Ep. 36 | A Step Too Far/Dying of Boredom
36:26 Share

But he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

The doctor thought that, medically speaking, the man was fine. But the man knew he was far from fine. He couldn't even climb a flight of stairs without taking countless breaks to catch his breath. And once he got into bed, he could barely muster the strength to get back out again. He was now missing work and he was feeling so weak that it was getting hard to do much of anything. And so how could any doctor say that he was fine? After he pulled into the driveway, the man just sat there for a moment.

And as he did, he realized that the feeling he was having right now was not just a feeling of frustration. He also had a much darker feeling. And that feeling was that one of these nights, he was going to go to bed and not wake up again.

Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, or expert advice, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds and new ways of thinking. Find the genres you love and discover new ones along the way. Explore bestsellers, new releases, plus thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and originals that members can listen to all they want with more added all the time. Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as part of your daily routine without needing to set aside extra time. There's

There's more to imagine when you listen. One of my most recent favorite titles is The Lost City of Z. It's nonfiction, but it totally reads like a thriller. It follows this very famous explorer named Percy Fawcett, who went out looking for this legendary lost city in the Amazon in 1925 and then mysteriously vanished. The writer, David Gran, uses Percy's actual diaries and goes deep into the green hell of the Amazon himself, the actual author, to find evidence of what could have happened to the explorer.

As an Audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog, including the latest bestsellers and new releases. New members can try Audible for free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash ballin or text ballin to 500-500. That's audible.com slash ballin or text ballin to 500-500 to try Audible free for 30 days. audible.com slash ballin

From Ballin Studios and Wondery, I'm Mr. Ballin, and this is Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries, where every week we will explore a new baffling mystery originating from the one place we all can't escape, our own bodies. If you like today's story, please attach a very active hornet's nest to the inside of the follow button's toilet bowl, and then close the lid and walk away.

The world can be a scary place, especially when it comes to getting sick. You could catch a virus at the gym, you could pick up a foodborne bacteria at your local restaurant, or you could even get bit by a deadly bug out for a walk on your favorite hiking trail. I mean, there are dangers everywhere, and so sometimes it just feels safer to stay at home, safe and sound on the couch. But in this episode, you'll hear two stories about people who found out just how dangerous staying home can actually be.

Our first story is about a man in Scotland whose house becomes a living nightmare. And our second story is about a young man in Australia who found out that just sitting on your couch can actually become a health disaster. Here is our first story called "A Step Too Far." On a Saturday afternoon in August of 2016, 43-year-old Philip Mackey dragged a ladder into his bathroom. Philip and his wife Marnie were working hard to fix up their home in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

And Philip, frankly, spent a lot of his weekends on these types of home improvement projects. So this was very typical. Philip carefully opened up the ladder in a corner of the bathroom and climbed up. Once he was up there, Marnie handed him a spray bottle that contained water and bleach, and then she stood back to supervise from the doorway. Philip sprayed the mixture liberally onto a cluster of mold that had grown in the corner of the room. It occurred to him that he probably should wear a face mask, but it was too late for that now.

When Philip was done, he tossed the spray bottle back down to Marnie, who caught it in one hand, and then laughed at what an efficient home improvement team they had become. Philip checked his watch, and to his surprise, it was almost 5 p.m. He realized he needed to jump in the shower right away. Philip played saxophone and guitar for a local band on the weekends, and they had a show tonight. He needed to get going soon if he wanted to be on time. So he moved the ladder out of the way and turned on the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Philip toweled off and pulled some clothes out of his closet. He laid them out on the bed next to their cat, who was fast asleep in a tight little ball. As Philip threw his shirt on, he took a moment to look around his bedroom. The fresh coat of paint that he and Marnie had applied to the room only a week ago made the room look so polished. They'd also hung new curtains and bought a cozy feather comforter and down pillows for the bed. And so they were really starting to turn their house into a home.

Philip was now running late, so he buttoned his shirt as fast as he could as he hurried down the stairs. But when he got to the landing and reached for his jacket, he had to pause to catch his breath. Philip could feel his heart pounding. It had been a while since he'd been to the gym, but he hadn't realized he was this out of shape. He felt a little embarrassed, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Philip was in a hurry, so he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

By the time Philip walked into the pub down the road, his pulse was back to normal and he felt okay. The band would play a great show, but by the end of the show, Philip was once again totally out of breath. And so he decided he would just need to get more exercise because he was too young to get this winded so easily.

A few days later, Philip got home from work around 5 p.m. He tossed off his jacket and bounded up the stairs to his bedroom. But once again, he felt his heart start to pound about halfway up the stairs, and he had to stop to catch his breath. Marnie appeared at the top of the landing and asked if he was okay, and Philip just shook his head and said no. But then he kind of playfully told her that, you know, hey, I'm just totally out of shape. But one morning, two weeks later, Philip's problems got worse.

He was walking up the stairs very slowly, trying not to spill his cup of coffee, and he had only made it up to the third step when his vision became blurry and he suddenly felt very dizzy, and so Philip gripped the railing to keep from falling.

Then, Philip began to feel breathless and so instinctively he just sat down and put his coffee down and he hung his head between his knees for a few minutes until the dizziness passed. And then finally, when Philip was feeling normal again but still just sitting there on the stairs, Philip was terrified and so he rushed downstairs, he grabbed his phone and he called the doctor to make an appointment. Later that week, Philip was sitting in his doctor's office.

He had been coming to this general practitioner for years, and Philip trusted that he'd be able to help him. His doctor sat across from him on a stool, listening as Philip listed off his symptoms: shortness of breath, pounding heart, and dizzy spells. The doctor nodded and told Philip that he most likely had a lower respiratory infection. He said there'd been a virus going around recently, and a lot of his patients had chest congestion. He was going to run some blood tests as well, just to be sure it wasn't anything serious.

But in the meantime, the doctor said he would put Philip on antibiotics for a few days, which should help Philip feel like himself again. Philip thanked the doctor and then drove straight to the pharmacy to pick up the antibiotics. And by the next afternoon, Philip was starting to feel like he had some energy again. Also, his blood tests had come back clean, and so it seemed like the antibiotics were working.

But the following evening, Philip came home from work feeling absolutely exhausted. He'd barely moved all day at the office, and yet here he was, feeling like he was going to fall asleep standing up. Philip made his way to the stairs, and he leaned hard on the railing as he took the first two steps. But immediately he could tell his heart was racing. He went up another couple of steps, but it felt like he had just sprinted a mile, and so he stopped and bent over and began wheezing for air.

Finally, he just sat down on the steps and he leaned back on his elbows and did his best to try to take slow, even breaths. But even still, it just felt like there was this huge weight on his chest that was keeping him from breathing in fully. After a few minutes, Philip heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he knew it was his wife Marnie coming to help him. And a moment later, he felt her hand on his back and he let her guide him to his feet.

Philip leaned heavily on Marnie's shoulder as they slowly walked up one step at a time. And then when Philip finally made it upstairs and lurched into the bedroom, he looked at the clock and he realized it had taken him 30 minutes to climb the stairs. But at this point, you know, Philip was so exhausted that he just collapsed into the bed and asked his wife to close the curtains. He was going to attempt to sleep off whatever was going on with him.

Over the next 10 days, Philip carefully took the course of antibiotics his doctor had prescribed him, but now it just didn't seem like they were doing anything. He was tired and dizzy at work. He barely had the energy to make it through his band sets every weekend. He was out of breath and exhausted basically all the time. But Philip kept hoping that he'd eventually just feel better, that he would just kind of sleep this off.

One morning in October, so about six weeks after Philip had finished his course of antibiotics, Philip opened his eyes and immediately struggled to sit up. He rested for a moment on his back with his feet dangling off the edge of the bed, and then when he tried to sit up again, he realized that he genuinely couldn't do it. He did not have the strength just to sit up in bed. But he was feeling so defeated that he just rolled over and yelled out to his wife to please call his office and let them know he was not going to be able to come into work.

Then Philip just closed his eyes and slept for the entire rest of the day. But later that night at around 2:00 AM, so technically the next morning, Philip did finally wake up. But when he did, he again felt that intense pressure on his chest that made it hard to breathe. Except this time the pressure was so intense, he literally felt like he was suffocating.

And Philip's flailing woke up his wife. And as soon as she looked over and saw her husband was having this emergency, she reached for her phone to call the hospital. But right at that exact moment, Philip's lungs relaxed just enough to allow him to take in a full breath of air. And so suddenly he was calmed down for a second and he just grabbed his wife's arm and he told her, don't call an ambulance.

Marnie was caught off guard by his request, and so she flipped on the light and just stared at her husband. But she did put the phone down, and she would agree not to call an ambulance. But she told Philip they were done waiting whatever this was out, that he would very soon need to seek out medical help.

Several weeks later, Philip sat in his long-time doctor's office feeling frustrated and exhausted as he waited for yet another set of x-rays of his chest. He was hoping that this time, the x-ray would actually show them why he was struggling to breathe.

But this was the fourth appointment he'd made this month, and each time so far, the x-ray had come back looking totally normal. And without fail, his doctor would tell him that, hey, everything looks fine, and Philip would go home without any answers. Now, Philip trusted that his doctor knew what he was doing, but Philip was feeling extremely anxious and upset that his medical issues were still going undiagnosed.

Philip was now spending most of his time in bed asleep, he had no energy, he hadn't been to work in over a month, and if he didn't get better, he would not be able to go back to work at all. And that would plunge him and Marnie into financial crisis. But that was just their financial situation. Philip also could feel his body literally breaking down. He was worried that eventually whatever was going on with him was going to kill him.

Philip looked up when the door to the exam room opened and he saw his doctor walk in shaking his head solemnly. The doctor cleared his throat and told Philip that once again his x-ray looked totally normal. When Philip heard this, he just kind of snapped. Months of exhaustion and anxiety had finally bubbled up and he just began to cry. He told his doctor that he just couldn't go on like this. The doctor sighed and nodded, agreeing that Philip was way too young to be in such dire health.

The doctor was starting to suspect that Philip might need the advice of a specialist. There was a nearby clinic that specialized in urgent respiratory conditions, and the doctor promised he would call them ASAP. Philip thanked the doctor, but truthfully, he was skeptical about whether the specialist could actually help. But at the same time, he welcomed a new perspective because he was starting to give up hope. Later that day, Dr. Owen Dempsey opened up an email from Philip's general practitioner.

Dr. Dempsey was a highly respected chest physician at BMI Albin Hospital, which was located only 30 minutes up the road from where Philip lived. Half an hour earlier, Philip's doctor had called Dr. Dempsey to tell him that, you know, Philip was suffering from extreme shortness of breath and exhaustion and needed help right away. Dr. Dempsey clicked on the email attachment, which was Philip's x-ray, and it popped up on the screen.

Dr. Dempsey looked it over carefully. For the most part, Philip had healthy looking lungs. However, something strange immediately jumped out at the chest physician. He noticed that Philip's lungs appeared slightly gray, almost like someone had shaded them in with a pencil. Now, Dr. Dempsey could understand why Philip's doctor had said that everything looked normal. The grayness was actually so faint that at first he actually thought it was a defect in the x-ray film.

And so, Dr. Dempsey could clearly see why Philip's doctor had said the x-rays looked normal, because they basically did. But with Dr. Dempsey's deep knowledge of the human chest, he knew that Philip's lungs were not normal at all. The slight grayness in Philip's lungs indicated they were inflamed and that something was seriously wrong. So, Dr. Dempsey decided to call Philip and see if he could figure out if anything in his environment or daily habits might be making him sick.

Dr. Dempsey dialed Philip's number. After three rings, Philip answered. And Dr. Dempsey noticed right away that Philip was panting. Dr. Dempsey had lung cancer patients who sounded better than Philip. Philip explained that the reason he was currently so out of breath was because he walked through his house to answer the phone. That was it.

Dr. Dempsey was shocked, but when he told Philip how surprised he was at Philip's shortness of breath, Philip just laughed and said he was surprised too. He said it was getting really hard to think of himself as a healthy person now that he needed half an hour just to climb his own stairs. Dr. Dempsey knew that Philip must be incredibly stressed out, and he appreciated that Philip was actually still finding ways to make light of his situation.

But, as desperately as Dr. Dempsey wanted to help Philip out, he really had no idea how to do it. Dr. Dempsey told Philip that he believed he could be suffering from a severe allergic reaction. Things people have in their homes, like black mold or pet dander, can trigger severe and sometimes dangerous allergic reactions. And other times, people can bring things into their home from a trip that ultimately triggers an allergy.

For a moment, all Dr. Dempsey heard was just wheezing on the other end of the line. And then Philip spoke and he told the doctor that, you know, for the past few months, he'd barely gotten out of bed. So he certainly wasn't traveling anywhere, even within his own community. And Philip couldn't think of anything in his house that could have caused such a terrible reaction. He said there was nothing new, just the same pets they'd had for years. Now, Philip did mention that there was some mold in their bathroom, but he'd taken care of it months ago and it never came back.

The doctor eventually just began to quiz Philip about potential ways he could have been exposed. And time and again, Philip shot each of them down. Even before he got sick, Philip didn't go to a health spa or other humid environments where mold could grow. He rarely went into his attic, which can also harbor mold. And since he'd gotten sick, they'd stopped remodeling the house, so he definitely was not exposing himself to any kind of home improvement chemicals.

Philip said he didn't even smoke. And so by the time Dr. Dempsey had gone through his whole checklist of hazards and come up empty, he could tell Philip was close to tears. And Dr. Dempsey totally understood. Because if he were in Philip's position, he would be just as scared and frustrated. Dr. Dempsey felt stumped. Nothing Philip had been exposed to recently sounded like cause for concern.

So he asked Philip about the work he was doing on his house before he got sick. And Philip began describing all the painting and reupholstering they'd been doing. And in the background, Dr. Dempsey could hear Philip's wife, Marnie, reminding Philip about all sorts of other small projects they'd taken on over the past year. And at some point, Philip began rambling about his bedroom, something he was obviously very proud of. And he would tell Dr. Dempsey that they had really splurged on linen curtains and a brand new comforter.

And right at that moment, as he was describing his bedroom, Dr. Dempsey had an epiphany. He suddenly understood what very likely was making Philip so sick. And so he cut Philip off and said, "How soon can you come in and get blood work done?" A few days later, Philip and Marnie sat in Dr. Dempsey's office as they went over the results of Philip's recent blood work. Dr. Dempsey smiled at them and reassured them that he did finally have a diagnosis.

Dr. Dempsey explained that generally speaking, people do not suddenly become allergic to things that they're exposed to regularly, things like pets. And even if Philip did inhale that mold in the bathroom when he was doing those home renovations, his illness should have gone away when he was no longer exposed to the mold.

But when Philip told Dr. Dempsey on that phone call that he and his wife were really excited about the changes they had made to their bedroom and they had splurged on the linens and the comforter on their bed, that is what tipped Dr. Dempsey off that potentially Philip could be suffering from a very specific and very rare disease. And it would turn out Dr. Dempsey's hunch was correct.

Philip's blood tests had revealed that he was having a severe allergic reaction to bird feathers. This is known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. But not feathers from a pet bird or birds in the yard. When Philip and Marnie redid their bedroom, they'd replaced their synthetic comforter and pillows with more expensive ones that were filled with feathers. Philip was allergic to the bed

that he'd been laying in for months. That's why he kept getting sicker and sicker and sicker. The doctor explained that this very strange disease is quite rare, but it is so often triggered by people's bedding that medical professionals sometimes refer to this disease as Feather Duvet Lung Disease. Duvet is another word for comforter.

Although Philip had never been bothered by feathers before, Dr. Dempsey told him that symptoms of hypersensitivity pneumonitis can develop quickly and worsen as time goes by. Without treatment, hypersensitivity pneumonitis can cause permanent damage to the lungs. But thankfully, Dr. Dempsey assured him that they had caught the disease in time. Dr. Dempsey prescribed Philip steroids, and Philip got rid of the feather comforter and pillows. Within two days, Philip was already feeling better.

And within a few weeks, he was back at work and back to playing his saxophone in bars all across Scotland. Mr. Ballin' Collection is sponsored by BetterHelp. When your schedule is packed with kids' activities, big work projects, and more, it can be easy to let your priorities slip, even if you know doing so will make you miserable. But when you feel yourself losing control over your time and your sanity, that's when you need to remind yourself that certain priorities are non-negotiable. Things like taking care of your mental health.

That said, I always make sure to step back and spend time away from work with my family or friends. This is because my therapist always stresses how important it is to recharge whenever I can. That way I don't burn out. This is why I think therapy can be so helpful for people whose lives feel very hectic, which is basically all of us. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try.

It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash mrballandpod today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash mrballandpod.

Shopify has already taken the cash register online, helping millions sell billions around the world. But did you know they can do the same thing at your retail store? Give your point of sale system a serious upgrade with Shopify.

With Shopify, you get a powerhouse selling partner that effortlessly unites your in-person and online sales into one source of truth. That way, you can track every sale across your business in one place, and you know exactly what's in stock. Shopify also helps you drive store traffic with plug-and-play tools built for marketing campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, and beyond.

And you get the hardware that fits your business. Take payments with your smartphone, transform your tablet into a point-of-sale system, or use Shopify's POS Go mobile device for a battle-tested solution. Plus, Shopify's award-winning help is there to support your success every step of the way. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash mrballin, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash mrballin to take your retail business to the next level today. shopify.com slash mrballin

And now for our second story, which is called "Dying of Boredom." In December of 2019, 17-year-old Kyle Quitman took a deep breath of fresh air as a hospital volunteer wheeled him out the front door of a hospital in Queensland, Australia. Now at the time, most of Kyle's friends were out celebrating the end of the school year. But Kyle had been in the hospital having ankle reconstruction surgery to repair a really bad rugby injury.

Kyle wished he could be at the beach right now with his friends, but after three days of being stuck inside the hospital, he was at least happy just to feel the sun on his skin. And it occurred to him that he really should try to enjoy this moment, because he was going to be mostly stuck inside for the next three months as his ankle healed, and while all his friends enjoyed the Australian summer that runs through February. The hospital volunteer parked Kyle's wheelchair on the curb and asked how his ankle was feeling.

Kyle could feel it throb inside his cast, and he admitted that it was actually pretty tender. But a moment later, he saw his dad's car come around the corner, and suddenly he forgot all about the pain. All Kyle wanted was just to go home with his dad. Kyle's dad hopped out of the car and helped Kyle out of his wheelchair. Kyle's legs were a little shaky after three days on his back, but he leaned on his dad and managed to limp his way to the front passenger seat. Then off they went.

The minute Kyle hobbled into his home, he could see that his mother had been carefully preparing for his arrival. She made the couch in the living room as inviting as possible, complete with fluffy pillows and his favorite blanket. There was a TV tray set up next to the couch with the TV remote, his gaming controllers, and a little bowl of candy sitting on it.

Kyle smiled at all the amazing comforts his mother had assembled, but at the same time he sort of frowned because this was also where he knew he would be spending basically all of his time for the next 12 weeks. And as nice as it was, it felt pretty cramped. But in the end, Kyle just collapsed onto the couch, grabbed a controller, and started gaming.

Four days later, Kyle lay on the couch, a bowl of popcorn balancing on his stomach, as he listened to the family's pet cockatiel, Larry, repeat his name over and over again in a sing-song voice. Larry had a lot of personality, and Kyle loved to play with him. He had spent the morning trying to flick kernels across the living room and into Larry's cage.

Kyle rolled a kernel in between his thumb and forefinger and then launched it across the room. And amazingly, it sailed right through the metal bars, right into the cage. And Kyle cheered as the cockatiel whistled his appreciation. But then Kyle sighed. Larry was amusing, but this had to be the most boring summer vacation of his life. A few of Kyle's friends had dropped by the night before with cookies and Gatorade, which was great. But then they all left for a party without Kyle, and he felt totally abandoned.

In fact, the only person who spent any real time with him was his grandmother. She'd been coming over just about every single day to give Kyle cookies, and she would even play video games with him, but she was not good at video games. And Kyle really appreciated that, but again, he just felt totally bored and lonely. But perhaps the worst part of what Kyle was calling his, quote, couch arrest, was that he still had 77 more days of being stuck in here with nothing to do except wait for his ankle to heal.

So, frustrated, Kyle grabbed another kernel and launched it into Larry's cage. A moment later, Kyle heard the garage door opening, and he knew that meant his mother was back with his 14-year-old brother, Dylan, and two of his friends. Within seconds, three 14-year-olds zoomed past Kyle as he sat there on the couch, and they raced out to the indoor pool that was separated from the living room by a sliding glass door.

Kyle huffed and sarcastically called after them to "have fun," but he didn't need to worry. All three teens jumped into the pool and began roughhousing, splashing water, and having a great time. Kyle's mom Sherry came into the living room right behind the kids, carrying a few grocery bags. As Dylan and his friends shouted and splashed around in the background, Kyle's mother told him that she was so sorry he couldn't be outside this summer.

Then Kyle watched as his mother opened Larry the cockatiel's cage and set the bird on the floor for his daily walk around the living room. And as Larry began picking up popcorn kernels in his beak and marching around the room, Kyle, for the first time in his life, felt jealous of a bird. The next morning, Kyle's throat felt scratchy as he slowly came down the stairs from his bedroom. And when he coughed, he could feel phlegm coming up into his throat.

As if Kyle didn't have enough problems, now he realized that he must have caught a cold from Dylan or one of his friends who came over the day before. But luckily, Kyle's mother was basically a mind reader because moments later she came rushing into the living room where Kyle was and she set a few throat lozenges down next to him. She told him she'd had a cough too the week before and she promised Kyle that his cold would likely clear up in just a day or two.

Three days later, in mid-December, Kyle was sitting on the couch as usual playing video games. He had just won a match in his favorite fighting game when he started coughing. But this time he was coughing really hard. He tried to steady his breathing, but he was hacking so much that he felt like he was fighting just to get air.

Kyle wondered if maybe he was hunched over too much and kind of compressing his diaphragm. So he sat up for a minute and then just lay down on his back. But even then, he still couldn't get a full breath, and in fact, it felt like he had just run up a flight of stairs. Eventually, Kyle did get his breathing under control, but those few panicky minutes really rattled him. Later that afternoon, Kyle was laying on his back with Larry the Cockatiel on his chest.

Kyle was petting the bird when he felt himself struggling to breathe again. Larry fluttered to the ground as Kyle doubled over in another coughing fit. After a moment, Kyle heard footsteps coming swiftly toward the living room and he knew his mom had heard him coughing. Moments later, Kyle's mom came flying into the room and she put the back of her hand against Kyle's forehead and she said he was burning up. She wondered aloud if Kyle maybe had an infection or some other complication from his surgery.

Then she told Kyle that if he wasn't feeling better in the morning, they were going back to the hospital. And sure enough, by the following morning, Kyle was much worse. His stomach felt upset and his sheets were damp with sweat. His head was pounding so hard that he couldn't even open his eyes. He called out for his mom and cracked his eyelid just enough to see her come into the room. Kyle asked her for some aspirin, but Sherry thought he needed more help than that. She was going to stick to her guns and take him back to the hospital.

About an hour later, Kyle laid back on the table in an examination room, his hands over his face to block the overhead light from hitting his super-sensitive eyes. A doctor looked over Kyle's chart and asked if he had traveled recently or been exposed to anyone who was sick. Kyle scoffed at the idea he had been traveling anywhere and told the doctor that he hadn't left the house for 10 days. But Kyle had to admit he had been around some sick people.

His brother had been out and about with friends constantly and he had come home with a cough just last week. Kyle's mom also chimed in and said she too had a cough last week and in fact, now that she thought about it, she'd had a cough on and off quite a bit lately. But Sherry assumed she must have gotten it from Kyle's grandmother who'd had a cold for weeks and she came over all the time to visit. The doctor nodded and said that it was possible that Kyle had caught the same bug that had made other family members sick.

But for some reason, Kyle's symptoms seemed to be much worse than anyone else's. The doctor asked Kyle to sit up, and once he had, he pressed his stethoscope to Kyle's back. Kyle tried to breathe deeply, but he felt like there was rattling in his chest, and it was hard to fully fill his lungs with air. After listening for a minute, the doctor stepped back, frowning.

He looked at Kyle, and then he looked over at Kyle's mother, and then he told them that he heard crackling in Kyle's lungs, which indicated he very likely had a fluid buildup in his chest. He told them this was extremely unusual, especially for a healthy 17-year-old with no history of respiratory issues. So whatever was making Kyle sick, it had to be serious. Kyle just stared at the doctor in disbelief. And then, between his ragged breaths, he asked the doctor if he was going to be okay.

The doctor told Kyle not to panic, but they would have to run a whole battery of tests to figure out what was going on with him. The doctor said it was possible that Kyle had an autoimmune disease like lupus. However, the doctor thought it was far more likely that Kyle was suffering from some kind of infection. So, the doctor said he was going to send an occupational hygienist to the Quitman's home to see if there was something in their environment that was making Kyle sick. Meanwhile, Kyle would need to spend the night at the hospital for testing.

As Kyle listened to the scary-sounding things the doctor was saying, he found it very difficult to stay calm. If there was something deadly hidden in the Quitman residence, he knew he'd been breathing it in for 24 hours a day, non-stop for over a week. And the rest of his family could also be in serious danger too. The next morning, Kyle woke up in his hospital bed, trying not to move for fear that he would set off another coughing fit.

Even though he was exhausted, he couldn't sleep the night before. Between the intense pain in his chest and the fear of what might be wrong with him, it had been very hard to relax. As he watched the TV to distract himself, his doctor gently knocked on the doorframe and came inside. He told Kyle that he had some good news and bad news. The good news was, so far, all of Kyle's tests had come back negative, which ruled out an autoimmune disorder and a host of other diseases.

But the bad news was, the occupational hygienist had found some possible causes for what was making Kyle sick. There were traces of mold in the Quitman's house. And the hygienist was also concerned about the family's pet cockatiel, Larry. Birds could carry all sorts of diseases, and their feathers could also set off severe respiratory issues, like what was happening to Kyle right now. When Kyle heard this, he just put his hands over his face and he groaned.

He had most likely been breathing in that mold around the clock and Larry the Cockatiel had been keeping him company the entire time. Kyle asked the doctor if they'd have to get rid of their beloved bird in order to get better. The doctor shrugged and said he couldn't be sure yet. To find out what was actually infecting Kyle's lungs, they would have to insert a tube into Kyle's lungs to take a sample of the fluids.

The doctor told him that that procedure is called a bronchoalveolar lavage. And when he said that, Kyle's eyes widened. Any procedure with a name that complicated had to be painful. But the doctor smiled when he saw Kyle's reaction, and he reassured him that he'd be asleep for the whole two-hour procedure, and he wouldn't feel a thing. Kyle was relieved. Now he just hoped that this test would get him the answers that he needed.

Later that day, Kyle was back in his hospital room, still a bit groggy from the anesthesia from the procedure. But when the doctor came in, Kyle was aware enough to notice the very serious look on his doctor's face. The doctor said that, once again, he had good news and bad news. He said the good news was they found what was making Kyle sick. But it was not Mold or Larry the Cockatiel.

For a moment, Kyle felt really happy that his beloved pet would not have to be exiled from the family home. But then the doctor told him the bad news. Kyle's lungs were infected with a toxic bacteria called Mycobacterium intracellular, which can be extremely dangerous. If left untreated, it could permanently damage his breathing and even cause heart failure.

Before Kyle could freak out, the doctor said he was pretty sure they'd caught it early enough to avoid any serious health damage for Kyle and his family. But the Quitmans would not be safe until the source of this bacteria was located, and so the hygienist was heading back to Kyle's house right now to collect more samples. The next morning, Kyle's entire family gathered around his hospital bed while the doctor went over the hygienist's findings.

The air and water samples that the hygienist had collected confirmed that the danger was coming from an unexpected place: the Quipman's indoor pool. The pool water was full of the same bacteria doctors found in Kyle's lungs. And every time people splashed around in the water, they were inadvertently spreading the bacteria up into the air. Kyle had gotten sick because he had been breathing in the unsanitary pool water.

Kyle and his family would soon learn that this bacteria had been growing in their pool for months, basically right after they had switched to a different filtration system. So the entire family had been breathing in this bacteria, but Kyle got much sicker than everybody else because he was laid up on the couch right next to the pool room for two weeks, just sitting there breathing in that filth day in and day out.

Kyle's unusual condition is known as hot tub lung, since most people get it from breathing in humid hot tub water. Kyle's family immediately had their pool deep cleaned, and they also installed a new filtration system. And pretty quickly, they all recovered and went back to their normal lives. But two years after the ordeal, the entire Quitman family went to a follow-up doctor's appointment and realized they had actually suffered permanent injury from their run-in with hot tub lung.

Tests showed that all of their lungs now had a mild reduction in their ability to process poisonous carbon monoxide gas. It was a small but lingering reminder to make sure to always keep their pool nice and clean.

Hey, Prime members, you can listen to new episodes of Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. And also, Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries ad-free. Join Wondery Plus today. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at listenersurvey.com. From Ballin Studios and Wondery, this is Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries, hosted by me, Mr. Ballin.

A quick note about our stories. We use aliases sometimes because we don't know the names of the real people in the story. And also, in most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on a lot of research. And a reminder, the content in this episode is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This episode was written by Aaron Lan. Our

For Ballin Studios, our head of production is Zach Leavitt.

Script editing is by Scott Allen and Evan Allen. Our coordinating producer is Matub Zare. Executive producers are myself, Mr. Ballin, and Nick Witters. For Wondery, our head of sound is Marcelino Villapando. Senior producers are Laura Donna Palavoda and Dave Schilling. Senior managing producer is Ryan Lohr. Our executive producers are Aaron O'Flaherty and Marshall Louis for Wondery. Wondery.

He killed at least 19 people during the 1980s in South Africa. Very dark times. People were desperate. We were looking for him. We couldn't find him. And nobody knew where he was. Every single one of his victims was black. He reached such a stage where he was now hunting. World of Secrets from the BBC World Service. Season 3, The Apartheid Killer. Search for World of Secrets wherever you get your BBC podcasts.