Spoke Too Soon

I was doing well or so I thought.  Three or four days ago I began to notice an area, above my incision, would puff out when I laughed, coughed, or certain times when talking.  Along with this air pocket, I had numerous smaller pockets, similar to Rice Krispies in size (the doctors actually use the term “Rice Krispies”), under my skin, stretching from my hipbone to my armpit and covering a portion of my back.  I wasn’t experiencing any pain and I’ve had a few Rice Krispies with my previous lung surgeries, so I wasn’t too worried. Because I was feeling better than I had been with any of my previous lung surgeries, I hadn’t planned on calling the doctor till after the Easter weekend.  Janie, as usual the wiser of us, strongly suggested calling the doctor.

The doctor suggested going to the Emergency Room to get an evaluation. The results of my CT scan showed my right lung had collapsed. The bizarre thing was that I wasn’t experiencing any shortness of breath or pain. They were surprised to see me doing as well as I was for having a collapsed lung. They put a chest tube in to allow the air to leave and to get my lung functioning properly. I’ll have the chest tube until my lung is healed and there is no longer any air under my skin. I was discharged from the hospital this morning and I’m in more pain now than I was before going to the Emergency Room. It’s because I wasn’t using my injured lung and now it’s inflating thus aggravating the surgical site.

So again there’s always the unforeseen that happens. The good thing is I’m able to spend Easter weekend with my brother and his family. And I was able to catch it before I had any serious complications.   I hope everyone has a great Easter/ Passover weekend.