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originally posted by: Vroomfondel
Well, after all this time, I finally managed to get covid while taking a trip to visit family. That isn't a big deal - covid is a failure of a disease.
No, what got me was the severe interstitial viral pneumonia. Automatic in-patient for that one.
I have had pneumonia before, three times actually. The first was completely unexpected and new to me but never really became anything big. The second one nearly killed me. I literally saved my own life with some clever in-the-moment thinking, but I don't recommend it just because it worked for me.
We made our first stop at the half way point of our trip. In the morning we went to the free hot breakfast at the hotel and that is when it all went sideways. I know I will get roasted for this but hey, I am just being honest. A black woman came in with four kids. Each one was sicker than the last. The older, around ten, was literally a walking ball of snot. Another woman was using the waffle machine. This kid just wedged himself in between her and the country and kept using his body to shove her away. When her waffle was done she put it on a plate and the kid just reached up an grabbed it with his slimy little snot covered hands. His mother, who had seen all of this said, "Oh, did you make my son a waffle?" The woman said, "No, I was making myself one and he just stole it right off my plate." "Oh its just kids...." "Not my kids lady. Not my kids."
At that point another four kids obviously of the same lineage entered the small breakfast area. The noise in there skyrocketed as did the germ count. My wife and I just said "Nope." We left. That was on the 20th.
Five days later our trip was at its end and we headed home. About two hours in my wife and I both started feeling a little sick, scratchy, coughing, achy, etc. We both knew we were getting something and neither of us was looking forward to dragging the trip home out any further than necessary. No more hotel stays but we did stop several times to just get some rest and I did the whole trip, 19 hours worth, basically in one shot. I never felt worse after driving than I did that day. We landed on the 25th.
By the 27th my wife was feeling better but said straight out if mine didn't break she was going to drag my sorry ass to the ER. Next day - ER.
Now this is what ticked me off about all of this, besides the woman whose kids are a walking cyclone of disease. I was on 10 liters of O2 in the ER. It took a day and a half to get an actual room. In the room I was on 6 liters of O2. Doc said the goal was to ween me off the O2 so I can go home without it. The lead to the O2 was short and I could do nothing but sit in bed. I asked for a long lead so I could at least use the restroom without having to remove the O2. They hooked me up with a nice lengthy hose. I could see the knot in the hose before they even hooked it up. Every nurse, CNA, Doctor, and RT that came in that room saw that knotted O2 line. I finally got fed up and started looking at it more closely. It wasn't just knotted, it was literally creased the way you would crimp a garden hose to stop water from flowing. I called the nurse and said I want that knot removed or a new hose. It turns out that with the O2 on 4 liters I was actually getting less than one. The next day I told the doc that and he said if you aren't getting the O2 you need there is no reason to have it. I agreed and said I am taking it off, and we can check my O2 levels in an hour or two. If I need the O2, I can put it back on. If I don't - I am going home tomorrow. Long story short - I went home the next day.
The big treatment plan for covid? Identify it and let it run its course. The treatment plan for severe pneumonia? Identify it and let it run its course. Some steroids are nice to ease inflammation, but thats really about it unless you start some kind of treatment within a few days of the first symptoms. Other than that, there is nothing. After all these years and all these vaccines and all these protocols - let it run its course. Oh, BTW, it could take several months or even up to a year to feel like normal again...
We made our first stop at the half way point of our trip. In the morning we went to the free hot breakfast at the hotel
originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: Vroomfondel
We made our first stop at the half way point of our trip. In the morning we went to the free hot breakfast at the hotel
Say no more!!
Last hotel I was at not one, but two crumb catchers were coughing up a lung with no deflection.
Drink and eat spicy foods, feel better soon!