Because it turns out that Jason wasn't sniveling about some little cold. He's got pneumonia.
I called him today from work to see how he was doing. He said he almost didn't call me back because he felt too weak to get to the phone, but decided at the last minute to return the call.
"How're you doing, honey?" I asked.
"I feel like shit."
"Are you still having trouble breathing?"
"Yeah. And the coughing's getting worse. I'm coughing up blood."
"Did you say you're coughing up blood??"
"Yeah. But it's not a big deal. It's mixed with saliva."
"Jesus Christ, Jason. I'm coming home and I'm taking you to the emergency room."
"Oh, I don't think we need to do that. It's only a little bit of blood. It actually started last night."
"Are you fucking insane? Coughing up blood is bad. We're going to the hospital."
He was so weak when I got home, from the vomiting and the coughing and, oh, yeah, the fucking infected mass in his lung, that he could barely move. His abdomen hurt so much that it was painful for him to stand up, and when he did manage to stand up, he'd get stricken by a coughing fit.
When we got to the hospital, there were no parking spots in front of the ER.
"Honey, I'll drop you off at the door and go park."
"I'll just sit here on the sidewalk and wait for you."
I thought my head was going to explode.
"Have you lost your mind? You're not going to sit on the goddamned sidewalk. You're 10 feet from the ER check-in area. Just go in and tell them you need help, and I'll park the car and be in there to help you in 2 minutes."
So we went in, and they x-rayed and CT scanned his chest, and sure enough, it's pneumonia, and his oxygen saturation was marginal enough that they almost weren't going to let him go home, at least not without putting him on oxygen. But he's got his antibiotics and his Vicodin and his cough medicine, and I've got him bundled up in bed with juice and Gatorade. And he's not questioning me when I tell him to take his medicine or to lie down.
I feel horrible for him, because he's terribly uncomfortable and still coughing and weak. But I seriously think his illness - any any illness he gets, really - has spread to his brain.
Please get him some good, high-quality, must-be-refrigerated probiotics! I had pneumonia 2 years ago and ended up with clostridium difficile colitis after the hard-core antibiotics killed off my body's ability to fight it. He's more likely to get it since he's spent some time in the hospital, where the stuff is rampant (my doctor and I have no idea where I picked it up). Talk with your pharmacist if you like--he or she will tell you that probiotics cannot possibly hurt him or interfere with the antibiotics, they'll just ensure that his good flora is replaced as the antibiotics kill it off.
ReplyDeleteC. Diff. is UGLY, kills many people each year, and I wouldn't wish it on a mortal enemy! Once you have it, your digestive tract is messed up for years, if not forever. I speak from experience.
Thus ends my public service announcement of the day. :) Hope he feels better very soon!
OMG! When we were dating, Rob ended up in the hospital for a week in intensive care and it turned out to be pneumonia. The night before we went ot the ER, he ran 5 miles and just didn't feel well. Fever spiked and wouldn't go away, he didn't have any coughing or "normal" symptoms so they paraded specialist (cardio, infectious disease) after specialist and ran a bazillion tests before they figured out it was pneumonia - don't beat yourself up, he's on his way to getting better. Hope you stay healthy! Judy
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