Surviving Valley Fever, Phoenix, Arizona


If you live in the Phoenix, Arizona area, you've had Valley Fever. It comes from a fungus in the desert, and it can range from very mild symptoms to death. I survived it when I was 19, right after I moved to Phoenix from Minneapolis. No, I don't know anything else about Valley Fever, and I'm very squeamish, so if you want to learn more, you can Google it.

If you have no memory of Valley Fever, yours was mild, like a cold. Mine put me in the hospital with pneumonia. When I asked the nurse if people died from this, she said, "yes". I still remember that. I had no health insurance, and I was at the County Hospital.

Like I said, I survived. But every once in a while I think about it. I think about pioneers coming out to Phoenix and dying mysteriously. I think about people coming out to Phoenix for their health, catching Valley Fever, and dying.

What I do know is that you only catch it once. And if you live in Phoenix, you're a survivor.

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