Day 2 in the hospital, I wake up hooked to an IV machine, wondering when they are going to send me home. Medical staff keeps coming into the room, with masks on, asking how I’m feeling, and telling me that they believe I have tuberculosis, also known as TB. They ask if I know what it is.
“I think so. Isn’t that what Doc Holiday had? Something to do with your lungs and coughing up blood.” That was the extent of my TB knowledge.
Turns out that TB is a lot more than that. An airborne bacteria, it enters through the lungs, and most of the time it stays there. But sometimes it gets out of the lungs and into the body, where it spreads and destroys the organs; This is what I had. Known as miliary tuberculosis, if left untreated it is fatal. By treatment, they aren’t talking about eating steak and working out. By the time I got to the hospital, I weighed 135lbs, from 180lbs. The tuberculosis had infected my lungs, kidneys, liver, prostate, eyes, ears, muscles, bone marrow, heart, testicles, spine, and brain. There were over 20 lesions in my brain, causing swelling and pressure. I couldn’t stand because of the degradation of my spine and muscles. I couldn’t hear in my left ear, and pus was dripping out. I had painful urination; I was using the bathroom every 15-20 minutes. I had double-vision. I was dizzy and crying randomly. I still had a swollen testicle (which was top of my list of concerns). The doctors that me said that me being alive was a miracle. They had never seen anyone with that much disseminated TB that wasn’t already on an autopsy table. I said that I was feeling much better, and ready to go home.
The treatment for tuberculosis involves taking antibiotics. The tuberculosis that I had was apparently resistant to some of the antibiotics, which meant taking even more antibiotics, for a longer period of time. I asked when I would be going home, and was told that they were waiting for test results.
This was Friday, November 15th. The Miami Dolphins had a football game that Sunday. We also had a poker night at the house on Monday. I figured that I might miss them, but at least I should be out by my birthday, which was coming up on the 20th. Little did I know.