A Health Scare Story, But Mainly a Gratitude Post (1)

This time last year, at 1AM, I just came back from the ED (don't worry, it was a green zone) on one of the many doctor visits and health scares that I've had in the past 14 months.

It started with a cold in early November, which came with a low-grade fever but seemed to take more days than usual to go away. Surprisingly, I had another one in early December.

And the second one was a doozy.

6 December, 2023. I had severe diarrhea and vomiting late at night that I couldn't pinpoint the cause of, except that I had KFC for dinner that night. I don't think that was it. But it was bad. Probably one of the worst that I've ever experienced in my life. Luckily, it was only for a few hours. After a few trips to the bathroom, I was ok.

The next morning, the coughing started, which was also bad. It was dry and strong, and it wouldn't stop. It got worse in the next five days. Eventually, it felt like I was coughing every five minutes. And I started to have a chest pain from it, one that felt like resulting from my chest muscle being pushed too hard. I took some OTC meds during this time.

I'm not sure if the diarrhea, vomiting and coughing were related.

11 December, 2023. It was Day 5 and I went to see a doctor. Apparently, I had a low-grade fever as well. Got more meds.

22 December, 2023. Day 16. The coughing got worse especially when I lay down and woke up in the morning. Sometimes I farted, peed and gagged when coughing. I started to get a coughing fit that made me gasp for air. My lips would sometimes go numb and look bruised. The frequency seemed to lessen, but they were still forceful, and there was some chest tightness. Twice, I coughed up a tiny streak of blood.

I went to see the doctor again, did a blood test (which showed a slight infection, but the doctor didn't think it needed antibiotics), started a TB test (negative), got more meds and booked for a chest x-ray.

But in the world of public healthcare, where you probably won't go bankrupt from doctor visits, you sometimes need to survive the wait -- a few days for the x-ray and another few days for the result.

29 December, 2023. It's the x-ray result day. And the first question the doctor asked me was, "What clothes did you wear during the x-ray?" NOOO! NO. NO. NO. YOU CANNOT BE ASKING ME THAT QUESTION. Then she showed me a round white spot on the x-ray.

But I don't want to trigger anyone. Before I continue with the rest of the ordeal, I just want to clear up any worries. Nothing bad happened to me. I'm ok and healthy. But the journey to get to that conclusion was a nightmare.

The rest of the story:
Part (2)
Part (3)

Image: knockknockstuff.com