Visit to the ER

A few days after we “demo’d” the small room in the old garage with lord knows what in all the dust flying around our heads and straight into our lungs. Yeah Superman and Supergirl (that BOTH work in emergency medicine by the way) aren’t smart enough to wear masks this time, start coughing something awful. James has an allergy to mold and boy was there mold under that floor! My cough seemed to subside after a week or so but James didn’t.

Soon James was sweating at night, feverish, coughing up “oysters”. My medical training screaming pneumonia in my head! On Monday, I asked James to go get seen, told him he needs a chest X-ray. I work in the emergency department now after a few years on the ambulance and James is a firefighter of 24 years. James politely declines my request stating “it will pass”, Typical tough guy response.

A few more days go by and my worry worsens. He isn’t getting better, not even a little bit. Wed morning I had enough I told him to go get seen, or else! Fortunately he didn’t ask what or else meant because I had no else but finally, he went in! He told me he may just go to his primary care and sit and wait for them to fit him in (yes stubborn firefighter doesn’t want to “waste the ERs time) huge eye roll from me there. Me being who I am and where I work, reminded him the ER can do his X-ray there and potentially faster than sitting around hoping his dr could fit him in, and again asked him to just go to the ER. James went to the ER, respecting my wishes. (He must have seen “the look” haha, or else!!

Labs get drawn, X-ray gets done and POW! Your girl was right! Pneumonia in your right lung. Antibiotics should help clear it up in a week or two. Yayyy! James and I are texting throughout his visit as it’s a workday for me in another hospital.

The emergency Dr that James was seen by was amazing, he didn’t leave anything unchecked. There was something suspicious on the X-ray near James heart. It may be nothing but we should investigate it further just to be sure, EKG shows normal sinus rhythm some PVCs and left ventricular hypertrophy and off to CT James goes.