Man, has it been a trying few weeks. I went into a doctor’s appointment about 5 weeks ago for my routine clinic visit. I was a bit winded from walking from the parking garage to my office visit, which was unusual. Needing to take a break in the middle of the walk was a bit of a surprise.

When I got into the clinic and we started reviewing blood work and oxygen saturation levels, there was a small sense of concern due to the numbers. My care team opted to admit me so we could do a workup and see how things shaped up. An estimated two-day stay resulted in a 4-week stay. It appears that my small case of HKU1, a COVID variety, had matured into pneumonia and was doing some damage to my lungs. To make a long story short, I’ve been dealing with reduced lung capacity and extreme muscle fatigue and weakness from the 4-week hospital stay where I did much of nothing.

I’m back home and things are under control, but I’ve got a long road to recovery to get back to my normal form. I’m currently incapable of climbing stairs, so I’ve been living in the basement since coming home from the hospital. I’ve got all my creature comforts, so that’s been working out well. I think the biggest pain is being dependent on my family, most importantly my wife, for some of the most basic things in life. I need help with meals, since I can’t get to the kitchen. I can’t really shower without the assistance of my wife. It’s been quite the wake-up call on just how fragile life can be.

This is a temporary setback in my recovery, so I’m not totally despondent. But it has been a huge disruption and pain point in my life and the life of my family. I think the biggest pain is just how much has become complicated. Even typing this post is a bit difficult because of the amount of shaking and tremors I have as a result of medication. My hands literally go into uncontrollable shaking, which, if you’ve ever typed, makes things difficult. The tremors come and go, so I often just have to work around it based on timing. I do things when my body allows me to. Luckily, my lifestyle is conducive to this. My job is extremely flexible, so if I have to work odd hours, so be it.

Emotionally, I’m a bit of a mess. I have my ups and downs, and it really tracks with how I’m feeling physically. When I’m having tremors, for example, and feel limited, I get a little down in the dumps. The reality of my illness becomes more apparent during these times because of the adverse effects in achieving my immediate short-term goals. (Like writing this post, for example.) But when I don’t have those physical challenges, my spirits are high. I’m just now at the point where I’m starting to think about the things that I will probably end up missing out on due to recovery. Mancation seems like something I might not have the strength for this year. I’m using it as motivation for physical therapy, hoping I can have enough strength to get in and out of the house on my own power. We’ll see how that goes.

Life can come at you pretty fast. Sometimes all you can do is roll with the punches. The key is to not get too down. Lean on your family, lean on your faith, lean on your loved ones. And know that this too shall pass.

I’ll leave with this note. This is NOT a permanent situation. It’s a long recovery road, but it’s a road, and there is an end. I’m just starting that recovery journey now. I’ll get to the end of the road and be back on my feet in no time.