I must say, there's nothing that has feared me more than pneumonia since
becoming paralyzed. It's the #1 cause of death for quadriplegics, and up
until now (having it when I first broke my neck doesn't count because
my lungs were full of lake water), I've somehow escaped it's nasty,
gooey death grip (because that's what the phlem is like, Elmer's Glue)
the crap that gets in your lungs.
And as it goes, this sticky
hard-to-cough-up phlem is the killer of quads. Too
sadly, I've known several quads who went from 100% healthy, to being
gone, without you even knowing they're sick in the first place. Hello
Karen, goodbye Karen. Hello Becky, goodbye Becky. But not me. Not this
time. I won't succumb to any quad-related conditions in my life....yet.
So
how did I survive? Luck, an ability to quad cough myself using my knee
(ask and I'll share), massive antibiotics, and ummmm.....youth? Who
knows on that one anymore, now that I'm 30. All I know is that I ignored
some major warning signs, so don't be stupid like me kiddos. Here's
what I ignored:
- Green phlegm
- Losing
massive sleep (from coughing), and not pacing myself the following day.
-
Light-headedness
- Failed to take my temp
Well, it all
came to a head when my PCA came to get me up last weekend and my lips
and scalp were purple. She brought me to the ER where they promptly
diagnosed me with Pneumonia in the upper-right lung. Am I rambling yet?
So
it was a long 10 days of recovery, but after mighty rounds of
antibiotics and so much coughing I thought all my ribs were broke, but
I'm close to being better. Yay!
- Prevention
and Management of Secondary Conditions
- Medical
Issues
- The
First Few Weeks
