Friday, November 8, 2013

the silent "p"

Yeah, Pneumonia. 

It all started out as a little flu, or so I thought.  I started feeling under the weather, coughing and congestion and some nausea.  I kept getting this weird feeling that I should try to get a doctors appointment.  But I wasn't thinking I was too sick and that point so I brushed off any sort of thought of getting an appointment lined up.  On Thursday (October 24th) I was starting to get really, really sickly.  I went into work and was promptly sent home by my boss.  So I rested up on Thursday night, expecting to be able to get back to work by the weekend.  Not so.  Friday I started getting unbearably ill.  Honestly, I was pretty much positive on Friday afternoon I was going to give up the ghost.  I was calling my poor husband, who was at work, telling him all of my symptoms.  He called his dad feeling really helpless trying to find something to help me because he couldn't leave work.  His dad suggested a few things I could do at home to try and make my life a bit more bearable.  It was helpful, but I still felt incredibly ill. 

By 6:00 p.m. JD was finally able to escape the cage that was work that day (obviously I'm exaggerating by using a metaphor for my own selfish purposes, we love JD's job generally) and get home to his sick wife.  He took a look at me, felt my burning forehead and said "Yeah...we're going to the Emergency Room." 

Alas, we made a trip to the emergency room.  I had a fever, my blood pressure was slightly heightened and I could not breathe.  At all.  I had two doctors and one nurse attending to me.  After listening to my lungs on the of the doctor's said "Eww..." (yeah, that was encouraging).  So, a chest x-ray was ordered, lots of blood was drawn (which my husband almost passed out during...heaven help him when the children come) and medication was prescribed after I was diagnosed with PNEUMONIA. 

So, I spent the next better part of the week in bed on anti-biotics and decongestants and cough syrups and Tylenol and using a humidifier.  Then JD started getting sick.  The second he gave a sneeze I got him a doctor's appointment.  He got checked out and was given an antibiotic.  He didn't yet have pneumonia but he was starting a pretty good cold that could begin pneumonia.  So, he then spent a couple of days in bed and then was all back to normal.  It took me MUCH longer to recover, but that's because I didn't go to the doctor right away.

Side note: if you are feeling sick and think you should see a doctor, GO SEE A DOCTOR.  DO NOT LET IT PROGRESS AND THEN FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE BEFORE GETTING PROFESSIONAL HELP. 

Things I am grateful for during the pneumonia saga:
  • JD, even when he almost passed out when I was in the hospital
  • Antibiotics, Cough Syrup, Pretty much all modern medicine
  • Essential Oils, while I am a huge proponent for modern medicine and the amazing powers it wields, I also believe in supplemental care with pure essential oils (i.e. the Breathe doTERRA oil blend works about 1000x better than Vick's Vapo Rub) 
  • Prayer
  • Cozy quilts and blankets
  • Disinfectant Cleaners
  • My mommy's chicken soup
  • The close proximity in which we live to my parents (ya know, their basement...)
  • My dog
I spent most of my recovery among pillows, quilts and remote controls.

And this is my I hate the hospital face

1 comment:

  1. OH NO!!! I hope you are feeling better, that sounds like a pretty awful experience!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for coming to my little corner of the blog world. I love you already!