A man has lost a third of his lungs, suffered kidney failure and now has septic arthritis in some of his joints after drinking unfiltered spring water, leaving him with a rare and “probably incurable” infection.
Chris Capper, a 33-year-old former roofer, moved to Home Hill, a rural town in north Queensland, a few years ago to care for his ailing father.
She was visiting friends in the nearby town of Mount Elliot when she drank natural spring water on their property in July 2021.
Mr. Capper has been ill ever since and believes it was the unfiltered water that made him sick.
She visited countless doctors who could not understand why she was so unwell and it was not until July last year that it was discovered she was suffering from a lung disease thought to be caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), bacteria found in soil, water and dust.
Mr Capper now takes 16 pills a day, including four different types of antibiotics, but is still seriously ill and receiving no answers from medical experts as to when his suffering will end.
The infection has spread through the bloodstream to the left hip, lumbar spine and skin nodules.
“I can’t avoid it at all and the doctors don’t know much about the virus so I feel like they’re waiting for me to die,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
Chris Capper, a 33-year-old former roofer, moved to Home Hill, a rural town in North Queensland south of Townsville, a few years ago to care for his ailing father. He has been ill since mid-2021 after drinking unfiltered spring water.
Mr Capper has lost a third of his lungs due to the infection (pictured is an X-ray of his lungs)
“My brain is congested from all these medications and they don’t even know if they’re going to work.”
Mr Capper has been regularly driving 14 hours to Brisbane for care at Prince Charles Hospital.
He said at one point his kidney function dropped so low that it was down to just six percent.
His legs have also become stiff, he is losing his vision and at times he is unable to close his hands.
Mr. Capper said he vomits blood, bleeds when he goes to the bathroom and has no energy.
Symptoms of NTM disease include coughing up phlegm and sometimes blood, fever and night sweats, loss of appetite and weight loss, and lack of energy.
Before doctors could determine what condition Mr. Capper suffered from, they took an X-ray that showed a hole in his lungs.
Six weeks later, a third of his lungs had been “eaten away” by the infection.
The bacteria from the infection also spread to his elbows, leaving him with septic arthritis.
In addition to his recent health battle, Mr. Capper also suffers from type 1 diabetes and cystic fibrosis, an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs.
His father died in September last year and Mr Capper has no other family around him.
While he sometimes relies on his friends, he said there’s not much they can do.
Mr Capper has been unable to work while caring for his father and being ill himself.
“I live in a rural town and they have this attitude of ‘everything will be fine,’ but I’m from the city, where you ask for help and you get it,” she said.
In a report from one of his doctors last month and seen by Daily Mail Australia, the doctor said his biggest concern was that Mr Capper was “slowly dying” from the infection which he considered “probably incurable”.
“Our aim is really to try and suppress the infection and buy some time,” the doctor wrote in a letter, recommending that Capper receive treatment closer to home at Ayr Hospital.
Mr Capper has been driving from his home in Home Hill, north Queensland, to Brisbane for treatment.
Mr Capper spends weeks at a time in hospital hooked up to an intravenous drip supplying him with antibiotics.
“I have a broken hip, stomach ulcers and bleeding eyes. Doctors call it modern tuberculosis,” the 33-year-old explained.
Mr. Capper has been unable to work for the past few years due to his health and said he has nearly spent his inheritance.
Although he owns his home, Capper said there was too much damage to sell it and he had been unable to repair it amid his health battle.
Since then he has launched a GoFundMe to help raise money to purchase a $4,500 insulin pump for her diabetes, along with her ongoing medical costs.
Prince Charles Hospital is known to have funded some of the costs of his medications.