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PRMC Patient Reports Meningitis

Kim Reese diagnosed with meningitis at Palestine Regional Medical Center
Kim Reese, marketing director for Dogwood Trails Assisted Living & Memory Care, is being quarantined at PRMC with what she reports is a diagnosis of meningitis.
A Palestine woman has been quarantine at a local hospital with an illness she said is meningitis.
Due to federal medical privacy laws, officials at Palestine Regional Medical Center would neither confirm nor deny the hospital is treating a case of meningitis in quarantine.
Kim Reese, 46, of Palestine, is hospitalized at PRMC, after experiencing a stiff neck and an extremely painful headache, similar to a migraine, on Friday morning.
After the pain worsened, Reese decided to seek emergency medical treatment at the regional medical center. Reese underwent a spinal tap for diagnosis to catch the illness early.
“The spinal tap was not as bad as the headache,” Reese told the Herald-Press on Monday. “At that point, I didn't care what they did to make me better.”
She is getting aggressive IV antibiotics, twice a day, and pain medication. Medical staff are waiting on lab results to confirm what type of meningitis Reese has.
Reese has been in quarantine throughout the weekend.
“Quarantine stinks after the first 24 hours of quiet time,” she said. “However, staff here has been great and very helpful.”
Reese, marketing director for Dogwood Trails Assisted Living & Memory Care, said no one knows where she may have contracted the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, meningitis is an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. A bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord usually causes the swelling.
However, injuries, cancer, certain drugs, and other kinds of infections also can cause meningitis.
Treatments vary, depending on the cause of the illness.
Reese's husband has disinfected the couple's home, hoping to keep their two children, ages 8 and 9, from contracting the illness.
The CDC is closed due to the government shutdown. The Herald-Press could not get information about other possible cases of meningitis in East Texas.
The CDC website states people with symptoms should seek medical attention immediately. Symptoms can first appear as a flu-like illness and rapidly worsen. The two most common kinds are meningitis and septicemia — both of which can turn deadly in a matter of hours.
The most common symptoms include fever, headache, and stiff neck. Additional symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and an confused mental state.
“When in doubt, go to the emergency room,” Reese said. “This possibly saved my life.”
Reese said she has been told she could possibly go home in two days.

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