Pneumonia 101

Ken continues to improve. Yesterday at his doctor's appointment his oxygen registered at 94% which is the highest level yet and good news. His only job for the next week is to get stronger and gain back some of the 35 pounds he's lost. It will be the first or second week in August before Ken is cleared to return to work.

It could be another six weeks before the actual pneumonia is gone.

Friends and family have asked us if Ken had a cold or bronchitis or anything that could have turned into pneumonia. Ken didn't have so much as a sniffle or scratchy throat.

In the hospital I asked every doctor who examined Ken how he got so sick so fast. I asked how his flu-like symptoms of chills, fever, headache, and body aches led to pneumonia. There is no way to know.

While in the hospital we were given a fact sheet for pneumonia. Ken's only symptom for days was fever, which came and went. He had no cough or chest pain. It was just in the last 36 hours before he was hospitalized that his breathing became shallow, and even then Ken didn't feel like he was having trouble breathing.

This experience points out to me how important it is to pay attention to changes in how Ken and I are feeling. We are rarely ill. Neither one of us likes to use medication. In our house the dates on the bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen expire before we make a dent in the contents. We learned that it's easy to over-do those meds just by following the directions on the label, which wasn't possible with our doctor daughter's watchful eye.

People get sick, sometimes for no reason, just because they pick up a "bug." In middle age it's important that we have a handle on how we feel and consult a doctor if something doesn't feel right or any symptoms continue for more than a few days.

Once Ken's immune system is back on track, he will be given a pneumonia vaccine to help protect him from bronchial infections while he continues to get stronger. Neither of us have had flu shots in the past, but this fall we will take our place in line to get a shot of protection.

So many things change in middle age.

Paying closer attention to our health has been added to the list.