How I Quickly Recovered from Atypical (Walking) Pneumonia

I did take some natural supplementation as part of my recovery plan; yet that was at the pointy end of my recovery, once my GP declared me medication free, but to just "Rest, and drink up with some healthy fluids." It is rare for any Atypical (Walking) Pneumonia sufferer to land in hospital; yet the lung foundations worldwide say that this happens in exceptional and serious circumstances. It really makes you wonder if a pandemic is classed as an exceptional circumstance, while a more serious respiratory infection is transmitting in the community? Case in point, it really makes you stop and think.

Pneumonia did not flirt with me, eight days after contracting it. It sent me to hospital, immediately after a COVID-19 swab. It is common for people with pneumonia (of all types) to be wrapped in a foil space blanket, yet it is not needed for all pneumonia sufferers. On the bright side, not all of us need copious amounts of oxygen, and/or to end up in intensive care on a vent either.

Those that love to take to the friendly skies know all and well that doing so was virtually impossible since early 2020, and definitely so in Australia (where yours truly lives) with interstate and overseas border closures in place. On this, I was on a lucky streak to take a trip to Melbourne, Australia (the COVID-19 lockdown capital of the world, second to Italy) for business; and while at it, to then catch a coach from there to Deniliquin to finally see a couple of family members who moved down there just before Christmas.

I get it, it is not best to travel interstate or overseas in the midst of a global pandemic, yet the coast was clear in my country at the time, meaning that there were zero cases of community transmission, way before knowing that the more serious delta strain was a thing. I was healthy enough to take the trip, and I knew that doing so would grow my new UX Design business. Being excited for this trip was a mammoth understatement, as I had not hopped on a plane in more than a year, and it was nice to get out of New South Wales again.

Due to being the thoughtful, sensible and practical person that I am; I knew that the meeting I attended in Melbourne was not possible to conduct on Zoom, and that covid safe practices would be taking place, even to the point where two business people wore face masks in the meeting room. I was sensible in taking a calculated risk, by booking the flights and accommodation when I did, because I did not want to run the risk of being stuck in Melbourne or Deniliquin for 14 days.

I even flew business class (not to impress, but rather to impress upon you the need to physically distance from other people for the duration of each flight, and to exit the plane as quickly as possible in staying safe and healthy); and once I landed in Melbourne, I wore a triple layer face mask at all times both indoors and outdoors, with the exception of eating, and when I was in my hotel room. I also kept at lest a couple of metres away from other people, and kept the first round of my Melbourne trip short, as in one night and two days only, just to attend this meeting, and to do some other freelance work (taking my laptop down with me); and to also be a bit of a tourist again.

Upon waking up the day after arriving in Melbourne, I had a runny nose, and I was coughing. I felt a bit groggy, yet felt it was only a cold, so I stayed strong, and continued to stick to my own covid safe plan. The time came to leave Victoria to head back into New South Wales (to Deniliquin) to see my family, and enjoy a two day holiday. The sneezing and coughing became worse, despite my foster mother urging me to take some Sambucol; and I also had some Strepsils antiseptic throat lozenges with me, and I just wasn't getting better. I was feeling fatigued, and I had no appetite. I still had the energy to be a tourist, and to enjoy eating out, even though my portion sizes were smaller than everyone's else's (I even left food behind on the plane trip to Melbourne). One minute I was warm, and the next I was having chills. I was also coughing up blood, and it felt like I was hit by a bus. I also lost my voice.

Three days later, the time came to head back into Melbourne, Victoria by coach; and then I headed to a pharmacy to buy more throat lozenges, and I noticed that I also put on a bit of weight, and my heart rate and blood pressure skyrocketed when tested there, in addition to my wisdom teeth aching. At that point, we both thought I just had the common cold, yet this cold was all too uncommon; even to the point where the staff at the next hotel I checked into (for my second and final night in Melbourne) had to put their face masks on, to assist me when my room key failed to work.

I was unable to function, and luckily with one of my two ongoing clients, they were able to find another UX Designer to cover for me while away for business and leisure; yet with one client I had five hours of work ahead of me, when all I wanted to do was curl up into bed, and take hot baths. My pants felt warm, when I had a bout of diarrhoea, and was unable to make it to the toilet in time in the studio apartment I was staying in.

Upon returning home to Sydney, I had a couple of face to face client meetings, and towards the end of them my face turned hot pink/red, due to all of the talking. On a zoom meeting the next day, the same thing happened. The coughing was also non-stop and chesty.

The time came when I was able to go to the local hospital's COVID-19 clinic, and to arrange a swab/get tested. The nurses asked me why I was there, and I rattled off my symptoms, and they all wanted me to head straight to the same hospital's emergency department to get checked out. The triage nurse was even wearing a gown, and after only two minutes of waiting, a nurse calls me in, and examines me, and immediately finds me a bed in isolation.

Tests, cannulas, mobile chest x-rays in my hospital room, and drips were the order of the day; in addition to my body being poked and prodded; yet I was lucky to not need oxygen, despite wearing a face mask in a single room. One minute I needed a blanket, while on other occasions I was ok. I was finally allowed to go home once my temperature was 99 degrees fahrenheit (still feverish) about five hours later. I was told by the doctor that my prognosis was either COVID-19 or pneumonia. Thankfully it was the latter if anything.

On the recovery, pneumonia is one of those illnesses where you need to follow everything that the Doctor prescribes to the letter; otherwise your lungs could get damaged. That is, if herbs are not part of the treatment plan; do not take them yet. My recovery began with more bed rest (where I needed it) and five days of two of the most powerful antibiotic concoctions, where one of the tablets had to be consumed with non-dairy food. The sputum continued to be from clear to red in colour. The follow up session with the GP came via a tele health consultation, and despite feeling much better a week after my hospital stay; they still would not allow me to step foot into the medical centre.

I was fortunate to still be able to work, yet I needed to respect the fact that I needed to go to bed at 4pm for a couple of hours most days during my recovery. As I was off the medication so quickly; all of my long list of symptoms disappeared within two weeks, except I was heavily fatigued and still coughing often. My partner advised me that my recovery was "impressive," and from that point I took some refrigerated probiotic powder for a week, to then switch to the tablet form, in addition to resting and drinking plenty of water.

A wholistic doctor suggested me to go and get a Vitamin C IV drip, and go to a health retreat for a couple of days; and I did not need to do any of those during my recovery process, yet took up his advice of upping my herbal tea intake. Since this trip away, I have managed to stay away from alcohol. Within a month the coughing and the fatigue (the last of the symptoms) finally went away, right in time for a busy month (being June 2021). To this day, I have just finished taking some natural detox and debloat tablets, and my stomach has settled down again.

Atypical pneumonia is not as severe as typical pneumonia, yet the symptoms linger around for longer. Research from the lung foundation states that it can take around six months to recover from both types of pneumonia in either case, if you are one of the lucky ones to survive. I am grateful that I fully recovered in a month, and for the periods (only a small few) where I could not meet my work deadlines; I had understanding and compassionate clients.

I think my immune system is now ready for the first COVID-19 vaccine, yet another GP appointment needs to be arranged in order to be really sure.

All in all, I was just unlucky, and happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time.