Atelectasis or Pneumothorax
For the continuation of the story of my almost demise, click HERE. Turns out, all I needed was a quart of Catdaddy moonshine.
Image via WikipediaSmok’em If’ya Got’em!
I guess I was about 6 years old the first time I ever heard that. Out in the tobacco fields of 1960s North Carolina, nearly everybody had cigarettes or chewing tobacco in their pockets. At six, of course, I didn’t have either. But I had eyes, and I watched the men all fire up or cut off a chunk to chew. Literally every man in the field had something made of tobacco, and like all little boys, I wanted so much to be a man.
By the time I turned seven years old I had started stealing Old Golds from my granddaddy. He worked for the Lorillard company over in Greensboro. Every week he’d bring at least a carton of cigarettes home, a benefit of working for the ‘factory’. Every week, I’d steal a pack and sneak around outside, pretending I was a man.
About a year later, my grandmother, Mama Lacie, caught me. She gave me a choice of being whipped or having my mouth washed out with Lava soap. When I chose the belt, she firmly let me know that the smoke went into and out of my mouth and it was that end of me that was going to get worked on.
Lava soap has a taste you never forget. I didn’t smoke for about a year after that. But during my 10th summer, working in the tobacco fields, the inevitable smoke break would come every morning. I don’t remember which day it was. I don’t remember which man it was. Still, one day that summer, one of the men in the field offered me a smoke and I took it. I’ve been smoking since that day, with only a few brief interludes.
Atelectasis
That was 39 years ago. Last week my left lung partially collapsed. It is perhaps one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever had to endure. Sitting here at this keyboard is nowhere near easy. But I feel like I need to let you know what’s happened here, why I haven’t published anything here in a week.
According to the online Mayo Clinic,
‘Atelectasis may be due to compression of the lung tissue or obstruction of the air passages (bronchi). The collapse may affect only a small part of the lung or the whole lung. Pneumothorax and pleural effusion can cause the lung to partially collapse without closing off any of the airway. A partially collapsed lung may slowly re-expand without treatment. But a severe collapse of a whole lung can be life-threatening and requires emergency medical attention.
…
If you experience the signs and symptoms of atelectasis, including shortness of breath, chest pain and cough, seek emergency medical attention.’
Well, I have a sincere dislike and lack of trust of medical people and modern medical procedures. I have yet to allow a doctor to look at me. But I am giving it some consideration. At the least, I should probably have some xrays done.
Pneumothorax
So what actually causes something like this to happen? We can say: ‘Smoking causes it!’ but that tells us nothing, really. Again, the Mayo Clinic has a great series of pages on it:
A lung can collapse for many reasons: a growing tumor blocking a major airway, an infection, even an inhaled foreign object. One type of lung collapse, known medically as a pneumothorax, occurs when air leaks into the area between your lungs and chest wall (pleural space). The pressure of the air against the lung causes it to give way, often leading to mild to severe chest pain and shortness of breath. A pneumothorax can be caused by a chest injury, certain medical treatments, lung disease or a break in an air blister on the lung’s surface.
A lung collapses in proportion to the amount of air that leaks into your chest cavity. Although the entire lung can collapse, a partial collapse is much more common. A small, uncomplicated pneumothorax may heal on its own in a week or two, but when the pneumothorax is more severe, the excess air is usually removed by inserting a tube or needle between your ribs into the pleural space.
If air continues to build up, the increasing pressure can push your heart and blood vessels toward the uncollapsed lung, compressing both your lung and heart. Called a tension pneumothorax, this condition is life-threatening and requires immediate medical care.
Clear The Smoke
Let me make this clear. If you smoke, you will eventually harm your body. You can play the odds, and you will lose. You can pretend that it doesn’t affect everybody, and you will be proven wrong. You can laugh at the warnings from your friends and family, and you will eventually not be able to laugh without pain. You can ignore the warnings all around you, and in ignorance, you will reap the appropriate rewards.
If you smoke, you are probably already addicted. You’ve played with the idea of quitting, but the addiction is so hard to beat. You can’t imagine a stronger addiction. Well, I can.
I am Jon, and I am addicted to life.
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I hope this means you’ve quit… ? And go to the doctor already, please? I’d kinda like to have my favorite older brother (don’t tell the others) around for awhile, whether he wants to be or not. Call me if you need anything. I love you <3
Comment by Melinda | August 5, 2008
Jon, sorry to hear the news. Great post though that’s hopefully a strong warning to your readers who either smoke or are thinking of starting.
Get well soon and keep up the good fight.
Comment by Fraser | August 5, 2008
I totally agree with Melinda, well except for the favorite brother, but you can replace that with my life-long friend. I also agree with Fraser that this was a very informative posting. I saw Hermine at church on Sunday and she told me, my stomach clenched and I’ve fought back tears since. I can’t stand the thought of loosing anyone else for a while, especially someone I’ve cared so much about for so long and over something like a pneumo which can be treated. If there is anything Mike or I either can ever do for you please, please know all you need to do is call. I know you have the numbers and I gave them to Hermine as well. Take care of yourself and know how much we care.
Comment by Donna | August 5, 2008
Thank you for the wonderful support folks.
@Melinda and Donna: The doctor will be seeing me tomorrow. I think I’ve given this particular event enough time and Stesha will be taking me. Try not to worry, as I always say, ‘I ain’t dead yet’.
@Fraser: Thanks for letting me know you stopped by. All of you up there in NY and points North are important to me. As for the post, it’s embarrassing to admit how cavalier my attitude was back then. Even through the 70s, after we found out that cigarettes were killing us, I thought I was different. I carried a conscious commitment to quit when I turned 30. Then 35. Then 40. Such is the nature of an addiction.
I stopped into a local restaurant for a salad and coffee this evening. One of the regulars asked how I was doing with my efforts to quit smoking. I told her I was doing pretty good, not smoking all day. She asked if I was using the patch, she’d heard good things about it.
I told her I was using the pain, and it was a surefire way to go, unless you could avoid it…
Comment by Jon | August 6, 2008
You can ignore the warnings all around you, and in ignorance, you will reap the appropriate rewards.
Wise words.
Comment by Melinda | August 6, 2008