Pneumonia

On Friday, February 21, I worked as a volunteer in the office where I live. During that morning shift, I started coughing and coughing. I was so thankful that there were only a few people who stopped by to either ask our office manager something or to visit with me. I was so relieved when 12:00 noon came and I could lock up and go home. I spent the weekend at home, coughing and blowing my nose nearly every minute.

It didn't get any better as the days rolled by. Tuesday afternoon I drove my next door neighbor, who is also a dear friend, to the airport. On the way I experience a big coughing jag and told Nancy after dropping her off I was going to head to a minute clinic which is near our home.

I checked into the minute clinic at 3:50 pm, then donned a mask and sat in the waiting area (coughing most of the time) until I was finally seen at 6::30. The PA who was on duty listened to my lungs and said she was positive I had pneumonia. Since the minute clinic doesn't have an x-ray machine, she advised me to head to an urgent care clinic. She kindly checked online to see which one(s) was/were open yet. There was one not far away and the "wait time" was 7 minutes. I high-tailed it there and was ushered to a room immediately. After the nurse checked my vitals a PA came in, listened to my lungs, and sent me to the x-ray room. Back in my examining room the PA returned and told me my right lung was full of pneumonia. She wrote two prescriptions for me and I headed to a near by drug store.

That was Tuesday. By Thursday I wasn't any better. Coughing and spitting up gunk, and blowing gunk from my nose (disgusting, right?!), and unable to get any good sleep, I called my clinic for help. I was able to talk to my primary doctor's nurse who was relaying messages from my doctor. He sent a new Rx for an antibiotic to Costco. My dear friend drove to Costco to get the prescription for me. She returned telling me the pharmacy couldn't fill the entire order but sent a three day supply. I was to go back for the remainder the next day. My doctor also instructed me to see a different doctor on Friday at a clinic closer to my home.

Friday came and I went to my appointment to see Dr. Ditty. She was very nice, listened to my lungs and sent me to x-ray. Results showed I still had a lot of pneumonia in my right lung. I told her I wished I could get some good sleep which I knew would help me improve. She prescribed Robitussin with codeine. I had taken this before and was confident this would definitely help me sleep better.

I headed to Costo to get the remainder of the Rx that the pharmacy couldn't fill the day before. I picked up a few things in the drugs portion of Costco and proceeded to check out. I couldn't believe the crowds of people I saw with their carts brimming with bottled water, toilet paper, paper towels etc. There were twelve carts in my line, which snaked back quite far into the store. Each line, and there were many, were the same. When it was my turn to get to the checkout, I asked the cashier what was going on. I had never seen this at Costco—even at Christmas time. She said it was the media frenzy over the Coronavirus that was beginning to sweep the world! I paid for my items and left the store. It wasn't until I was half way home that I realized I hadn't gotten my new Rx for the Robitussin. Argh! I waited until around 6:30 pm to return to Costco to get it. At that time, there were very few customers compared to when I had been there earlier. Friday night I got an excellent night of sleep and for the next seven days I stayed home and took care of myself. On the 15th day from when the coughing started, I saw a PA at my clinic and she told my lungs were now clear. Hallelujah!