It's been another crazy day. Dad's overall condition improved slightly earlier today. His blood oxygen saturation level increased and stayed between 95%-99%, without any changes being made to the ventilator settings. The doctors removed the Swan-Ganz catheter, and his blood gas and overall lab numbers came back better than at any time during his stay in the ICU. However, he remains unconscious and in extremely critical condition and his situation is still very tenuous. We are anxiously awaiting additional results from the lab, but as of yet have heard nothing. We still suspect that this may be a case of blastomycosis or histoplasmosis.
Yesterday afternoon I contacted Annie Crossby again to ask her help in finding a contact familiar with blastomycosis and infection by mycological pathogens. She put me in touch with Ursula Bunn, Head Technologist of Mycology at the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care, Central Public Health Laboratory in Etobicoke (Toronto), Ontario. I explained Dad's situation to Ms. Bunn and asked if she could help direct me to an expert in the field of identifying and treating blastomycosis and related diseases. She agreed to assist and said she would send an email to Dr. Susan Richardson, an expert in the field of mycological infections, to ask for her help. Dr. Richardson is the Head of the Division for Microbiology at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and President of the AMMI Canada, Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.
Dr. Richardson called me today at around 1:30 PM to discuss Dad's situation and the possibility he is afflicted with blastomycosis. She listened carefully to my long story of Dad's illness and possible exposure to Blastomyces dermatitidis, the organism responsible for blastomycosis, and agreed that this sounded a lot like an acute case of blastomycosis. I also discussed treatment strategies with Dr. Richardson and she agreed to act in a consultative capacity for doctors at Highland Hospital if needed.
Mom and I pressed for a consultation with the Attending Physician in the ICU, but he was unavailable until tomorrow or later. This was simply unacceptable, so we pressed for a consultation with Dr. Mark Shelley, the Director of Infectious Diseases at Highland. Dr. Shelley discussed our concerns regarding diagnosis and treatment for Dad's condition and said he would press the lab for enough lab results to hopefully make a presumptive diagnosis of blastomycosis so he could feel more comfortable starting a more aggressive treatment plan. He also agreed to contact Dr. Richardson to consult on the case and discuss diagnostic and treatment options.
For more information on blastomycosis, follow this link to an article co-authored by Dr. Richardson entitled Blastomycosis in Ontario, 1994-2003. Ursula Bunn was also cited for assistance in the lab work associated with this article.
I'd like to extend a special thank you from our family to Annie Crossby, Ursula Bunn, and Dr. Richardson for all the assistance you have given us.
Yesterday afternoon I contacted Annie Crossby again to ask her help in finding a contact familiar with blastomycosis and infection by mycological pathogens. She put me in touch with Ursula Bunn, Head Technologist of Mycology at the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care, Central Public Health Laboratory in Etobicoke (Toronto), Ontario. I explained Dad's situation to Ms. Bunn and asked if she could help direct me to an expert in the field of identifying and treating blastomycosis and related diseases. She agreed to assist and said she would send an email to Dr. Susan Richardson, an expert in the field of mycological infections, to ask for her help. Dr. Richardson is the Head of the Division for Microbiology at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and President of the AMMI Canada, Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada.
Dr. Richardson called me today at around 1:30 PM to discuss Dad's situation and the possibility he is afflicted with blastomycosis. She listened carefully to my long story of Dad's illness and possible exposure to Blastomyces dermatitidis, the organism responsible for blastomycosis, and agreed that this sounded a lot like an acute case of blastomycosis. I also discussed treatment strategies with Dr. Richardson and she agreed to act in a consultative capacity for doctors at Highland Hospital if needed.
Mom and I pressed for a consultation with the Attending Physician in the ICU, but he was unavailable until tomorrow or later. This was simply unacceptable, so we pressed for a consultation with Dr. Mark Shelley, the Director of Infectious Diseases at Highland. Dr. Shelley discussed our concerns regarding diagnosis and treatment for Dad's condition and said he would press the lab for enough lab results to hopefully make a presumptive diagnosis of blastomycosis so he could feel more comfortable starting a more aggressive treatment plan. He also agreed to contact Dr. Richardson to consult on the case and discuss diagnostic and treatment options.
For more information on blastomycosis, follow this link to an article co-authored by Dr. Richardson entitled Blastomycosis in Ontario, 1994-2003. Ursula Bunn was also cited for assistance in the lab work associated with this article.
I'd like to extend a special thank you from our family to Annie Crossby, Ursula Bunn, and Dr. Richardson for all the assistance you have given us.
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