Pneumococcal pneumonia

Despite the seemingly early advent of spring in the northwest and having dodged the H1N1 bullet all winter, along came Pneumococcal pneumonia and sidelined me for a week.

When I awoke a week ago today at 6:30 a.m., I felt as if I was drowning and I was -- in my own blood. My lungs were bleeding. Consulting nurse, Urgent Care, M.D. appointment, and further follow-up appointment with my PCP have gotten everything under control, but it has been a scary week and I have been so frustrated to have missed a week of work.

Many treatments with an SVN (small volume nebulizer), three antibiotics, a course of prednisone, and a series of inhalers several times a day and I am almost ready to go back to work tomorrow.

The American Lung Association has long used the advertising tagline: "When you can't breathe, nothing else matters." Hats off to Apria Healthcare for delivering a nebulizer to me at home late at night. What a wonderful service! They embrace that concept, too: "When you can't breathe, nothing else matters." apria.com