GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - have you been close to death? REALLY close?

Sly · 11-12-2004, 12:36 PM

When I was 13 I got pneumonia really, really bad. My left lung was completely full of fluid so it couldn't function properly at all. My right lung was 50% full of fluid. Due to being sick for several days I was also severely dehydrated and had strep throat.

I had someone call 911 for me because I literally could not breath. As I took a deep breath the mucus in my lungs got caught and obstructed the airway. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and there was nothing I could do about it. I struggled and took in another deep breath, finally breaking loose the clogged air passage. It was a bit of relief but at the same time I was terrified that another clog would come, but the next time I may not be able to break free.

Once I got to the hospital I was feeling a little better but not much. The doctor took x-rays and sent me home after seeing the pneumonia. Later that day my regular doctor received copies of the x-rays and ordered me to return to the hospital for a couple days. Was a good thing he ordered me back, I got even worse real quick.

My blood oxygen level dropped to the 80s (I'm usually around 97, which is good). When you drop under 90 they start to worry. You get very lightheaded and delirious. You feel like absolute crap and you just want to sleep.

They plugged me into an oxygen feed and put me on a ventilator to help open my air passages. Gave me an IV with antibiotics and "sugar water" to hydrate my body. Ordered me to eat and drink constantly... do you have any idea how difficult it is to eat when you can't breathe? I also received chest percussion therapy 4 times a day, 1 hr. sessions where they basically beat the crap out of my chest and back to help break the mucus up.

At one point a doctor came in and told me my life would be changed forever. He said that if I made it home (yes, IF), I would probably be sick for the rest of my life. He also said that most healthy people in that situation would have a very difficult time pulling through... due to my pre-existing medical condition, I obviously wasn't considered "healthy".

On the 3rd or 4th day a doctor came in again. Told me things were not getting better. He would give the chest therapy one more day to show results or they would need to stick a couple tubes into my lungs to start sucking out the crap. Somehow the next day my x-rays showed improvement. The therapy started to work.

Since then, I now sleep with a ventilator at night and do chest therapy once a day to keep my passages open. Oddly enough, a year later the same thing happened to me again. That time I truly thought I was done.

Don't know how I made it through, but I did. Maybe it was God looking over me, or maybe it was just me being my usual persistent self. Haven't been sick like that once since, though last fall I did have a small scare. Shit like that puts your life in check. You could lose everything in a matter of seconds.

11-12-2004, 12:36 PM
Sly Let's do some business! Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 31,373	When I was 13 I got pneumonia really, really bad. My left lung was completely full of fluid so it couldn't function properly at all. My right lung was 50% full of fluid. Due to being sick for several days I was also severely dehydrated and had strep throat. I had someone call 911 for me because I literally could not breath. As I took a deep breath the mucus in my lungs got caught and obstructed the airway. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and there was nothing I could do about it. I struggled and took in another deep breath, finally breaking loose the clogged air passage. It was a bit of relief but at the same time I was terrified that another clog would come, but the next time I may not be able to break free. Once I got to the hospital I was feeling a little better but not much. The doctor took x-rays and sent me home after seeing the pneumonia. Later that day my regular doctor received copies of the x-rays and ordered me to return to the hospital for a couple days. Was a good thing he ordered me back, I got even worse real quick. My blood oxygen level dropped to the 80s (I'm usually around 97, which is good). When you drop under 90 they start to worry. You get very lightheaded and delirious. You feel like absolute crap and you just want to sleep. They plugged me into an oxygen feed and put me on a ventilator to help open my air passages. Gave me an IV with antibiotics and "sugar water" to hydrate my body. Ordered me to eat and drink constantly... do you have any idea how difficult it is to eat when you can't breathe? I also received chest percussion therapy 4 times a day, 1 hr. sessions where they basically beat the crap out of my chest and back to help break the mucus up. At one point a doctor came in and told me my life would be changed forever. He said that if I made it home (yes, IF), I would probably be sick for the rest of my life. He also said that most healthy people in that situation would have a very difficult time pulling through... due to my pre-existing medical condition, I obviously wasn't considered "healthy". On the 3rd or 4th day a doctor came in again. Told me things were not getting better. He would give the chest therapy one more day to show results or they would need to stick a couple tubes into my lungs to start sucking out the crap. Somehow the next day my x-rays showed improvement. The therapy started to work. Since then, I now sleep with a ventilator at night and do chest therapy once a day to keep my passages open. Oddly enough, a year later the same thing happened to me again. That time I truly thought I was done. Don't know how I made it through, but I did. Maybe it was God looking over me, or maybe it was just me being my usual persistent self. Haven't been sick like that once since, though last fall I did have a small scare. Shit like that puts your life in check. You could lose everything in a matter of seconds. __________________ Vacares - Web Hosting, Domains, O365, Security & More - Paxum and BTC Accepted Windows VPS now available Great for TSS, Nifty Stats, remote work, virtual assistants, etc. Click here for more details.