Oh, the Irony!! My Thoughts After 8 Days in Hospital
Proving how you feel may not match your health.
Two weeks ago, I posted The Great Health Myth, I know I’m healthy because I feel good. Ironically, four days later I was admitted to the hospital. Yesterday, I took the last of the bandages off and had a shower for the first time in a week. Here is what happened.
We often take care of our grandkids. They have been coughing, and I began coughing. I didn’t really think too much about it. The kids got better. I would too. I think I had been coughing for a couple of days when I mowed my grass on Saturday. It wasn’t any extra effort. It took the usual two and a half hours of pushing a mower.
Monday, I posted The Great Health Myth. I mentioned that we could be feeling well and be near a life-ending or changing event. We could be feeling poorly and be recovering. It is difficult to tell how we are doing by how we feel.
Tuesday, I helped my son clean up a house he was selling. I lifted some boards that were part of a fence and put them in a trailer. It was just rotten wood and wasn’t particularly heavy.
I think I was just walking when I felt intense pain along my spine between my shoulders. I was having difficulty breathing. I thought I couldn’t breathe due to pain. I didn’t say anything. I thought I would tell my wife what to do and I’d feel better. That happened.
We were supposed to watch two-year-old Geni on Wednesday morning. Mandy was going to go to exercise, and I would watch Geni for a few hours. I sat on the edge of the bed and said, “I just don’t have the energy to chase her around today.”
Mandy took care of Geni and I rested. I could hear wheezing and rales after coughing and sometimes while breathing - without needing a stethoscope. I was able to walk. I was concerned that I had bronchitis or pneumonia.
Thursday, I could breathe a little better. I was still walking a few blocks. I felt weak. I could still hear wheezing and rales.
Friday, I decided it was time for a medical opinion. Mandy took me to an urgent care.
After listening to my lungs, the doc said I might have pneumonia. The only way to tell was to take chest X-rays. Was I up for that? Yes. Actually, that was what I wanted.
When he got the results, he came into the room and said, “Am I glad you came to see us today. You have a pneumothorax on the left side. You have to go to ER.”
For those who don’t know, think of the five lobes of the lungs as five balloons in your chest. The air is inside the balloons. If you get a hole in one of the balloons, the air goes from inside the balloon to between the balloon and your chest. The air presses on the outside of the balloon, causing it to deflate. That is pneumothorax.
So, we were off to ER. I was admitted to trauma care quickly. Of course, they had to take their own X-ray. The pneumothorax didn’t show up. So, off for CT. The surgeon came to give me the results. She looked me in the eyes and said, “You have pneumonia on the right and pneumothorax on the left. No wonder you feel shitty.”
Treatment is to insert a tube into the air space and suck the air out. The idea is that the lung will inflate and heal. Then the tube is taken out. At first, they thought I’d be easy. They took the tube out on Saturday. I vomited my lunch and coughed. I was taken to CT of abdomen to see why my digestion was giving me trouble. I had thought that I might have had a restriction and encouraged diagnosis. While they were at it, they did CT of lungs. Pneumothorax had returned.
I was rushed to have another tube inserted. They decided to leave it for 48 hours. I talked with a surgeon on Monday. She advised a procedure that would essentially glue my lung to the chest cavity. She had an opening for Wednesday. I decided to take it.
I was told that it would be a painful operation. I was very lucky. My pain level was about a 7/10 when I got to my room. I was given another drug that brought the pain down to 4 within 15 minutes. By evening, I walked the floor around the wing for one lap.
Thursday, I walked five times - two laps the first time and three laps the next four times.
Friday, I walked four times - three laps each time.
Saturday, I was released. I took Tylenol Saturday night and no pain meds since then.
Why did I decide to get a medical opinion? My energy level was low. My trajectory didn’t seem to be improving well enough.
What happened? What caused it? We don’t know. I looked at the research and opted for surgery.
The nurses were laughing about my recovery. One said, “Do you hear us bragging about you out there?” Another said, “I’ve never seen anybody recover as quickly as you.”
The anesthesiologist stopped by and I thanked him for my low pain level. He said, “I’m good, but you can take credit for your recovery. It is because you have taken care of yourself.”
I knew I couldn’t tell how healthy I was by how I felt. The most pain I had was due to the tubes. However, I’ve been exercising. I’ve been correcting my spine. My tests show my nervous system is more balanced than in many years. Perhaps all that paid off not only in feeling good, but a speedier recovery.