sunday till wednesday
i woke up sunday morning after three and a half weeks of trying to get rid of a chest infection.
the first thing i noticed was just how tired i was [this had been going on for a few days].
i remember going to the toilet and feeling quite wheezy. this was about 5:30am. a few minutes ticked by and it became quite difficult to breathe. by 6am, i was frightened. i looked up the phone number of the chch hospital emergency dept to ask them what to do. i called them.
a woman answered and i had difficulty speaking, but managed to get enough air to make myself understood. her response was, "call 111 and don't muck around." so i hung up and dialed 111. they were quite good. by this time, i was really finding it difficult to speak. i'm not sure how, but i managed to get my address to the operator who said to find a comfortable position and try slowing down my breathing. he said he had to go, but i should call him back if it got much worse. at this stage, i was only just breathing and getting light headed. i was quite scared. no i take that back. i thought i was about to die and i was terrified. i remember sitting there and trying to empty my lungs so i could take a breath, and i started to pray [in my mind]. here i was, sitting in a foreign city, no one i know around me, no friends or family and i was about to die.
i don't know if you can relate to it, but, looking at my impending death so clearly, has had a remarkable effect on the way i am thinking about things at the moment. i really hope i never lose this perspective.
i can only praise the lord for the kindness he has shown me, and for his decision to [for now] leave me in this life. the decision is most surely his.
it took about the longest half hour i have ever had, for the ambulance to arrive. the three paramedics who attended me were so very good at what they did. it took some twenty minutes before we actually left, but by then, i was able to get some breathe. not great, but enough. they put a spray on my tongue which allowed me to catch my breathe and to start talking. they then put me on oxygen, did an ecg to see if i'd had a coronary [nope] and put an iv into my wrist for when we got to hospital. all the way through, they talked to me, telling me what they were doing and what it would do to me. very good. very comforting.
by the time we got to hospital, i was breathing, wheezily, but able to calm down. lord thank you for sending those three men to take care of me.
at the hospital, the doctors ordered some immediate tests and asked me questions. it got down to this.
they said they would admit me and get it sorted out as quickly as possible. it's sunday morning at the hospital and they start by injecting me with a strong antibiotic to get rid of the infection. i am still amazed that i didn't know i had such a temperature. i also missed the fact that my swollen limbs were unusual. don't know what space my head was in. ill i think.
then they filled me with frusemide. a very effective diuretic. i spent the rest of sunday piddling. my body finally got to get rid of all the fluid. over sunday, monday and tuesday, i rid myself of 6kg of fluid! no wonder i couldn't breathe.
so, i am now 6kg lighter.
they didn't take anything for granted, i had another ecg, and echo cardiogram, lots of blood tests. the staff were magnificent. i am not able to impart how cool and caring they were.
i have joined a heart failure rehab club. they teach me how to NOT get into that situation again. managing my situation so i can live a relatively normal life.
the thing is, my new perspective. my life is now for all the living, giving, serving and loving i can manage. i don't think there is time or space for anything else.
the first thing i noticed was just how tired i was [this had been going on for a few days].
i remember going to the toilet and feeling quite wheezy. this was about 5:30am. a few minutes ticked by and it became quite difficult to breathe. by 6am, i was frightened. i looked up the phone number of the chch hospital emergency dept to ask them what to do. i called them.
a woman answered and i had difficulty speaking, but managed to get enough air to make myself understood. her response was, "call 111 and don't muck around." so i hung up and dialed 111. they were quite good. by this time, i was really finding it difficult to speak. i'm not sure how, but i managed to get my address to the operator who said to find a comfortable position and try slowing down my breathing. he said he had to go, but i should call him back if it got much worse. at this stage, i was only just breathing and getting light headed. i was quite scared. no i take that back. i thought i was about to die and i was terrified. i remember sitting there and trying to empty my lungs so i could take a breath, and i started to pray [in my mind]. here i was, sitting in a foreign city, no one i know around me, no friends or family and i was about to die.
i don't know if you can relate to it, but, looking at my impending death so clearly, has had a remarkable effect on the way i am thinking about things at the moment. i really hope i never lose this perspective.
i can only praise the lord for the kindness he has shown me, and for his decision to [for now] leave me in this life. the decision is most surely his.
it took about the longest half hour i have ever had, for the ambulance to arrive. the three paramedics who attended me were so very good at what they did. it took some twenty minutes before we actually left, but by then, i was able to get some breathe. not great, but enough. they put a spray on my tongue which allowed me to catch my breathe and to start talking. they then put me on oxygen, did an ecg to see if i'd had a coronary [nope] and put an iv into my wrist for when we got to hospital. all the way through, they talked to me, telling me what they were doing and what it would do to me. very good. very comforting.
by the time we got to hospital, i was breathing, wheezily, but able to calm down. lord thank you for sending those three men to take care of me.
at the hospital, the doctors ordered some immediate tests and asked me questions. it got down to this.
- i had a chest infection for about a month in total [two courses of antibiotics did not get rid of it].
- it turned into pneumonia.
- the pneumonia attacked my heart, having such an effect on it's ability to pump, that it could not pump fluid away from my lungs, chest and blood.
- i started to drown in the fluid.
- another hour and i wouldn't be writing this post.
they said they would admit me and get it sorted out as quickly as possible. it's sunday morning at the hospital and they start by injecting me with a strong antibiotic to get rid of the infection. i am still amazed that i didn't know i had such a temperature. i also missed the fact that my swollen limbs were unusual. don't know what space my head was in. ill i think.
then they filled me with frusemide. a very effective diuretic. i spent the rest of sunday piddling. my body finally got to get rid of all the fluid. over sunday, monday and tuesday, i rid myself of 6kg of fluid! no wonder i couldn't breathe.
so, i am now 6kg lighter.
they didn't take anything for granted, i had another ecg, and echo cardiogram, lots of blood tests. the staff were magnificent. i am not able to impart how cool and caring they were.
i have joined a heart failure rehab club. they teach me how to NOT get into that situation again. managing my situation so i can live a relatively normal life.
the thing is, my new perspective. my life is now for all the living, giving, serving and loving i can manage. i don't think there is time or space for anything else.
Labels: chest infection, pneumonia
posted by mystified @ 9:18 pm
1 Comments:
shane my dear friend, about 9 or 10 years ago the same thing happened to me, fluid on my chest (lungs and heart) my heart could not pump it off, it turned into pneumonia and tried to kill me, first time i ever stayed in the hospital, did the furosemide thing which i'm still on for fluid retention and lost about 25 lbs of fluid in 4 days, really made me appreciate breathing and living, opened my eyes up to a lot of things, and yes it was scary as Hell, i'm glad you're still among us, be strong and keep the faith.
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