Latent Tuberculosis: Dad's Diagnosis

Editor's Note: WebMD Staffer Leona Perry has been taking the story of tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker a little more personally than the rest of us here at WebMD. Her sister Renee was diagnosed with tuberculosis in late 2004 and it put their family into a difficult medical situation. Leona told her story and Renee shared her tale; Here's what happened to their dad.

When we all found out my sister Renee had TB, my parents immediately made an appointment with their local health department to be tested.

After a couple of days, Mom's test site looked normal. But Dad's was red and raised. He had to go in for a chest x-ray and more testing.

The x-ray revealed a dark, scary spot on his lung, but sputum tests came back negative for active TB. The doctors diagnosed him with Latent TB, and told him that the spot was probably a sign that sometime earlier in his life he had the active form of the disease and just didn't know it.

He told us he suspected that he may have contracted it as a child from others in his family that may not have known they had TB.

My dad's grandmother died of tuberculosis, back when it was called consumption. He remembers his dad, my Papaw Leo, telling him how his mother had been in a Sanatorium for a long time when he was a child. She apparently passed away there.

My great Aunt Naomi, Papaw's sister, was just a kid herself but had to take over all of her mother's duties around the house, including caring for her siblings and her dad.

Because my dad's TB was the latent form, the doctors said Renee couldn't have gotten the disease from him. She will probably never know exactly where she came in contact with it.

They say that everything happens for a reason. I wouldn't wish TB on my sister or anyone else, but what if my dad's Latent TB had become active when he was older and couldn't fight off the disease or handle the long course of treatment? He already has Type 2 Diabetes. It's probably a blessing that he was tested and found out when he did.

Dad was put on antibiotics for six months to kill the TB bacteria. He is now TB free.

I have to say that I'm glad medicine has advanced to the point that tuberculosis isn't the killer it once was. If you catch the disease early and get the right treatment you can beat it and even keep any complications at bay.

Our family was blessed. I wish the best to any family this disease touches.

Previous: Tuberculosis and My Sister: Leona's Story, Tuberculosis: The Cough That Never Ends, Tuberculosis Diagnosed: Start Spreading the News, Tuberculosis Treatment: The Road to Recovery

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• Tuberculosis Symptoms

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