TB or not TB

My last blog was Jan 4th I believe. I haven't been writing because I HAVE BEEN IN BAYFRONT GENERAL HOSPITAL with pneumonia and.....TB. This is the first I've had a chance to sit at the computer, not much energy now.

My friend Lois took me to the ER and I was admitted. Pneumonia on both lungs. I really wasn't able to move around much on the New Year. There had been a dip in the weather and I just got sicker and sicker.

Let me catch up with this TB thing. In 04, in Bangalore I went to Manipal hospital for a 'Health Check' They found my lungs were full of what looked like old dead signs of infection. An annoisim or tare in the aorta about four inches and blood sugar hitting 4 or 500. I figured Swami was taking care so didn't worry much but started on diabetic pills. We old devotees are sooo stupid.

Afew years later I was having trouble with lung problems and had an x-ray at Swami's general hospital. There was a new doctor there who saw the x-ray and gave it to our primary doctor saying....looks like TB. After a sputum test which did not show TB our doctor showed me a strip of huge horse pills each over an inch long. I said I couldn't swallow them as even aspirin hurt my stomach. So that was that. I continued to be weak and sick from some unknown bacteria.

Then I had to leave the ashram as all of you know. If I had thought I had TB I could have gotten a medical visa! I came home to live with my elderly 85 yr old sister who has terrible lungs from life long asthma.

Fortunately I wore a mask while in her room because I was coughing a lot.

Ok then I moved to my own flat and just got sicker....we thought maybe allergies and finally ended up in the hospital with pneumonia on both sides of my lungs. After 4 0r 5 days they did a Bronchiostopy on me. They put a camera down into my lungs and actually washed part of them out.

That's when they found live TB growing quietly deep within. Only then could they find it. I will never forget that day. I overheard the nurses in the hall saying that one of the rooms would have to be set up as a quarantine STAT. The next thing I knew the other bed was being rolled out and my room door slammed shut! I was told that I had TB and the pills started....7 or 8 large pills a day....which they managed to break up so I wouldn't get too sick.

A few day later they rammed a thick tube up into my head to suction off the mucous. They said they would do it three times but only did it once. I was terrified of it happening again. After ten days I was sent back to my little flat by Tampa Bay with the health department coming every day with the TB pills and my sister and her niece brought food....with masks on.

I'm very tired but wanted to get the facts out there because the the government takes TB very seriously....and so do I