Pneumothorax

The whole month of August 2011 is a blurr to me.  Curtis & I went on vacation from July 28th until August 6th.  We went to Utah to visit family & friends in Salt Lake & St. George (see previous posts).  It was hot, but nice to spend time together & see everyone.  When we got home I wasn't feeling good & spend a week at home trying to "recover" from our vacation, I may have gone on oral antibiotics that week, but can’t remember now.  We celebrated our 6th Anniversary on August 12^th.  We didn’t do much since I wasn’t feeling good, but I do remember that we had Corino’s take-out.  Sunday August 14^th was a big day for us….Curtis was released as the Scout Master at church!  The whole 6 yrs we have been married, he has been either the Assistant Scout Master or the Scout Master.  But don’t worry; he is still working in scouting, but this time as the Scout Committee Chairman.  So he still gets to do stuff with the scouts, but doesn’t have to go camping every month or go to the weekly activities.  Honestly this couldn’t have come at a better time.

After coming home from vacation we had decided that maybe it was time for me to go to the hospital again.  The last admission that I had was back in January & February of 2010.  This time though we wanted to get insurance approval to go to St. Luke’s hospital because they are the ones that have the Idaho CF center & are more comfortable caring for CF patients. (our insurance is contracted w/St. Al’s…& staying there is tough since my primary doctors are w/Luke’s).  So I contacted our amazing CF clinic nurse Mary & talked to Perry about it, since they had to be the ones to write a letter to get insurance to pay for it.  I did have CF clinic on Tuesday August 16^th.  They were still waiting for the final ok from insurance, but were 99% sure that we had it.  We decide that it would be easier to go into the hospital the next morning.  Then they could get all the paper work/orders done, we would have insurance approval, & I could pack my bags & bring what I need.     

Anyway, the night before I was suppose to go to the hospital my lung collapsed simply from a regular cough while we were at home.  Curtis & I were sitting on the couch trying to decide what to have for dinner & I started coughing. Nothing new.  After I was done coughing I had a pain on my right side.  Again nothing new, especially since I cough so hard, I often can pull a muscle or throw my back out.  After about 20 seconds Curtis looked over at me & asked if I was ok. By this point I felt like someone was stabbing me in the back by my shoulder blade & felt like someone was sitting on my chest in the front.  I also could not get a deep breath in.  We turned up my O2 & I did an abulterol nebulizer treatment.  At the same time as this Curtis was googling chest pain & the symptoms that I had.  We both realized at the same time w/in 10 min that I probably had a collapsed lung.  Curtis wanted to call the ambulance, but I told him it would be faster if he just drove me to the ER.  When I stood up I about passed out because of all the pain! Curtis gave me a quick priesthood blessing & we were on our way. We went on faith & went to St. Luke’s downtown.

It’s amazing how fast you can get into the ER when you come in & can’t breathe! They took me right back & w/in 20 min of arriving it was determined that I for sure had a complete right lung collapse.  Then they placed a chest tube into me to start removing the air & fluid that had filled up the cavity where my inflated lung should have been.  I honestly don't know how I was able to make it through all of that.  Getting a chest tube placed was soooo painful & such a horrible experience.  (They don’t give you any medicine & they stab you w/a huge needle in-between your ribs & into your chest cavity.  Then they pass a tube through it that stays.  The tube is then hooked up to suction, or a negative pressure vacuum.  This then helps remove the air/fluid from the chest cavity & it expands your lung….yes, it is just as horrible as it sounds, sorry for the details if you have a week stomach).  While I was experiencing all of this, if I thought about it too deeply it scared me to death!  BUT I was able to remain fairly calm during everything & the Lord was there helping me.  I know that I had angels in the room with me!  

This is what my collapsed lung looks like.  The triangular drum in my chest is my port that we use for IVs.  All of the black around the right lung is NOT suppose to be there  Yes, my lungs have a lot of scar tissue in them.  (one of my amazing RTs showed me my xrays & took the picture for me)

About 6 hrs after I got my chest tube place, in the wee hrs of the morning (4 am…) I had an air leak from my chest tube & my soft tissue/skin on my body swelled up.  I thought that my lung was collapsing all over again.  It hurt sooo bad!!! It started in my right chest & shoulder area & spread pretty quickly through the rest of my body, except my legs.  My arm looked like a Poppeye arm after he eats spinach, my cheeks looked like golf balls were in them & I had a double chin.  The air leak that I had is called crepitus.  The medical definition is:  Crepitus: A clinical sign in medicine that is characterized by a peculiar crackling, crinkly, or grating feeling or sound under the skin, around the lungs, or in the joints. Crepitus in soft tissues is often due to gas, most often air, that has penetrated and infiltrated an area where it should not normally be (for example, in the soft tissues beneath the skin). Crepitus in a joint can indicate cartilage wear in the joint space.   When you touched my skin you could feel the “rice crispies” or “bubble wrap popping” under my skin.  It was extremely painful & scary. So, then I had to get a second chest tube placed.  (Thankfully I was given medicine this time & so it wasn’t so traumatic). That first 24 hrs were the scariest that I have ever had! 

 This is the one and only time I will be “fat Sara”

The first couple of days w/two chest tubes & crepitus were horrible.  I was on constant pain medication & could only move enough (with help) to get out of bed, turn & sit to use the bedside commode. I also couldn’t take a shower while I had chest tubes.  Thankfully each day was a little better.  By day 5 or 6 I could get to the bathroom (with help) & use the toilet in private.  While I was hooked up to the chest tubes I was on full suction.  So I had 2 boxes that only had about 12 ft of tubing total for me to be able to move around the room with.  Man, I had so many tubes & cords during that week…O2 tube, 2 chest tubes, IV line, 24 hr heart monitor on (w/5 wires that were stuck to me all the time), my feeding tube at night, & I’m sure there was some other tube/cord that I am missing.  So yes, I only had about 12 ft. of room to move around with.  By day 10 I was starting to really wish that I could take a real shower (instead of a bed bath) & wanted to even just go out & walk the halls.  But I couldn’t be off of suction.  Finally on day 12 they pulled the bottom chest tube out & the doctor FINALLY gave me permission to go out and walk the halls and just be on water seal (meaning no more vacuum suction & being stuck to the wall).  I LOVED being able to go out of my room!!!  On day 13 they pulled out the last chest tube.  I had to stay ibin the hospital a few more days after that before I was released to go home.  By this time I only had one small area of crepitus & I wasn’t needed any more pain medication.  Yay!!!

Boxes that collected all of the fluid that the chest tubes were pulling out from 

my chest cavity & helping to re-inflate my lung.  These were part of the 

tubing/12 ft of  leeway that I had for 12 days

Lungs 1 week after having chest tubes, there was still an area on the top right lung that wasn't completely healed, but you can tell it's MUCH better than before! 

Finally being able to go more than 12 ft & getting out of 

my hospital room for some new scenery!

My hospital stay was full of scary moments but there were so many blessings. During that time I was blessed to have my lungs get better a little bit each day.  I was able to get lots of rest & lots of good therapy for my lungs to heal.  Curtis was also blessed to be able to handle all of this very well.  He was able to keep up with his busy work schedule while also getting to spend time with me each day.  During my whole hospital stay, but especially at the beginning of it, I often thought of my Savior Jesus Christ.  I can’t imagine that the pain that He suffered.  His pain was even MORE than what I was currently experiencing. I still don’t completely understand the Atonement, but I did gain a small glimpse into what Christ has done for us when He took on himself all of our pain (physically/emotionally/spiritually) that we experience.  I have gained a stronger testimony that the Lord really does KNOW who WE are & that HE LOVES US.   All of my needs were met through other people being there when I needed them most...doctors, nurses, & others.  Each day I had small tender mercies from the Lord.  Those tender mercies are what helped me get through all of this.  I'm soooo thankful for them, for the power of prayer & for the knowledge that I have that I am a Child of God & that He loves me & is helping me every step of the way.