Doctor called today (Finally!) Waiting to hear from him is like waiting to see if you won the lottery! Anyhow...Just an update for all of you sweet followers of mine.
My last bronchoscopy showed NO growth after 4 weeks in the areas where samples were taken. This leaves the doctors a bit...perplexed. They were hopeful to see growth in one specific area--the right middle lobe, which can be removed by lobectomy. The fact that it didn't grow at all is confusing. (I say it's the hand of God.) They want to double check these results by doing a PET CT scan. This should, hopefully, give more information about what's going on in my lungs at this point.
I will go next Tuesday for the PET CT and to visit with the surgeon. We are still unsure of surgery (especially now), so my doctors and the surgeon will review the results of the CT and make further decisions about what to do next. (Feeling a bit like a lab rat these days.) ;-)
In the mean time, I have stopped IV Amakacin due to an audiology screening that showed moderately severe to severe hearing loss. (One lovely side effect of the drug that may actually be killing this bacteria.) The hearing loss is irreversible. I've also had ringing in both ears, but they say this will hopefully go away. None of you are allowed to make fun of me when I get my hearing aids!
I'm still on IV Tygacil and my oral antibiotic. They make an inhaled version of the Amakacin, which is apparently near impossible to find, but the doctors are hopeful to find it for me so I can begin those treatments. The inhaled Amakacin does not have the possible side effect of hearing loss. They're running out of meds to give me, so this is really a last straw.
I will know more next week after the CT scan, but for now, I'm going to ask anyone reading this to please send a prayer up for me. This journey has been long, and I know God has a plan. It is by His grace that I have come through this thus far and it can be hard to wait for answers, but HOPEFUL is my word of the day.
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