SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For 56-year-old Chris Sams, a routine bike ride through Arizona’s desert landscape changed his life forever. The former bicycle company district manager, who once cycled up to 150 miles weekly, now struggles with walking and suffers from persistent brain fog.
“I have problems walking, brain fog. And then I don’t know if it’s from the valley fever, but I’ve spent a number of trips — I’ve lost how many times I’ve been in the hospital, so it’s a tough go at it,” Sams said.
Chris represents one of Mayo Clinic’s most severe cases of Valley Fever, a potentially devastating fungal infection that medical experts say is dramatically underdiagnosed across the Southwest…