This has been the most difficult summer. What started looking like a great month of June, in fact, lead you to believe that you would be spending long days by the pool with your two daughters. Instead, you have been at one appointment after another. When your husband was diagnosed with nontuberculous mycobacteria everything changed.
Your husband had a prior lung infection, but that one was easily taken care of with antibiotic. This time, however, the prognosis is not that simple.
In fact, nontuberculous mycobacteria, referred to as NTM, are organisms that are naturally found in water and soil. NTM lung infection specifically occurs when a person inhales the organism from their environment. Most people do not become ill, but for some individuals who are highly susceptible, a slowly progressive but destructive disease can occur.
Respiratory Damage Symptoms Can Signal Various kinds of Problems
Last weekend at church, you asked your friends and family members for good thoughts and prayers. Your husband’s race is getting harder to run and while you know God is in control, your hearts are breaking. Watching someone you love struggle with complications caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria can be crushing. Watching someone you love struggle to breath is heart breaking.
Like any illness that involves the lungs, the problems are exhausting and painful. The latest research indicates that there are more than 180 species of nontuberculous mycobacteria and after the diagnosis it can be a way to make sure that you are working with a medical team that understands all of the available treatment options. Unfortunately, current estimates indicate that the number of people with NTM lung disease in the U.S. is as high as 180,000, and that number is increasing 8.2% every year in people who are 65 years and older.
Whether you have recently succeeded in battling a difficult lung disease diagnosis or you are in the process of just finding out that you have underlying conditions that are not yet decided on. The beginning of the summer is supposed to be full of fun, but if you are facing a difficult health diagnosis, it is important to shift gears and work on an agressive plan to get back to being your healthiest self.