| The Breakroom > The Water Cooler |
| Pneumonia + |
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| AdeV:
I'd hoped, by now, to be working on some new project, after the marathon that was the sump.... but, as it happens, I ended up spending Christmas & New Year in hospital again, as my pneumonia came back with a vengeance. Essentially, I ended up with a ball of infection between my lung & chest wall (in the "pleural sac" as it's called) approximately the size of my heart. To clear this, I had to have a chest drain fitted, and it had to go through my back - which meant spending 2 weeks sleeping in one position & I couldn't sit back against anything. In all, they drained 750ml of infected material, and I ended up with a hole in my lung where the infection had burrowed through. That took another week to heal. I now glow in the dark thanks to the number of X-rays I had taken, and I went through 2 CT scans which were entertaining in their own unique way. No MRI, though, so I don't have the complete set yet. I tell you all of this not because I'm looking for sympathy - I'm now 100% cured and once I've rebuilt my strength a bit I'll be back at the machines - but because there's a lesson to be learned here.... I was feeling pretty crook for over 2 weeks before I went to see my doctor. So for 2 weeks the infection had free reign to grow. However, here's the thing, I didn't feel _that_ bad, just lethargic, a bit weak, and no appetite. So the lesson is, if you're feeling a "bit" unwell, and it persists for more than a few days, even if you're not sure what it is or you don't think the symptoms warrant it, for goodness sakes get to your doctor! Had I got down there early enough - instead of waiting for a couple of weeks - I'd have probably been put on a course of antibiotics & would not have had to spend Christmas day in a hospital bed... On the other hand, between November (1st pneumonia) and now, I've shed over 4 stone of weight. According to all the BMI calculators, I used to be "obese", now I am merely "overweight". So that's an unexpected bonus... The final irony is, I've been given an immunisation jab against Streptococcus pneumoniae aka pneumococcus - but the bug that caused my problems was Streptococcus Intermedius, which of course I wasn't immune to. Typical... |
| andyf:
Sorry you have had such a rough time, Ade, but glad you are well on the way to full recovery. I could do with losing a stone or two, but with less drama. Four stones is a lot of weight to lose in two months. For the benefit of our friends overseas, there are 14 pounds in a stone, so that's 56lbs or about 25kg. Andy |
| philf:
Ade, I'm glad you have recovered and second your remarks about getting something looked at sooner rather than later. In Dec 2008 I lost a cousin to pneumonia - he was only 36 and was mega fit. He had gone to a drop in surgery feeling quite unwell and they sent him home telling him to keep warm. A day later he was an emergency admission to hospital and another day later he died in a helicopter when they were trying to air lift him to Leicester where they had a specialist unit where they were going to try to get more oxygen into his blood. It's not just the aged and infirm for whom pneumonia is dangerous. Cheers. Phil. |
| DaveH:
Ade, Glad you're well on your way to a full recovery, you just need to be carefull for the next few weeks or so. Best wishes :beer: DaveH |
| PTsideshow:
Hope you have a speedy recovery! :thumbup: :clap: :thumbup: :clap: |
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