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Remembering KateMN - losing a virtual friend hurts too
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Jul 1, 2021 | Replies (83)Comment receiving replies
By now, most of you have received the news that our fearless mentor, Katherine has passed away. I feel certain this news has rocked the world of many of you; as it did mine. Some people have private messaged me wondering if she had succmbed finally to her bronchicstasis or MAC or pseudomonas. NO, she did not. Our condition is manageable. She contracted two more particularly nasty bugs of which were resistant to all antibiotics. I have been in touch with her son, Scott. He and I both believe she picked those bugs up when she was spending nights in the ICU with her husband and on many other trips with him in the hospital. These two particular ones are mostly acquired from hospital settings. They are super-bugs. When you hear of hospitalized people dying from pneumonia; this is what this super-bug is. I will give you the names of the bacteria for those of you that want to look it up. They are: Klebsiella pneumonia and Serratia Marcescens. These two are especially dangerous to people like us that are immunocompromised and have weakened or damaged lungs. We are the types that it likes to attack. People like us rarely survive this kind of infection. For the most part, they are antibiotic resistant. I am sharing this with you so that you know to avoid hospitals and convalescent homes whenever possible. Those can be dangerous places for us. I have a rule: I do not visit people in the hospital. I politely explain to them why I can't. We all thought the world of Katherine and prayed that she went peacefully. Her son confirmed that she did, she went in her sleep. Her interment and ceremony to celebrate her life will be on Sept. 2 at 2:00. If you can, I'd like for all of us to take pause at that time and honor her. I will post a reminder as that date gets closer. Hugs to all of you, Terri M.
Replies to "By now, most of you have received the news that our fearless mentor, Katherine has passed..."
@windwalker terri, I have read that the Serratia Marcescens also found in the shower. Its all so confusing. I hope you are correct.:)
@ling123 that is where I read it also, will be great to be able to find out from Dr Falkinham through Terri, I have read some of his articles in the past and he is so knowledgeable in this field. Heather
@heathert Heather, if I had the pink slime in my bathroom, I'd keep a spray bottle handy with water/bleach combo and keep those surfaces treated.
@windwalker So the bacteria is not in the water, but in the residue on surfaces?
Wow, shocked! I had only been on the forum a few weeks before she died but just figured it out. Helpful, even in death. She was so positive with me, I was pretty lost before all the knowledge from this forum. i'm one of the lucky ones that coughs up tons of blood, terrifying, until I found out not alone. Goodbye Katherine, You helped me a lot and were very kind. xoxo Christa
@unicorn Christa, if you are coughing up "TONS" of blood, then you need to be seen ASAP! There is a procedure to stop that if it is indeed as bad as you say. Also, you need to be on an antibiotic, that much blood can mean active infection. Your meds weren't intolerable, then try different meds!!!
@unicorn Also wanted to say that I have been worried about you when you were taking a break from us. I am SO GLAD you are back.
@heathert Heather, did you see my brand new post about this pinky orange bathroom bacteria?
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@ling123 Wow, Ling! I looked it up on another site and it did not mention it being in our bathrooms. I just now looked at the wiki site you posted. Gee, there is no end to the puzzles we must solve, is there? I have been exchanging e-mails with Dr. Falkinham who is a microbiologist at Va. Tech. He studies the pink 'slime', I will ask him tomorrow about that. Will get back to you about that one. Thanks for the tip-off.