A strange couple of weeks

[Anymouse]

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Now that I've been out of the hospital for three days, I've had some time to reflect on the road traveled so far.

I had been so sick, for so long, that I didn't really realize how sick I was. I felt the first symptoms the day after Christmas, and 22 days later, I am nearly recovered, but still too weak to resume my regular routine.

On 12/31, the E.R. docs told me I had influenza, and to go home and do all of the things that one must do with the flu. Additionally, I was told that I certainly did not have pneumonia. I quit smoking that day - and I have felt no desire to smoke since.

By 1/6, it seemed that my fever was breaking, but that feeling was short-lived, it was back to 103F / 39.5C by evening.

At this point, I have been sick for 11 days, have not eaten solid food nor slept for more than a few minutes at a time in nearly a week. I had been running a fever of 102F/39C or higher nearly the whole time.

By the morning of 1/7 (Monday), I was gasping for breath, and returned to the E.R. I wheeled through the door at 11am. The last things I remember were being told that I had a very nasty case of pneumonia, I needed supplemental oxygen, and here, sign these consent forms. By 1pm, I was on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. The next thing I remember clearly was Thursday 1/10, but didn't return to full consciousness until the next day. On Saturday I was released from the ICU, and on Monday I was discharged from the hospital.

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Bleah! You give me so much to look forward too. Nothing personal, Cthulu, but I don't want to follow you down that particular path.
Glad you are feeling better though.