Recovery

I've been home for a few days now. I got a bit scared the day after when I got home because I kept coughing for a few hours. It eventually stopped and I've been dry eversince. I guess that was my body getting rid of excess fluid in my lungs. 

My strength isn't back yet, but I'm slowly going back into my daily grind of watering my plants. I just do a section I can manage and the boys cover the sections I can't do yet. My appetite though isn't back yet, so I'm trying to eat my favorite food. My stomach was probably traumatized from food poisoning. The only thing it wants are fruits.

Meredith

The cats have been extra affectionate. They give me extra leg rubs and lots of slow blinks. I think about them a lot and they're a driving force to get me outside. We can't keep them indoors, so I go out whenever I want to play with them. They help calm me down. 

I hope my stamina will come back soon. I need energy so I can cook and tend to my garden. 

I'm Home!

I really have a strange body. My doctors were baffled about my test results and they were on the fence about discharging me.

I was eventually discharged at 7 in the evening. Whew! I had pneumonia and acute gastroenteritis. I'll continue antibiotics at home. I will also be able to rest more at home since I won't get frequent visits from nurses to check my vital signs.

I'm grateful for the care and would like to thank my doctors, the nurses, phlebotomists, medtechs, housekeepers who took care of me. Of course, I'm thankful for Sweetie and Miggy for taking care of me everyday. And thank you to everyone who prayed for me.

#StaySafe #BeKind

ER! Food Poisoning

After leaving my doctor's clinic and I suddenly had an asthma attack. When we got home I strangely had a tummy issue, vomitted thrice and had high fever by evening.

The boys had me do an e-consult. I got hold of a doctor by ten in the evening. I was advised to go to the emergency room.

We originally thought I just had regular food poisoning. After a chest x-ray I was told I probably had pneumonia. We were surprised since I wasn't coughing and my breathing was okay.

My primary doctors had me confined. It takes an average of 7 to 8 hours when you go to the ER before you're brought to the room. It's gruesome, but I just thought that I got lucky for having food poisoning. It saved me from having really bad pneumonia. 

It's been 48 hours now since I went to the ER. I've just been sleeping a lot and getting the medication I need. The doctors are still investigating what got me.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Pneumonia is Not a Joke

In 2008, I fell very ill and I had to ask my Mom to bring me to the hospital. Good thing I did because I had pneumonia. My lungs were filled with water and I was having a hard time breathing. 

I was in a daze for about a week and I finished up boxes of tissue because of the cough. Two weeks after discharge  I flew to Singapore for my annual checkup. My cardiologist was gravely concerned and had additional tests done. I was so thin and could barely eat. Everytime I ate it turned into a coughing fit.

I was less than 100 lbs by March 2009

I was diagnosed with asthma and heart failure. The lab also found possible strains of legionella in my blood. It's one of the worst causes of pneumonia and 30-80% fatal. It's a miracle I survived.

It took a year with many prayers and visits to churches to pray for a miracle before I started to get better. Other worrying blood markers also consistently normalized everytime I saw my cardiologist. Sadly, the effects of the illness still affect me today. I am kept stable with the help of my doctors and those who pray for me. 

If there's one thing I think I could have done after that very bad bout of pneumonia, I think I should have heeded the advise of my parents to rest more. I should also have sought to know what caused the illness so I could have the proper care.

I know the experience I had was extraordinary and that's why I worry whenever I have friends who get sick. I don't want them to end up like me, retired at a young age and barely able to do normal stuff. 

How to have 9 Lives

I think I'm a cat. My body has gone through several illnesses that have nearly killed me. Pneumonia and open heart surgery are both vying for the top spot. God though only gives us hurdles that we can manage.

I had pneumonia back in 2008 and my blood chem showed that it was from legionaire bacteria. It's one of the worst ones to get. It took a miracle for me to heal completely. Eversince I've always been careful not to get sick (that's why I always have a bimpo on my back).

A few weeks back I contracted mycoplasma. More commonly known as "walking pneumonia". My doctor explained that my immune system went down, possibly due to stress and very cold aircon in the office. I may have picked up the bacteria from traveling or in Singapore. It downed me anyway. What I didn't expect was it would be both physically and mentally challenging. Think friendly neighborhood Spiderman turned black Spidey. I didn't like it at all.

Things slowly turned for the better when I tried using essential oils. Slowly things came back into focus and I stopped turning into Venom. It also helped that I watched Gary V's interview. He had open heart surgery and shared the struggles he went through while recovering. He's back because of the love of his family and friends. It reminded me of what I went through after 2 surgeries. Recovering from that 5 years ago took me 6 months, so whatever I'm going through now shouldn't be as bad.

One of my classmates also reached out and suggested I watch videos of Dr. Joe Dispenza. I did and I learned a lot. My cardio told me 5 years ago that the only reason why I survived was because of my will. Dr. Joe Dispenza said that your brain can definitely heal your body and I'm living proof of that. I remember when I was in ICU my Dad was already there (probably to pick me up), but instead of calling his name I called for my Kuya. The next day my Kuya flew in and I heard him praying over me. I also kept telling myself my family still needed me. That was what brought me back.

I'm probably running out of lives so this last bout of pneumonia has been very difficult for me. I'm still finding my way out of the woods right now, but I'm sure I'll be back to normal soon. I'm just really thankful for all the support and love from my family, friends and Papa God. 

LPG Tanked Taxis Harmful?

Experiencing pneumonia is no walk in the park. I've had a difficult time recovering from it and I lost 10 precious pounds because of it. When I got out of the hospital and was well enough to read more about it I wanted to know a couple of things: (1) is it contagious (2) what causes it and (3) what I can do to prevent a recurrence (this is very important because I have a higher risk of developing it).

I made a very startling discovery while doing some research. Inhalation of chemical substances such as gas, wax, paint or other chemical products may trigger pneumonia. And this got me thinking... 

(1) I've never been admitted to the hospital for an illness.

(2) I rarely get sick and if I do it's just usually tonsilitis.

(3) I rarely get the sniffles, cold or cough.

I do tend to overwork myself, but I do rest especially during weekends (that's when I oversleep). I travel a lot too, but I usually end up gaining weight whenever I do so and don't have any problems going back to work immediately after a trip.

So did I have "chemical pneumonia"? I dunno, that I'll have to consult with my doctor when I go back for my follow-up. 

Anyway, I am very sensitive to the smell of gas and I'm the only one at home who can smell it whenever someone forgets to turn off fully the stove. I've been exposed lately to a lot of LPG-tanked cabs, re-painting at home, and the super alikabok bathroom renovation. My worst experience though were some cabs I took going around the metro. My friend's doctor also said to stay away from LPG-tanked taxis.

I'll surely do. I do hope someone from the Department of Health would check if there's a higher incidence of pneumonia in the past few weeks, those poor cab drivers are surely going to suffer much more than what they'll be able to save.