What is Nocardia?

After my recent posts I was asked by a few to explain the illness I had that proceeded my drug addiction. About five years ago I became ill with what appeared to be a respiratory problem. The doctors could not figure out what was going on. But after several emergency runs to the hospital not able to breath and two week long visits there we knew something serious was happening. This started in January and by June I had been on oxygen and high doses of prednisone and undergone many tests still not knowing why I was sick. One such test was particularly scary. The results were a collapsed lung and some spots on the other lung. We spent a long weekend praying and fasting that things would go well, and when the doctor called on Monday our prayers were answered. The scrapings showed a very rare bacteria called Nocardia. At last we had a name for what was causing my problems. Nocardia only affects about 500 people in the US a year, so it is fairly difficult to diagnose. It is a bacterial infection that usually starts in the lungs. It can spread to other organs, most often the brain and the skin. But may also involve the kidneys, joints, heart, eyes and bones. Complications of nocardial infections may lead to scarring and chronic shortness of breath. Brain abscesses may lead to loss of neurological function. At one point I had such serious sinus problems, I had to have surgery on my sinus's to make sure the nocardia had not spread to my brain. When they finally diagnosed the illness, it took a year and a half of antibiotics to kill the bacteria. The trick was to stay alive while the antibiotics were slowly killing the bacteria. A large oxygen machine became a part of my life and many other breathing treatments. But the big thing that kept me breathing was the dreaded medication prednisone. It keeps you alive, but causes all kinds of awful side affects. I gained 50 pounds, my mind and nervous system got really messed up, when I was on the prednisone intraveneously I had to be on insulin, because it puts you in a diabetic state. If I was on high doses I'd have more energy and be able to breath better, but the minute we'd start tapering down my body would just crash. Needless to say, the next few years I was in and out of the hospital or in bed trying to keep my oxygen level at 90 or above. It was a long and trying time for both me and my family, but with prayer and faith we lived through it. Some would say they would like to forget such miserable times as these, I might agree, but can't, because as awful as it was, I was served by family and friends with such kindness, love and understanding, that I need to remember those valuable lessons learned so I can serve others now that I have been given the most wonderful gift of health.