to take his temp again. But it registered the same, so we made the decision to go to the ER.

Andy has a history of urinary tract, bladder, kidney infections and had just finished antibiotics for one several weeks before. So we thought he was experiencing another one. Thursday he had been so sick that he stayed in bed all day, so untypical for him. That evening he got in to see the doctor who prescribed another round of antibiotics. So we were expecting he would start feeling better on Friday. But that didn't happen, he continued with a high fever, chills, dizziness, weakness, exhaustion. Again, he didn't get out of bed all day. Saturday wasn't much better, then on Sunday, with the high fever, decided we better get to the hospital.

I believe it was the Lord directing us that way. Blood work was immediately called for and the results came back fairly quickly. The doctor told us that the lab tech was "sharp" for picking up that there was a parasite involved, which is not what they were looking for. We had still been thinking it was a UTI, so for the lab tech to discover the parasite was providential.

Andy was admitted and assigned to a room and remained till Wednesday afternoon. They pumped into him all kinds of antibiotics, as well as parasite killing drugs. In the meantime, we got an education into the parasite called babesiosis. It is carried by a tick. Most people who are infected feel fine and do not have any symptoms. But there are those rarities where it can be a severe, life-threatening disease. I guess Andy is a rarity - but we already knew that, didn't we???

If interested, you can read more about this parasite by checking out this site.

While Andy was in the hospital, I spent my days driving back and forth to spend time with him there. I also felt it my mission to try to understand the medical care he was getting. Because of Andy's high fever and all the medicine he was on, he was having a hard time focusing. In other words, he was a bit "loopy." I felt bad for him because he would try to hold a conversation, but it was obvious he wasn't "all there." I could tell him something, but the next minute he would ask a question about what I had just told him.

Dawn and her mother-in-law, Pat, came to visit on Sunday afternoon. Dawn was a bit shaken up with her dad in the hospital. I'm not sure the visit helped ease her mind because Andy did not look good while she was there. The next day, Amy came down with her kids to visit her Dad and that wasn't a very good visit either. While she was there, Andy got the chills and was shaking so badly. He had 5 blankets on and wanted us to ask the nurse for more. He lay there most of the time with his eyes closed.

It seemed like such a long time, but finally Wednesday at lunch time, the doctor said he would be going home that day. He's still taking lots of medicine and one in particular, leaves him feeling sick. He's still somewhat jaundiced looking, but every day, he seems to be a bit better.

Sometimes you don't realize how precious life is until that life is threatened, or how wonderful it is to feel good until you're ill. But we are very thankful that God spared his life for a little while longer and that his health is continuing to improve.