Most people know I wasted pretty much the entire month of July snuggled on the couch with the dog and eating popsicles while I struggled with pneumonia. I started coughing a few days before my road trip, but nothing major. Just an occasional tickle. It continued through my trip and became a bit more persistent the first few days in July. So the 4th of July I went to the Urgent Care clinic, finally ready to admit that it wouldn’t just go away. I got a round of antibiotics and an inhaler and was sent on my way. Even while on the antibiotics, I started getting a bit worse and a few days later ended up with a 103.6 temp (and wondering at what point ones brain begins to melt). I went back in to the clinic and was given another round of antibiotics, prednisone and cough syrup with codeine. And still I got worse. The worst part was that I wasn’t sleeping more than 2-3 hours a night. At the end of my five day antibiotic I woke at 3am and watch NCIS on my phone, in bed, until the clinic opened. I finally got a chest x-ray, a few rounds with the nebulizer, a shot of antibiotics to the ass, a shot of steroids to the ass and 10 days of a much stronger antibiotic. That was my docs last try before sending me to the hospital. I lucked out, and within 12 hours of the new meds, the shots, etc, there was a noticeable difference. It’s been three and a half weeks, and it’s only the last two days that I’ve noticed that my lungs don’t make that nasty rattle sound when I breath deep. While sick I was fairly entertained (and disgusted) by using the stethoscope to listen to my lungs. I still cough off/on and will likely be using my inhaler for a while still, but I’m more irritated at missing out on nearly an entire month! I even missed a sounders home game – a clear indicator of how sick I was!

It’s been a slow process, but I’m certainly improving. The biggest issue is the pain I’ve been feeling in the general location of where the pneumonia was. I think it’s actually my rib (could be some inflamed cartilage?) but whatever it is, it’s extremely painful at times, depending on how I’m sitting or lying down or how I move.

So now that summer is half over, I’m looking forward to seeing how much excitement (of the good kind) I can fit into August. Adventures await!