Kathleen Zuckerman, 67, who was misdiagnosed with pneumonia, is slowly recovering from the disease.
My husband took me to the emergency room. They diagnosed me with pneumonia and sent me home. I kept getting worse. By the time I finished my antibiotics, I was so sick that I could hardly get out of bed to go to the bathroom.
My husband was at work so I called an ambulance and went back to the hospital. I was admitted around June 15 with pneumonia. When I was admitted, I asked the nurse if I could be tested for valley fever, something my husband had been researching. After two days of not getting better, they called in a specialist who quickly diagnosed me with valley fever. The next eight weeks were spent mostly in bed.
My recovery has been extremely slow. I still have a chronic cough and I am a bit short of breath. I tire easily, I’ve lost 20 pounds, and I have dark circles under my eyes. The valley fever seems to have settled in my muscles, so I am in a lot of pain. So far, this is my story. I hope to feel better soon.
I went to the town hall meeting on valley fever, and it confirmed my concern. People that got really sick were often misdiagnosed. It all comes down to a lack of knowledge and proper training. To me, that is really scary.