Pneumonia

Last Monday morning I woke up and felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I was a little confused because I hadn't been sick at all recently. It was totally random. Every time I'd try to straighten up my back and shoulders I would have a pain all the way down my back and chest. I assumed I just needed to go to the chiropractor and dismissed it. Well on my way to work I choked on some water and when I went to cough, I had severe pain in my chest. I decided that it might be best to go to Urgent Care to just make sure everything was ok. A 22 year old with chest pains... I was a little freaked out.

Because of "chest pains", the Urgent Care got me in right away. The didn't really ask any medical history questions, which, as a health care worker myself, was a BIG shock to me! The Dr. wanted a chest x-ray and an EKG done so the medical assistant started setting up. The EKG came back fine, so I was taken to the back room for my x-ray.

While the x-ray was "processing", the doctor came in and did the generic "listen to your lungs in 4 spots, but not really listen" test. He stepped out to look at the x-ray and when he came back suggested that I was just anxious or stressed about something because my x-ray was perfectly clear and my lungs sounded fine.

I left feeling totally dumb for wasting their time. I still felt like there was something wrong, but I needed to go back to work because the Dr. said I was fine. It didn't get any better throughout the day, so when I got home from work I called my sister-in-law who is a nurse. She came over and listened to my lungs.... very carefully... and looked at me with big eyes and said "honey, you aren't getting any air flow through your left lung, and the right one is not getting much air either." She told me if it didn't get better by Tuesday, I needed to go get a second opinion. I would find out after work on Tuesday that it wouldn't be necessary.

Around 4pm the next day, a different Dr. from the Urgent Care called and said that the radiologist looked at my x-ray again and found pneumonia in my lungs. They called in a prescription for antibiotics and I haven't heard from them since. I am a little irritated about how the Urgent Care handled the situation. I am not a radiologist or a Dr., but as a dental assistant I take and look at x-rays everyday! I don't diagnose patients, but I can look at an x-ray and tell you if there is bone loss, decay, infection, etc. It does not take a radiologist to see cloudiness on an x-ray... In dentistry, patients are always shown their x-ray and receive an explanation as to what is and isn't seen on the x-ray... This Urgent Care didn't let me see my x-ray.

Tejay decided since I had it, he should go to the Dr. and get looked at also... Sure enough, he had it too! But his PA diagnosed it within 10 minutes of the x-ray being taken. Hmmmm... Interesting.

Needless to say, I won't be returning to that Urgent Care. All sickness is out of our house and we are feeling much better!