Enduring Miracles

Juan and I arrived on the fifth floor of the hospital, met one of the attending nurses, and set down his belongings in his assigned room. Diana arrived shortly after we did. A few different nurses walked in and out of the room to provide us with paperwork and additional accommodations that were needed. We waited patiently for a doctor to arrive and give us a more detailed consultation regarding the findings of the lumbar puncture. We waited thirty minutes for someone to part the curtain and announce the beginning of a real life tragedy. Enter doctor number one.

            “So, we have viral meningitis going on in here, do we?” Without a proper introduction the female doctor announced Juan’s diagnosis for the first time. Diana and I both looked at each other since we had just discussed infectious diseases and the possibility of a contagious one that would have put us and the children at risk.

            I was the first to respond. “That’s the first time we’ve heard the reason why Juan is here,” I said. “Isn’t that contagious?” The doctor looked stunned that we hadn’t yet received an explanation for Juan’s hospitalization so she took it upon herself to explain Juan’s test results as well as the different types of meningitis.

            “First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. Janet Baker. I am the internal medicine doctor here at Mesa Lutheran. I will be managing your care along with my partner while you are a patient here. According to the lumbar puncture you had yesterday, you have been diagnosed with meningitis. What kind of meningitis?” Her question was a statement and I racked my brain to understand what meningitis was. “We are still trying to determine how you contracted it and what form it is in.” The hospitalist told us that an infectious disease specialist would be visiting with us later that evening to pinpoint the type of meningitis, either viral, bacterial, or fungal.

            Wow, I thought. What a comfort it is to put a name on Juan’s condition. I didn’t know much about meningitis but I had faith that the doctors did or we wouldn’t have been there. Diana contacted her side of the family and I called my parents and a few of my siblings to let them know of the recent diagnosis.

            My family was happy that we were finally being taken down a path that would lead to treatment and recovery. On the other hand, upon hearing that Juan had been admitted to the hospital, Juan’s family (mother, father, and two other sisters) made arrangements to travel immediately into town to be at the hospital for support. The other sister, Karina, who lived in Canada, was on the phone to learn everything that was going on. She wanted all the updates no matter what the phone bill would cost.

            When the infectious disease specialist had walked into Juan’s room, Dr. Baker also slipped quietly into the room and without saying a word, took a seat in an empty chair a few feet from the door.

            “Hi. My name is Dr. Monica Saunders. I am an infectious disease specialist. Dr. Baker has asked me to take a look at the results of your spinal fluid. All I can say is, ‘wow.’ I have never seen such values on someone who looks so healthy.” Dr. Saunders looked over at Dr. Baker with raised eyebrows. “Did you see those numbers?” Dr. Baker stoically nodded her head in agreement, signaling to us that Juan’s test results were off the charts.

            “What do the results mean?” Juan inquired. He wanted to know what he was about to face.

            “The protein count of your cerebral spinal fluid, or CSF, is 2400 when it should be 15 to 45,” Dr. Saunders explained. “The glucose rate is too low and the white blood count is 420 cells when it should be zero. We have ordered blood and CSF samples to test the titers of the valley fever. We believe, at this point, that you developed fungal meningitis after contracting valley fever. Mr. Zapata, have you ever been diagnosed with valley fever?” Dr. Saunders’ red hair and fair complexion gave me the impression that she knew her stuff well and was not someone to be trifled with.

“No,” Juan answered respectfully. “I’ve never been diagnosed with valley fever.” Juan and I weren’t sure exactly what valley fever was. Of course, it would explain the fevers he had felt all year.