Local volunteer coach Jim Turner fighting rare fungal infection
Jim is pictured above with his daughter Lindsey.
November 11, 2015
Charlea Mills
After being struck with an incredibly rare illness, the community is rallying support for Cassville resident and longtime youth sports supporter Jim Turner and his family.
Jim Turner has a deep love for sports. He’s spent most of his life volunteering for various programs, including baseball, softball and basketball. He’s taken youth baseball teams to countries all over the world to play because it is what he loves to do. His wife, Kim, said, “It’s all volunteer, he doesn’t charge. He just wants the youth to be as strong as they can be.” Now, Jim is using that strength to fight an extremely rare infection.
Everything started on October 11 when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and put on antibiotics. After ten days, Kim said that he wasn’t getting any better. She said, “We were still going to the doctor twice a week, but nothing was changing.”
Then, on October 26, Jim had to be taken to the emergency room with stroke-like symptoms. After a CAT scan, the doctors said he hadn’t experienced a stroke, switched his antibiotics and sent him home. Finally, on October 31, Jim has a seizure that caused him to fall and hit his face. Still experiencing stroke-like symptoms, the local hospital sent him to Freeman Hospital in Joplin because he had become septic. It was then that everything changed for the worse.
Kim said, “They did every test and study. They did an MRI and everything, and they still didn’t know what was going on.” With no diagnosable condition, Kim said, “The ENT at Freeman pretty much saved my husband’s life. He took him into surgery, and that’s then they found the fungal infection.”
Jim’s surgery went from November 5 into the early hours of November 6. As soon as surgery was over, he was flown by jet to the St. Louis University Hospital.
Diagnosed with murcomycosis, an extremely rare fungal infection behind Jim’s eye, two more surgeries left him without his right eye. Kim said, “We were told that most people lose their lives.”
The specialist at the hospital said that he has only seen this particular fungal infection six times during the course of his career.
Each day, Kim said they seem to get more bad news. Due to how caustic the anti-fungal is, Jim’s kidneys are shutting down. The fungus has eaten away at his sinus cavity, his eye socket, and now his brain.
Kim said, “The Chief medical doctor here is talking to the Mayo Clinic and the other places who have done these studies on it. There are other treatments, but they say they won’t reach the brain.”
In the meantime, Kim, the main breadwinner for their family, is unable to work either of her two jobs as a registered nurse, and the family is struggling.
To help out, community members created a bank account for people to support them.
Kim’s mother, Sandy Edwards, said, “We really appreciate how everyone is helping. This account has been the only way to help them pay their bills while Kim is up there unable to work.”
Jim has been married to Kim for 24 years, and they have three daughters together, Lindsey, 23, Lauren, 16, and Leslie, 12, and one grandson, Bryar. Kim has one son from a previous marriage, Michael Simmons, 26, and Jim has two other children, Scott, 33, and Lisa, 29.
Contributions to the family can be made into the special account under Kim Turner at Commerce Bank or online at http://gfwd.us/mgz4.
Charlea Mills
After being struck with an incredibly rare illness, the community is rallying support for Cassville resident and longtime youth sports supporter Jim Turner and his family.
Jim Turner has a deep love for sports. He’s spent most of his life volunteering for various programs, including baseball, softball and basketball. He’s taken youth baseball teams to countries all over the world to play because it is what he loves to do. His wife, Kim, said, “It’s all volunteer, he doesn’t charge. He just wants the youth to be as strong as they can be.” Now, Jim is using that strength to fight an extremely rare infection.
Everything started on October 11 when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and put on antibiotics. After ten days, Kim said that he wasn’t getting any better. She said, “We were still going to the doctor twice a week, but nothing was changing.”
Then, on October 26, Jim had to be taken to the emergency room with stroke-like symptoms. After a CAT scan, the doctors said he hadn’t experienced a stroke, switched his antibiotics and sent him home. Finally, on October 31, Jim has a seizure that caused him to fall and hit his face. Still experiencing stroke-like symptoms, the local hospital sent him to Freeman Hospital in Joplin because he had become septic. It was then that everything changed for the worse.
Kim said, “They did every test and study. They did an MRI and everything, and they still didn’t know what was going on.” With no diagnosable condition, Kim said, “The ENT at Freeman pretty much saved my husband’s life. He took him into surgery, and that’s then they found the fungal infection.”
Jim’s surgery went from November 5 into the early hours of November 6. As soon as surgery was over, he was flown by jet to the St. Louis University Hospital.
Diagnosed with murcomycosis, an extremely rare fungal infection behind Jim’s eye, two more surgeries left him without his right eye. Kim said, “We were told that most people lose their lives.”
The specialist at the hospital said that he has only seen this particular fungal infection six times during the course of his career.
Each day, Kim said they seem to get more bad news. Due to how caustic the anti-fungal is, Jim’s kidneys are shutting down. The fungus has eaten away at his sinus cavity, his eye socket, and now his brain.
Kim said, “The Chief medical doctor here is talking to the Mayo Clinic and the other places who have done these studies on it. There are other treatments, but they say they won’t reach the brain.”
In the meantime, Kim, the main breadwinner for their family, is unable to work either of her two jobs as a registered nurse, and the family is struggling.
To help out, community members created a bank account for people to support them.
Kim’s mother, Sandy Edwards, said, “We really appreciate how everyone is helping. This account has been the only way to help them pay their bills while Kim is up there unable to work.”
Jim has been married to Kim for 24 years, and they have three daughters together, Lindsey, 23, Lauren, 16, and Leslie, 12, and one grandson, Bryar. Kim has one son from a previous marriage, Michael Simmons, 26, and Jim has two other children, Scott, 33, and Lisa, 29.
Contributions to the family can be made into the special account under Kim Turner at Commerce Bank or online at http://gfwd.us/mgz4.
