Well I made it through the depths of what felt like the end was near. Never have I ever been this close to thinking those thoughts(except maybe when I was Viet Nam and our airplane flew over a large munitions bunker that exploded). I understand now why so many people succumb to this thing called pneumonia. It's a horrible condition plus all of the stuff it does to your body while your coughing out your brains; painful muscle ache in the chest and stomach, splitting headaches, phlegm and no rest because of the medicine.
I'll pick up where I left off on turkey day and let me explain while I'm "out of the woods" at this moment I'm still suffering from this crap. I haven't laid down for nearly a week but have been sitting in the recliner at nights in order to catch some shut-eye. I just can't lay in that recliner another night as my back is so tender and sore, plus this inhaler which I take 2 puffs every 6 hours has me wired and awake.
Friday found me still coughing(now this is before I found out I had pneumonia) but with the cough suppressant and expectorant. I felt down in the lungs it was breaking up and I could cough and I get rid of the phlegm. I piddled around in the yard and garden as the weather was very nice outside. I was drinking lots of fluids and not doing anything to physical as I still felt I needed to take it easy. We cancelled our get together with neighbors for supper and card game as I didn't want to infect them. Carol brought down a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls about the same time Nancy was making a pot of the same.( We had plenty of good soup for the next couple days as we would both need it) I watched the Moonshiners flipping back an forth to the Duck Dynasty and some folks who moved out to Alaska to live off the land. I always tell Nancy I would enjoy doing that but if you got pneumonia out there you would surely not make it. Anyhow after my shower I decided I was going to lay down on the bed and see if I could get some horizontal sleep when bingo the fluids started heading to the lungs in just a matter of minutes, I could barely breath. I scared Nancy when I walked out of the bedroom and told her she was going to have to drive me to the E.R.
Well, we made it there around 10:30 PM and after a breathing treatment, x-rays, EKG and a good listen to the lungs the nice young doctor pronounced me with pneumonia in the left lung. He mentioned it didn't look severe from the x-ray's so he was going to let me go home instead of admitting me to the hospital; and then he proceeded to call me in 2 scripts to the 24 hour CVS across the street. The same pharmacist was on duty when I stopped last night to get the OTC syrup for the cough. He remembered me and we struck up a nice conversation. He called my anti-biotic's gold pills as they were $30 a piece and but they are known as powerful for knocking this illness out of the lungs; plus the Dr. said 5 pills should do it. I also was shown how to use this nebulizer(inhaler) as it was metered and measured with 200 hits. Yeow another gold pot but at this time I was having cold chills, the sweats and feeling very lucky to have at least sought medical help and could get a medicine that would possibly save my life. I was glad for a change to use common sense as I've know several folks over the years to leave this earth from this dreaded illness.
I can only describe the next 24 hours as pure agony as the medicines kicked; coughing, splitting headaches from coughing, a bag of phlegm, my stomach muscles hurt so bad I was afraid I would get a hernia and of course no rest or sleep. I was able keep down a bowl of soup for lunch but was unable talk other than just to whisper. Thankfully Nancy made for a fantastic nurse and was more than fulfilling our marriage vows. I received lots of prayer's for healing, well wishers and family phone calls. I couldn't answer the phone as I had no breath and just to go to the bath room left me short winded. I know now why most people are hospitalized with this illness; but I had the best care and of course there in nothing like being home.
I felt somewhat better on Sunday as the coughing went from incessant to sporadic with since some very violent outburst that nearly put me on my knees. Yeow this is some bad stuff. I managed to watch some NFL, read a little and walk around inside the house as sitting in the reclining chair was wearing my rear thin. It's strange you don't notice until its bedtime all of the little stuff that keeps you awake. My voice has returned or the effort to produced the voice has lightened so I'm not totally short winded. I can see this recovery will not be overnight especially after what transpired inside my lungs. I feel lucky at this time to beat this illness.
Amy, Tyler and the kids pulled around 11 PM to drop off some home grown meat for the freezer they brought back from Kansas. They took 2 days coming back while Tyler and Amy drove continuously on the way out. We are thankful they made it back safely. Well its 2:30 in the morning and I'm wide awake but the lungs feel better since I got out of that recliner as does the back. It's strange how that old Baker's Cyst I developed in my knee in June while in the mountain is started to make its presence known again. I certainly hope there is not a cumulative affect with one's health but in reality I guess there is; could this be what is known as ole' age.
Well I'm thankful to have had such a superlative helpmate during this crisis but I did find it comically just for a second when I was able to breath in between one of those coughing fits. Nancy was staring up at me wide eyed and her look was is the end. Oh well such is life and I can think of better ways to go out of this world than drowning in your lungs, LATER
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