Pneumonia saved my son's life

[Brat]

Short version: my 51-year-old son went on a ski trip and developed bronchitis which progressed to bronchial pneumonia. Urgent care prescribed antibiotics.

He returned home and sought a follow-up with his primary care physician. A few hours later he received an urgent call directing him to go to the emergency room asap as tests indicated congestive heart failure. Big OOPS.

In the course of treating pericardial effusion, an angiogram was conducted—significant blockage of a vein was identified. BIGGER OOPS!

Days later he had an angioplasty and three stents were placed. A blockage 5 cm long was removed.

If he hadn't developed phenomena the coronary artery disease would have gone undetected and he would likely have had a heart attack and died.

 

[erkevin]

Age 51! Holy Cow....glad they caught it. Who would even suspect that at age 51?

 

[MissMolly]

What is bronchial phenomena? I Googled it and can't find anything. Did you mean bronchial pneumonia? Glad they caught his even bigger problem in time.

 

[Brat]

What is bronchial phenomena? I Googled it and can't find anything. Did you mean bronchial pneumonia? Glad they caught his even bigger problem in time.

Yes, a spell-check issue.

 

[Walt34]

Yes, a spell-check issue.

I think we can safely chalk that up to being just a little bit stressed.

Glad to hear all is going well now.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm not making light of this. I thought maybe the symptoms the character had in the movie "Phenomenon" had something to do with finding disease.

But anyway, yeah, heart issues can look like lung issues. Any weird chest stuff needs to be checked. Your son is a good example.

51 is not young for artery issues. I had family die or be disabled by infarctions when they were in their mid 40s. It is not at all unusual.

 

[pacergal]

Glad he is recovering.

 

[Alan]

Yes, a spell-check issue.

I fixed the thread title.

Lucky escape, and it sounds like he is recovering.

 

[Dawg52]

Glad he is doing well now. A life long friend of mine had some symptoms for a colon issue but in the testing process a small cancerous tumor was discovered on his pancreas. As you know cancer on the pancreas is usually a silent killer but they were able to remove it and he is doing fine 3+ years later.

 

[Teacher Terry]

So glad your son is okay. Definitely a scary situation.

 

[REWahoo]

I fixed the thread title.

Thank you, Alan!

Although this is a very serious thread and I join in the hope Brat's son has a full recovery, whenever I saw the word "phenomena" I could not help thinking of the famous "Mahna Manah" song by the Muppets.

Yes, it's a sickness, I know...

 

[MichaelB]

I could not help thinking of the famous "Mahna Manah" song by the Muppets.

Well, actually, the song was performed by Mahna Mahna and the Snowths.

 

[REWahoo]

Well, actually, the song was performed by Mahna Mahna and the Snowths.

My bad. Too many.meds.

 

[MissMolly]

My bad. Too many.meds.

If it's any consolation, I remember the Muppets singing it too. When my granddaughter was young, we used to just go, "Mahna Manah" and she would fill in with "Do do do do". It was hilarious

 

[MichaelB]

Just to clarify, Mahna Mahna and the Snowths are a singing group - of Muppets. I was just giving REWahoo a hard time.

It’s a fantastic song for the little tykes. As MissMolly discovered, they can sing along!

At a work function where we had to do karaoke as part of a group bonding thing, I chose that song, even though the machine didn’t have the music.

If he hadn't developed phenomena the coronary artery disease would have gone undetected and he would likely have had a heart attack and died.

Brat, it’s great to hear your son has avoided a serious coronary issue.

 

[Dtail]

Great that he will be okay.

 

[sirion]

My 48 year old high school buddy just died on Sunday from a cardiac event. He did not have any known health issues. Felt off a brunch went home to rest and died.

 

[street]

Short version: my 51-year-old son went on a ski trip and developed bronchitis which progressed to bronchial pneumonia. Urgent care prescribed antibiotics.

He returned home and sought a follow-up with his primary care physician. A few hours later he received an urgent call directing him to go to the emergency room asap as tests indicated congestive heart failure. Big OOPS.

In the course of treating pericardial effusion, an angiogram was conducted—significant blockage of a vein was identified. BIGGER OOPS!

Days later he had an angioplasty and three stents were placed. A blockage 5 cm long was removed.

If he hadn't developed phenomena the coronary artery disease would have gone undetected and he would likely have had a heart attack and died.

So, glad all worked out. Someone from above was watching out for him.

 

[Koolau]

So happy your son was saved by a fortuitous set of circumstances. May he have a long and happy life.

This phenomena of finding life-threatening issues by accident may be more common than one might think. DW had an attack of gastritis, so severe that she went to the ER. The doctor on duty quickly diagnosed the problem but had taken x-rays to rule out other issues. She found a mass in DWs lung. The subsequent biopsy indicated a relatively rare cancer (not actually lung cancer - just a life-threatening cancer that happened to develop in her lung.) The mass (and half a lung) were removed successfully. 25 years later, the scar is a reminder of how blessed DW and I are that she is still here.

 

[oldphd]

So happy your son was saved by a fortuitous set of circumstances. May he have a long and happy life.

This phenomena of finding life-threatening issues by accident may be more common than one might think.

+1... DW had a hip problem and had an MRI... radiologist noted ovarian cyst and suggested getting it looked into... was monitored for a short time, did not show any signs of cancer but it did not go away, surgery to remove ovaries and Fallopian tubes as a precautionary measure was advised. Even after surgery, doc said they usually can tell visually, and in her case there was no obvious sign. However, pathology found ovarian cancer, earliest stage possible, only a small number of cases are diagnosed this early. Good news - prognosis is much better with early detection/excision. Bad news - still had to do the full chemo, which is nasty stuff. She is still dealing with significant side effects of the chemo.

 

[MarieIG]

Brat, it's wonderful that the medical team caught your son's condition. Wishing him a speedy and complete recovery.

 

[Dreamer]

So glad for the skiing trip and the resulting health problems, that led to his heart problems.

I wish him a complete recovery and a long life.

 

[ModestNestEgg]

I am so happy to read of situations like this where the outcomes are good! I wish your son, you, and all your loved ones the best of health for many years to come!

 

[Koolau]

+1... DW had a hip problem and had an MRI... radiologist noted ovarian cyst and suggested getting it looked into... was monitored for a short time, did not show any signs of cancer but it did not go away, surgery to remove ovaries and Fallopian tubes as a precautionary measure was advised. Even after surgery, doc said they usually can tell visually, and in her case there was no obvious sign. However, pathology found ovarian cancer, earliest stage possible, only a small number of cases are diagnosed this early. Good news - prognosis is much better with early detection/excision. Bad news - still had to do the full chemo, which is nasty stuff. She is still dealing with significant side effects of the chemo.

This brings up a subject that I've often wondered about. Why NOT do full body MRIs on folks once they reach a "certain age." Even better (if it weren't for the radiation) would be a CT scan at that certain age. I understand that there is a risk/benefit ratio to such things - especially anything to do with ionizing radiation. BUT the only real downside to MRIs is the cost. Well, I guess the other down side is "finding something" which means the doc has to "do" something - which may not turn out to be necessary. For me, I would take the chance, but docs won't do it.

 

[Fermion]

How does anyone in their early 50s know about this stuff unless they get lucky like the OP? It seems like such a dice roll...and we all worry about 4.99 vs 5% CDs...