Collapsed Lung

At 20 I caught a virus which left me with a cough. My asthma was bad so I continued with my medications. I started to develop fevers and extreme fatigue. I began to feel tight in the chest and have stabbing pains when I breathed deeply. I stayed in bed for a week waiting for my husband to return from a work trip.

A trip to the doctor for exhaustion

When he returned he immediately took me to the doctor who could hear my wheeze and congestion before I sat down. She sent me for an immediate x-ray. I was so fatigued that after the x-ray I could barely change back into my clothes so I sat in the dressing room sweating and trying to catch my breath.

The lady who took the x-ray suddenly rushed to the dressing room and asked if I was okay. She didn't tell me anything bus insisted I return immediately to the doctor and had rang them to request they stay open until I arrived. I knew by her sudden change in behaviour that something was wrong. I was becoming worse after the exhaustion of walking from the car to the doctors office. I could barely stand as my husband dragged me back inside

Collapsed lungs from pneumonia and asthma

My doctor immediately put me on oxygen and had me lay in a room while they waited for an ambulance. They said I had extremely bad pneumonia and both my lungs were collapsed around the central lobe.

I was in the hospital for weeks while I recovered. The combination of asthma and severe pneumonia had caused them to collapse. Even after I left hospital I was weak for months and since this experience my asthma has been worse and I've caught pneumonia often. I think it permanently weakened my already weak lungs but I'm just grateful I survived because my doctor said I wouldn't have made it much longer outside of hospital.