Yay for the RMCSJ.

Well, i just got home from the hospital today in time for the new years.

Where to begin the story of it all. Linda, I know you’ve heard it 6 times now, but shut up for everyone else :] haha well, it all started thursday night around 7. I was in the back seat of the car while my dad was driving to the Video Rental to pick up some chinese movies for my mother and himself. Jennifer was in shotgun and my little sister Yvonne was looking on the window in the right back seat. Discovering the game called Rune Factory only a few days back, I was playing my DS, being glued to it ever since trying the game that was a cross between Harvest Moon and Final Fantasy: I was harvesting my carrots, getting honey from the bees, and battling monsters with my flame saber in the nearby cave. Some interesting stuff. Well while playing in the car, i felt a stinging pain in my chest but quickly shrugged it off. It bothered me, however, when it didn’t seem to go away after a few minutes, but gradually grew worse. Soon, I found myself breathing alot shorter breaths and the pain grew worse and worse. It turned into a stabbing pain and i was gasping, almost hyperventilating, for air. I screamed and yelled as my Dad rushed me to the nearest hospital.

Well by the time we got there it seemed to die down a bit, but my condition of not being able to breathe quickly got me admitted into the ER. Soon i found myself strapped to a machine ( the EKG) that was buzzing and humming away. The doctors treating and diagnosing me at the time told me it was probably a muscular spasm or such and said that I’d probably be prescribed pain medication and sent home that night.

Well, little did I know that when the X ray results processed, I found myself staying a whole 4 days and nights more than I thought I would. It turned out that I had been through a “Spontaneous Pneumothorax“, or, in English, a collapsed lung, and wow did it hurt. My soon-to-be-operating-on-me Doctor Richard Nguyen came in to have a word with me and described briefly what had happened, and that he had to stick a “chest tube” in me to help clear out the air and water squishing my lungs.

Soon a nurse came in and gave me my IV as my parents came in as well as a whole bunch of relatives.

Then came the morphine.

One guy was drugging me, while another nurse was tying me down, while the Doctor himself prepared the tools and bandages. After about the 3rd or 4th dose of morphine, my world became a blur. The operation basically consisted of sticking a huge needle-like pipe into my chest cavity to help drain out the air and blood and water that was placing pressure onto my lung in order for me to reinflate it. By huge, I mean this thing was like 2 feet long and actually STUCK into my chest about 6-7 inches, and was about one and a half centimeters wide. THINK PEARL TEA. That big, that MUCH in my chest. Super painful, Super annoying box I have to carry around that the tube is attached to.

I don’t remember much of the operation, but I remember waking up at about 2 AM of Friday morning. Relatives came in to see me, and I recall the drugs talking wayyyy too much while they were there. Other than that, All i remember of the operation night was talking to concerned relatives that came in and blacking out. I didn’t even remember moving rooms except for having to slide from one bed to my final bed.

The next few days were pretty stressful and painful for everyone. Relatives and friends crowded into the room all day on Friday. My mom and dad were constantly making sure I was okay, my sisters bringing Vitamin waters and anything I was Craving. I admit that I probably was pretty damn bossy to everyone while on the pain medication.

I want to give a big Thanks to everyone who took time out of their day to come to room 319. I mean, people who actually took time off to go see a guy sit in a bed and talk funny must care a whole lot, right? Thanks for all the presents, the balloons, the cards, the hugs, the get well soons, the love.

It was actually a life changing experience for me, because in all my life, I believe this was the most life threatening thing that I’ve ever encountered. The hospital itself was pretty scary as well. It’s like living the movies and tv shows of patients in their blue hospital gowns, walking around with oxygen masks and machines hooked up to them. I really feel that this will change my outlook on life, and cause me to be more careful in the activities I take part in.

Some first blog huh? haha. yes, it’s 1:30 in the morning and I cant fall asleep, so I’m BLOGGING…on wordpress.

Comments appreciated!