Libby Baldwin was watching television recently, a lot of gardening shows.

As she was watching the gardeners use potting mix, she noted they were not using gloves or masks.

Now potting mix isn’t something people usually think twice about using. Libby herself had been using it all her life.

What drew Libby’s attention to the lack of protective gear was that she was watching all these gardening shows in bed, in hospital.

She had been close to death from using potting mix, it turns out. “I am lucky to be alive, I dodged another bullet,” she said laughing.

“What started as a little cough landed me in hospital.” Libby started getting her little cough, and thought she was coming down with the flu.

She even tested herself for COVID, and it came back negative.

But she just kept getting worse and worse to the point where she went to hospital.

Doctor Shaz examined her, deemed it to be not that bad, but advised her to come back if it got worse.

The next day, a Sunday, she returned to hospital, as it had indeed become worse.

She was admitted to hospital, where she began to undergo tests.

“He began blanket treatments, but nothing was working.”

Libby was so grateful and pleased with the superlative care she received from Doctor Shaz, the medical staff at Hay Hospital, and all the medical staff she came across during this scare.

“Things got so bad, I said goodbye to Rosco, told him I loved him, and advised him what to do with me,” she said.

“I specified if I was put on a machine, wait a week but then take me off.”

She had little capacity to process what was happening, as she was so exhausted and had not slept for four days.

“If I laid down flat my lungs would gurgle,” she recalled.

Libby had and still has to rest sitting up. While a patient at Hay Hospital, Libby googled potting mix, and discovered inhalation or aspiration of particles from potting mix can cause the exact symptoms she was experiencing.

Upon showing this to Doctor Shaz, the pieces of the puzzle began coming together.

The damage to Libby’s lungs can be best described as gravel rash, and not being able to breathe properly.

Libby underwent many blood tests to try and pinpoint the actual bacteria which had caused her illness.

A specialist was engaged to monitor Libby and ensure her lungs healed properly. “Shaz saved me three times,” Libby said.

“The last time he saved me was around the time I made the shilling ram sign at the post office.

“I had woken up vomiting and with diarrhoea. Forty years beforehand I had suffered from a twisted bowel.

“I recognised the same feeling, and vomiting up bile, and realised what was happening. I asked Rosco to call the ambulance.

“I was taken to Griffith and placed in a medically induced coma, to make sure my bowel was working, and had surgery.

“When I came out, I went down to DG Engineering in my dressing gown to see about the sign.”

Libby barely remembered getting to Griffith Hospital at all.

The other bullet dodged was cervical spondylosis, a degenerative disease that causes the bones and disks in your neck to wear down over time.

This can lead to pain, stiffness, and other symptoms in your neck, shoulders, arms, and legs.

“I had a narrowing of the canal in my neck,” she recalled.

“I was sent over to Griffith to have an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

“The medical professional who performed the MRI rang me before we left Griffith, and told me not to leave, and to head to Griffith Hospital.

“A surgeon from Sydney rang and said he would perform surgery in Sydney on the Monday.” If Libby had not had the operation, she would have been in a wheelchair within three months.

Libby has suffered dizziness and unsteadiness on her feet ever since having cervical spondylosis.

She staggers and is often off balance.

Doctor Shaz predicted she would have to have more surgery soon for this.

It came to the point where, due to having too many falls in the shed and breaking her foot last year, Rosco implored her to give up creating steel art.

“It was a tough decision to make, but we agreed my health has to be number one priority,” Libby said.

“I had then begun to concentrate on gardening as something else to do with my time and keep myself busy.

“We are so lucky in Hay to have such a switched-on GP like Doctor Shaz.

"My specialist who saw me with this latest issue due to the potting mix said we are certainly very fortunate to have a highly qualified doctor.”

Libby is still on steroids for her lung illness, the dosage gradually tapering down, and also antibiotics.

The specialist, Professor Tara McKenzie, is really pleased with Libby’s progress and recovery, noting the illness had been treated before it had done permanent damage to Libby’s lungs.

“It still floors me to this day all this came from using potting mix without a mask,” she said.

“I was just so shocked; having used it without incident for so many years.

“Rosco and I looked at the bag, and the warning is on the bag near where you would cut the bag open to use the mix.

“It’s just such a commonly used product, used so often and for so long, people don’t think to wear masks when using it.

“It is an important message to get out; how common is it for children to use it with parents and grandparents when out and about in the garden.

“A lot of medical professionals such as nurses and paramedics commented they use it in the garden with their children on the weekends and have never used it wearing a mask.”

Brain ever ticking over and hands looking for something to do, Libby has turned to cross stitch to keep her occupied.

She is undertaking a magnificent and quite large cross stitch of peacocks, and estimates it will take her five years to complete.

Did you know: In 2022, 96 people have become ill this year from the type of bacteria that can be found in potting mix and soils.

Many people might be exposed to the bacteria, and they might just get a bad flu, which is called Pontiac fever.

Others might produce antibodies and not become sick at all.

In addition to tetanus, anthrax, and botulism, soil bacteria may cause gastrointestinal, wound, skin, and respiratory tract diseases.

The systemic fungi are largely acquired via inhalation from contaminated soil and near soil environments.

Advice for working with potting mix: Wear a P2 mask and gardening gloves first and foremost, even before you wet the potting mix.

Wet the potting mix before working with it. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap before eating, drinking, or smoking.

Store potting mix in a cool, dry place.

Avoid sweeping dust from potting mix, and if you do sweep, dampen the material first.