Pneumonia Update

Today was a long exhausting day, but I made it through. I did miraculously make it to school this morning, but by lunchtime, my fever had returned, and I had serious (noticeable) bodily tremors. Though I tried to fake it through lunch, my co-workers quickly noticed, as I was (literally dripping) sweating through my clothes, that I was not alright. Finally my new co-teacher asked me to tell her what was wrong- I hadn't eaten any lunch and she was worried. I told her and she made me leave immediately- to my great relief. Another co-worker, the grounds keeper, took me to the hospital, and though he speaks no English, was a great help in explaining my situation to the nurses and corralling me to the various rooms.

My doctor was a complete jackwad who refused to believe me when I said I thought I had pneumonia; he said "it's probably a cold or influenza." They did an influenza test and it was negative... I wanted to scream in that doctor's face!! But doing so would have required some effort, and I couldn't afford to spare any at the time. The end results are thus: all in all, I arrived with a fever of 104, maybe the highest I've ever had. I had very high blood pressure and lost 4kgs- which might not seem like a lot, but I was at the doctors less than a month ago, and my weight has been pretty steady since high school. After two chest x-rays, it was immediately determined that yes, I had pneumonia in both lungs, although worse in the left. I received a total of four injections: two emergency antibiotics, one for my pain, and a mild sedative. After that I lay in a hospital bed with an IV in my arm for about two and a half hours, both to hydrate me and bring my fever down. After the IV was finished, I felt the first relief in almost a week. I had more energy than I've had in days- which isn't saying much- just the short three minute walk home completely exhausted me. But, I was allowed to go home- even though they wanted to keep me overnight- with handfuls of pills to take three times a day. I was told to come back in the middle of next week for a checkup.

Now I'm home, and I was able to eat a whole bowl of soup, unpack a little, and even start laundry. What little remained of my energy is now almost completely drained, but the fact that I can even eat is wonderful to me. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers... I hope to be feeling better by Sunday night!!


More soon,
<3M