[at-l] Ron Update

[kahley7 <kahley7@ptd.net>]

I snatched this from atml.....


Hi! Hope everyone is excitedly getting ready for the holidays which have

rapidly crept up on us this year.

I have a question for anyone who spent any time on the AT this year.
Does anyone know of any cases of encephalitis or other unusual illness
(other than the flu) that any hikers contracted while hiking the AT this

year?
Ron was originally diagnosed with meningitis, but we found out yesterday

that they've pretty much ruled that out and are going to look more at
the possibility of encephalitis or somewhere along those lines. He had a

skin prick TB test Tuesday which came out positive, but they said the
chest x-ray on Thursday was negative.

He's going to an infectious disease specialist this morning and
hopefully this doctor will have a clue as to what's going on. He's been
home from the hospital for 19 days now, and although I've seen some
improvement, he still has many "after affects" and is having more bad
days than good days. Now the doctors don't know what he has or had when
first hospitalized and are going searching again.

Whatever this disease is, they don't feel I'm at risk and don't feel
that Ron could pass it on to anyone else. My immune system seems to be
functioning at its peak, because I've managed to avoid catching all the
illnesses going around my office this winter. Because Ron's illness is
suddenly a mystery again, family and friends are nervous about catching
it. I don't blame them at all. I just hope we have some answers by
Christmas Eve so we know whether Ron can spend time with our families or

whether he needs to "hide out" here at home.

Anyway, I was just curious if anyone knew of anything unusual on the
trail this year. Encephalitis, by the way, is supposedly viral and not
necessarily contracted by a mosquito bite.

I'll let you know what they find out (if anything). It's frustrating not

knowing what's happening, believing that he's recovering from a certain
illness and then finding out it might be something else.

I hope everyone is in good health and looking forward to the holidays.

Happy Hiking!

Cheryl
The Solemates



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