Tribond

So, what do the last 3 posts (actually 5 posts) have in common??  If you said "Nocardia", you win!!

It turns out that I don't have a staph infection or MRSA.  Instead, I'm one of the annual 500-1,000 people in the United States that has Nocardia.  What is Nocardia you ask?  It's a bacterial infection that you get from soil.  It is most often found in people who have severely compromised immune systems due to HIV, chemotherapy, etc.  However, pregnancy (and flukey-ness) seemed to be what did it for me. 

The photos of my lovely garden?  Yup, that did the trick.  I don't regret planting my garden one bit though. In fact, even today I was telling Ryan how excited I am by how much things are growing! 

I met with a Infectious Disease Specialist last week and asked her approximately 1,000 questions.  In case you are wondering, here are some of the answers...

• It is NOT contagious
• Though our soil must have some contaminants in it, it is still safe to play in.  The fact that I got it is pretty flukey.  
• Anyone without a severely compromised immune system can play in our dirt
• While pregnant, I need to where long sleeves when gardening (but I can still garden)
• It is totally safe to eat all goods that come from our garden
• My form of Nocardia (skin infection) is very treatable...and the "best" type of Nocardia to have
• I will need to be on antibiotics for the next 4-6 months
• Baby is safe
• I can still deliver at the Birth Center
• I will most likely still be able to breast feed

Hmmmm...that's all I can think of for now...feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments.

More than anything, I have learned that this is a pretty rare condition.  My primary care doctor has only ever had 1 patient before with it.  And, the midwives at the birth center have never had a patient with it.  

My "medical team" is great.  And, they are all super happy with how well my arm has been healing already.  They had planned on putting me on IV antibiotics, but since the antibiotics I was on for the (not) Staph Infection seem to be helping this, I can stay on them (which is the safest route for baby). 

At this point my wound is pretty much closed and I don't need to cover it up.  However, I find that it's a little sensitive to the open air...so I'm wearing a band-aid on it for my own comfort.

Unfortunately since starting the antibiotics I am getting headaches practically every day (not a common symptom, but as I've been told...anything is possible when on antibiotics) so I'm drinking coffee and taking tylenol on a daily basis to counteract them...the "medical team" said that this is the best thing to do since my only other option is switch to other antibiotics, which is not the favorable route to go at this point of pregnancy.   Having to be on antibiotics for such a long time feels a bit daunting right now.  Especially since the other side-effects are nausea and diarrhea.  My prayer is that I'm totally off of them by the time baby gets here (would love your prayers for that too!).