Been going thru a rough patch

[SCIfor55+yrs.]

During the second week of February my wife began complaining of flu-like symptoms: achiness, fatigue, headache, sore throat, etc. Two days later I was having the same issues. At about the fifth day my wife was in real trouble with difficulty breathing and extreme weakness. A nurse friend took her to the ER where one glance of the chest x-ray confirmed that she had a bad case of pneumonia. She was immediately admitted to the hospital and put on oxygen and started on IV antibiotics. I thought I would quickly follow the same course, but my symptoms did not get worse. After another 3-4 days l was okay. However my wife spent 8 days in the hospital. She is now home but still needs supplemental oxygen. Her doc says that it may be another month or two before she is completely weaned from the oxygen given her age and severity of her symptoms. It has been a struggle coping, especially because I quit driving about five years ago. Depending on friends and neighbors is starting to wear on us.

Yes, we both got the flu vaccine last October. And the culture from a nasal swab was positive for one of the strains supposedly covered by vaccine. The response to the finding was that it may have been worse if she had not gotten the flu shot. Who knows?

[Art454]

I used to get the flu shot but not in years. Every time I got one I get a bad cold. So I gave up on them like 10 years ago.

[gjnl]

For every story of "I get sick if I get the flu shot." there is a story of "I never get sick if I get the flu shot." NL and I have been getting flu shot for 20+ years, and in that time have only had a handful of bouts with cold/flu (sometimes it is hard to tell the difference, but flu shots don't protect you from getting a cold).

That said, many of us should get pneumonia vaccines (seniors and those with high level injuries). Prevnar 13 and Pneumovax 23 vaccines, Prevnar first and about 6-12 months later Pneumivax 23 should be administered. Prevnar 13 protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria, and the Pneumovax 23 protects against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria. These vaccines do not prevent viral pneumonia.

Sorry Mrs. 55 and you were so ill. Keep us posted on how things are progressing.

[lynnifer]

I'm so sorry this happened. If I lived closer I would definitely help.

I'm not sure if it's me aging or what .. but I had similar back in the Fall (I always seem to get things first) and every year it gets tougher and tougher to beat.

I only get my flu shot if the news says it will be a particularly bad strain this year .. I should have. The last I had a shot was the H1N1 crisis.

I hope you both feel better soon. The changing weather here from warm to cold hasn't been helping. Even dogs are getting fleas because we normally keep them off the meds during the cold months (Not me, learned the hard way through a friend as her dog was infested in December and January).

Do you guys take vitamins at all? Do you have back-up plans should something happen to one or both of you?

[gjnl]

Back up plan. That would make a good topic for a thread all to itself.

When things are going along well and the way you manage care is working, it is hard to introduce someone from the outside and keep them occupied and compensated enough for them to be around to step in when an emergency arises.

[ChesBay]

Sorry to hear you and your wife are going through this. If South Carolina is like Virginia we are really just getting winter like weather after being unusually mild since early January. With the years the colder weather makes illness feel that much more confining to me. Wishing both of you good health soon.

[Timaru]

I'm so sorry 55 that's more than rough. Why is it that we feel worse about a loved one hurting than we do about ourselves?

Take consolation from the fact that you and Mrs. 55 have lived your lives in a way that ensures you have no shortage of friends who are willing to help.

[baldfatdad]

Back up plan. That would make a good topic for a thread all to itself.

When things are going along well and the way you manage care is working, it is hard to introduce someone from the outside and keep them occupied and compensated enough for them to be around to step in when an emergency arises.

Hope your wife gets better.
Its the old, when it rains it pours thing.
Back up plan thread would be great. In Life forum maybe. I could throw a lot in there after the last couple years.

[SCI-Nurse]

Hang in there. My experience this winter has been that the bugs are unusually tougher. But, who knows? Hopefully your wife will be on the mend soon.
ckf

[TomRL]

Sorry to hear about what you guys are going through. I will keep and your life my prayers.

I was in the hospital myself with pneumonia back in January. The only symptom I had was an awful lot of pain. I had no clue that it was pneumonia until they took the standard chest x-ray on admission.