Fit to Live
I have been rather silent on my blog for awhile and the main reason, is a personal one. In April of this year, I was hospitalized with full bilateral lung pneumonia and the road to recovery after being extremely ill, was a long and slow one. Events like these both force you to pause and are a good reminder to not take anything for granted. It can also cause you to slow down in a way that allows you to see the world a little differently than before. In today’s blog, I am going to share my story along with the medical tips and tricks I learned, as well as the validation of basic health principles that were so glaringly obvious during this illness.
Our spring break was the last week of March 2026, and my youngest daughter had gotten the flu right before spring break started. We had decided to work for a few days during that week, then fly to Phoenix to visit my mother-in-law. We flew Wednesday early evening, and our daughter was feeling fine and no longer had any symptoms. After we landed, we went straight to bed to wake up the next day and do a little school clothes shopping. We shopped, ate a yummy lunch, and by late afternoon I had a fever. I had assumed that we had all skipped the sickness as she had not had a fever for several days.
Health Tip #1: Most Viruses have an incubation period of 2-5 days – with the flu usually being most common around 2 days (we were within this window at 3 days, and I can tell you in my practice if you are going to get the bug, it usually shows up within 2-3 days).
Us doctors love to think that health facts are for everyone else, since we often forget to refer to them for ourselves. For my daughter, the flu symptoms consisted of a headache, body aches, a low grade fever of 100 degrees F, and some post nasal drip. Not exactly the worst flu you have ever heard of. These symptoms happened to be the ones I got! Towards the end of her flu, she would cough only at night when she laid down due to the post nasal drip, but I would never have said that a cough was an actual symptom of this particular virus.
Thus, I got sick on Thursday afternoon even though we planned to be at mom’s until Monday. I figured I would be well by then! So I stayed in bed Friday, Saturday, and thought I was feeling better by Sunday. We had a special zoo excursion we had booked that day, so I thought I should be able to go since it will be open air and I did not have a fever. Well lo and behold, by the end of our zoo adventure I was feeling much worse and went home to bed extremely achy.
Health Tip #2: Usually you need 1-2 days after a fever breaks in adults, before going back to major activity levels. Otherwise relapses are common (I ignored that one, as many of us do!).
We flew home Monday, and being cognizant of those around me, I wore a mask. I did not have a fever, but I was extremely tired and still had a headache. When we got home I was doing alright, so I went to bed and my darling husband did all of the unpacking and laundry. That night I had a light cough and just figured it was similar to my daughter’s post nasal drainage. I had patients the next morning, but we decided I should take one more day to rest. That night, the cough was even worse so I took an over the counter cough medicine just trying to sleep. The only way for relief was sleeping sitting up in order to not cough. I was not well but also not feeling terrible, so I figured I just needed a little more rest and I would kick this bug. Come Wednesday, and I was not better and in fact the cough was much worse. The cough medicine in previous night had allowed me to sleep, so I took it again but this time it did not seem to help at all, thus forcing me to sleep sitting up in the guest room.
Health Tip #3: Coughs that get worse, even with over-the-counter suppressants, are a sign of infection.
It was then Thursday, one week later, and I was feeling a little itchy from a viral hive reaction. So I got in the bath with colloidal oatmeal, still coughing with a low grade headache. While in the bath, I realized I was working harder to breath. I was not dizzy or lightheaded, but I had an old pulse oximeter around at home so put it on and my O2 saturation was 86. Anything below 90 is dangerous. My first thought was “Oh, this is bad!”
Health Tip #4: Pulse Oximeters are a great tool to have at home, as they tell us our heart rate and oxygen saturation. Normal is 95 and above (some people with health issues maybe below this). Less than 92 is considered the danger zone, and less than 88 is hypoxemia (an immediate hospital visit)!
With my first thought being “oh this is bad”, you would think I sounded pretty calm. And while I was, I think that being calm was both my medical training and also the fact that my hypoxemia did not allow me enough oxygen to panic. So I called the Kaiser health line thinking, “well maybe I can get antibiotics and this is probably pneumonia.” Still not thinking clearly, yes pneumonia is probably right (at least smart me is functioning), but thinking I should not go to urgent care is definitely not smart me! After speaking to the nurse and doctor at Kaiser, they informed me I need to go to the emergency room and also asked if I had someone to give me a ride because one can not drive themselves with this condition. My neighbor was able to drive me so I hung up, showered, got dressed, and grabbed a book and water bottle in a tote thinking it would be a short hospital visit. My husband happened to come home on his lunch break and asked why I was up dressed and about to leave. I told him the situation and he immediately said “let’s go!” I called my neighbor back to graciously ask to pick me up when we were done. The interesting part is through all of this I was still able to walk, I was not not too dizzy, and was still able to go up and down our stairs slowly while not out of breath even at 86% saturation.
Health Tip #5: Please do not drive when mildly impaired. We often think we are more capable than we are, and end up being a danger to ourselves and others.
Within ten minutes of being at Kaiser, I had an x-ray, EKG, and blood work done. The EKG was normal, but the x-ray showed the pneumonia and blood work was abnormal. One of the blood tests was for D-Dimer, which can be present in heart attacks as well as pneumonias and pulmonary embolisms. Shortly after, I got a CT scan which thankfully ruled out an embolism. They started IV antibiotics, nebulizer steroids, and let me rest but my O2 levels did not get high enough to go home — so I had to stay the night. The hospital will release patients often if they are younger with levels at 92% while walking. If you have ever stayed in the hospital, you will know that it is uncomfortable to sleep there, and at this point any ounce of laying down triggered a horrible coughing fit for me, along with gasping and gagging. Thankfully I only had to lay flat during the CT scan, otherwise I was propped up. They did give me something to be able to sleep, and Zyrtec for my viral hives that I was still having.
The respiratory therapist and other doctors came by asking about my physical activity level, diet, lifestyle, etc. This is the crucial point of this whole blog: they all said my lifestyle was the only reason I walked into the hospital with an 86% and was able to leave 24 hours later. I was of course grateful to leave, but I did not comprehend what they were telling me.
My fitness level made me fit enough to not only survive this experience, but to do it relatively well. I was “Fit to Live.” I think we often think of fitness as exercise to keep us looking beautiful, and of course it can do that, but why we doctors always want you to exercise is for your heart, your lungs, your lymphatic tissue, and so much more than just looking good!
Health Tip #6: Exercise is for the WHOLE body, not just your muscles.
I would then spend the next week doing breathing treatments four times a day, two kinds of oral antibiotics, and missing work for the next week. I spent my time doing breathing exercises while walking, all trying to get my lung capacity back. They informed me I would deal with major fatigue and wheezing until the end of June at a minimum, and boy were they right! I would fall into bed each day around 7:30-8 pm and not wake up until 6 am the next day for about two months. About four weeks later, I returned to weight lifting and interval running as well.
Health Tip #7: Basic health principles:
Movement
Rest
Sunlight
Eating healthy – more veggies, less empty carbs (but oh they taste so good!)
Drinking lots of water
Moderation in all you do
Avoid – smoking, alcohol consumption, and other substances
Avoid caffeine greater than 23 oz of coffee per day.
These basic principles are not earth shattering, but the fact that I did not smoke and drink also helped my lungs recover faster. Caffeine could put stress on the body while recovering by speeding up my heart rate. I know that I exercise regularly to look good, to not get hurt at work, and to be able to hike and be outdoors in the way I like. But I never truly realized how important my fitness level was until it helped keep me alive. I had always told patients that exercise helps their heart, lungs and lymphatic flow, never realizing how absolutely true it really is and how much it can actually save your life. So now that I have returned to exercise, I think more about longevity these days than I do about aesthetics, as even the doctor can learn a thing or two.
Remember that health is a daily choice. If you were not healthy yesterday, you can absolutely be healthy today and tomorrow. So actively pursue health, as it can save your life like it did mine!
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