Posted by Jerry Martin NC on September 07, 2004 at 09:27:54:
God bless you Kim. I have worked with bird control and am very familiar with Histoplasmosis. It was discovered with a boy scout troop out west that was earning merit badges and over 30% of them got it. This was sometime in the late 60s.
Kim if there is anything any of us can do let us know. In the mean time many prayers will continue to go up.
Jerry
Health Issues for Rehabbers - Posted by Kim-OH
Posted by Kim-OH on September 07, 2004 at 08:16:59:
Greetings All,
Some of you know that I have been facing a health crisis for the past several months. I have some answers that are both good and bad and I feel that I must share them with folks here. They are not meant to scare folks or to stop folks from reaching their goals. My story is meant to temper entheusiasm with reality and if I help even one person take appropriate precaution then I will feel this revelation is worth it.
On Friday Sept. 3, 2004 I had about a third of my right lung removed. When we first found the leison it was assumed it was cancer. The good news is that it’s not cancer. The bad news is that it is something called nectrotizing granulating histoplasmosis. This means it’s an infection brought about by my exposure to pigeon guano in a rehab project I did back in 1991. In this property there were thousands if not hundreds of thousands of pigeons living in the property. We cleaned up droppings that in some areas approached nearly knee deep.
During this time I requested that the General Contractor provide us with masks, more specifically canister fillter masks that were recommended for such a clean up. He declined. I poo pooe’d the warning as just those of over zealous health officials wanting to interfer in our business.
Over the years I have made the accquaitance of two other folks with this disease, one is a sitting judge in my area who is blind from the disease and another is a physcian who has a multitude of health issues from this same disease. Neither the judge nor the doctor actually did any rehab work on their properties they just visited the sites to oversee the work being done.
I know that we laugh and rail at the powers that be over issues such as lead based paint, asbestos, mold and other environmental issues. And for most of us these issues will never touch us or our loved ones. But for those who may be sensitive I want to post a warning that the aftermath is not a great deal of fun.
I have lost more than 56% of my lung capacity at this time. I will be on oxygen for the rest of my life. I am facing the possibility of another surgery next month to remove part of my other lung. I will be taking both antibiotics and anti fungal medications for a very long time, over years to come to try to stop the progression of this disease.
Having said that will this stop my from doing this business. NO it will not. I love this business and what the potential means for my future and my familie’s future. Will it just take longer for me to get it up and running, likely so.
I am going to work really dilligently to get as well as I can so that I will be able to attend some of the events and bootcamps offered through this site. When I meet some of you wonderful regulars from here will I be able to keep up with you physcially, probably not. However give me a few months on the oxygen and I am hoping that the little grey matter will rejeuvenate it’s self so that I can keep up with you all intelectually and give you a run for your money.
I wish all my brothers and sisters here prosperity, good health and a an haealthy respect for the possibilities that any given hazzard may not affect us all but may indeed affect anyone of us.
Kim-OH
PS Make certain you have good health insurance as the bills are starting to come in and for someone such as myself on disabilitiy they are already staggering. I will get through this, I am just waiting for the relevation to hit me across the head on how this will be accomplished. LOL
Re: Health Issues for Rehabbers - Posted by WALT-BRTN
Posted by WALT-BRTN on September 16, 2004 at 16:09:50:
GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIEND.thanks for the warning. remember convention in april of next year hope to see you there. GOD SPEED DEAR. you are in my prayers. !!! WALT-BRTN
Re: Health Issues for Rehabbers - Posted by Anne_ND
Posted by Anne_ND on September 07, 2004 at 21:25:38:
Kim,
Thank you for your post. One of our first rehabs was a house with hundreds of pigeons in the arric. I didn’t do the cleanup, and usually wore masks on the scene, but not always. Something else to think about…
Good luck to you
Anne
Re: Health Issues for Rehabbers - Posted by jasonrei
Posted by jasonrei on September 07, 2004 at 11:53:32:
Thanks Kim. It’s always good to get a powerful reminder from someone who’s been thru a bad experience.