This is an update post for those of you who have sent emails wondering where we've vanished to since the start of the summer. (Thank you all for caring enough to ask! It means a lot.)
There is a rare and sometimes fatal fungal illness called Blastomycosis, which grows in decomposing matter such as dried leaves, sand piles, and the like. The spores are only released when it is disturbed, and are only caught at the time they're released, not passed from one animal or person to another. The scariest thing about it is that it shows up differently in each of its victims, and it's almost impossible to pinpoint its location here in Northern Ontario.
Can you see where this is going?
Not one, not two, but 3 of our family members - both dogs and our 6 year old D- somehow ended up with it. Our beloved retriever T died in my 21 year old's arms (as he frantically performed CPR) within 3 weeks as it went all over her body inside; our big goofy Border Collie Mix may lose his eye; and in D, it went straight into his lungs.
We have the vet's quick-thinking action to thank for D's survival - no exaggeration.
On one particularly horrible day at the very beginning of July, we had both dogs at the vet and D at the hospital, literally next door for yet another x-ray for what the doctors thought was pneumonia. When the vets were telling us that tests had confirmed Blastomycosis, I happened to mention where D was. The vets dropped everything, stayed with the dogs, and sent me running to the hospital to tell the doctors to run a test on D. I didn't even know that people could catch it. He was admitted on the spot.
If you have ever had your child vomiting 24/7, passing out, and spiking fevers of 42+ degrees in less than 10 minutes, you know the fear we were experiencing.
This was followed the next day by a rush by ambulance to the nearest hospital who could handle the illness, a 3 hour trip which we made in half that time, lights and siren going while I watched over my unconscious little boy.
A month of IV medication with terrifying potential side effects, during which I slept on a ledge in his hospital room while my parents and husband and other kids held down the fort and made endless trips to the vet back at home, a loss of more than 10 % of D's already small body weight in one week, and days where he didn't recognize me due to fever and pain, days where he was screaming from pain, and a slow return to himself, and I finally, FINALLY, was able to bring him home a few days ago.
D and our surviving dog will be on anti-fungal pills for up to a year before they will be considered cured. D is more himself again, gaining weight but still very low on energy compared to his usual self. His lungs are permanently scarred and he will have to have regular kidney and liver checks for the rest of his life. We will be burying our dog T next to her sister who we lost to cancer last year.
After a summer like this, I hope you all understand that our focus is very intently on family time at this point. I'll post as and when we do stuff and have some time to put up some pics.
Hug your kids, watch them with an eagle eye, and have a good rest of the summer.