A Diagnosis of Pneumonia.

And what happened before and after.

Welcome to Denyse Whelan Write Here.

Whilst I am grateful that I DID not have pneumonia after an intial diagnosis one day before Easter, I just wanted to set the record straight about 5 DAYS I never want to experience again.

I take selfies as a record of my days

Health Issues From Burnout.

I’ve written before about the ‘emotional exhaustion aka burnout’ I was diagnosed with in January 2025. It came off a very challenging health-related decade in my life where anxiety, Irritable bowel syndrome and oral cancer were top of the list.

And after 2 years of being back in Sydney (home, as I call it) my very elderly father getting to 100, and then 6 weeks later hospitalised and a relatively short illness before his death…and managing grief and a year of financial and legal stuff….

I WAS INDEED BURNT OUT!

I took measures to step back from any ‘obligations’ and to self care. Easier said than done but as the exhaustion took hold, so did the old (and familiar) foes of fear, anxiety and I.B.S. And, a few times my G.P. said I had a virus.

Sigh.

BUT WAIT…there is MORE.

My confidence dwindled, my doctor was kind as was B of course but in the end we do this health/life journey alone.

I became in need of more help via a psychologist and an increase in the anti-depressant I was on…and I.B.S. just kept turning up to remind me of my inner stress.

I was OVER it by the time the weekend before Easter April 12-13 finished and in an effort to have some kind of bowel control on that Monday morning, 14th, I took (cautiously) a second immodium after the first one earlier.

My body let me know this was not wise..ha! And the pain that centred under my breastbone was far too familiar to forget (2010 and 2014 memories of diagnosed pancreatitis) so B drove me to local, privately-run specialist urgent care clinic, and I was carefully and well-treated for pancreatitis (diagnosed through markers in blood tests within 2 hours).

View from my bed. I had a drip in with meds and I dozed a bit too.

After the pain settled I was advised to go to hospital but I refused saying that I had been through this before and knew it would settle. They advised a CT scan (had it there at no cost) and follow up blood tests later in the week.

Glad to be going home after 4 hours.

The Week of Easter Coming Up.

I felt OK from the pancreatitis (and threw the immodium out) and rested but also became unwell with some kind of ‘virus’…I did at-home test of covid and flu but OK. Knowing Easter (Good Friday - Easter Monday) our G.P. practice would close, I got a phone consult and referral to pathology for blood tests and swabs.

Getting The Results. The Day Before Good Friday.

“YOU HAVE PNEUMONIA”

My regular doctor was away so I saw someone I have a few other times, and I was truly weary from the ‘virus’ and the ‘pancreatitis’ episode. All swabs came back negative. Yay. Bloods from the Monday were OK. Yay. Still to get results from Wednesday’s blood tests.

He wanted to listen to my chest. He did, with thoroughness and care, and pronounced “You have pneumonia”. And B and I were shocked by this news. My temperature never went over 36.3. My breathing was fine. O2 levels too. But the G.P. detected crackles on left side.

I did not want to have the treatment of strong anti-biotics (memories from oral cancer surgeries and the reactions of my gut) but he assured me that I could take pro-biotics and I had to do this. Oh, and pop next door for a chest Xray.

“Not happy Jan” is an old Aussie adage. True for me but I tend to obey medical rules..mostly.

His final words, if you become more unwell, go to hospital.

The Doctors’ surgery and the X-Ray and Pathology places all closed for 4 days over Easter. I had an appointment to return to the G.P. on Tuesday 22 April.

I did NOT relish the prospect of these 4 days but did as I was told.

Good Friday. Unforgettable.

I felt less than great. I started the anti-biotics the night before. I was worn out and I tried measuring my oxygen levels using our O2 measure and it read 93. YIKES. The Australian Website for Health where you can ask questions reply to this was

GO TO HOSPITAL.

I admit I was fearful of what was to come, and would I need to be admitted. We have a couple of good private hospitals about 15 minutes away and one has an ED now run by another private company for Emergencies and Urgent Care. We already knew the cost was high (and non-refundable) but the benefits of ‘not much waiting’ and more made the choice non-negotiable. It was a silent me in the passenger seat and B drove us.

It was a quiet day in Emergency. I was seen immediately by the triage nurse and my story shared as he measured Blood Pressure and Blood Oxygen. The latter was NORMAL and GOOD at 98%. We then determined the machine at home was broken.

In came the most amazing doctor who knew her stuff. She was great. Listened to my story ‘of the week that was’ and then my chest, very thoroughly:

“Clear as a bell”

YOU DON’T HAVE PNEUMONIA.

“But we will do your blood tests (and maybe an X ray) and once they’re back you will be fine to go home.” said most wonderful ED doctor ever.

Always a cannula in 'just in case'

That was SO fine, I did not even get onto this bed. B went home for lunch and by 2.30 or so, after good blood test results and my discharge letter (no X ray, too busy) I was out…and coming home..to throw out the anti biotics!!

FOLLOWING DAYS and More.

My initial reaction was relief. But I still felt tired like a virus. I took it easy over the weekend but the tension left my system and suddenly my body wanted to EAT again. And I always tried to keep up the fluids.

FEELING BETTER IS SO GOOD!

I recovered over the four days and even enjoyed a drive to see the River…but at the back of my mind was the G.P. follow up visit on the Tuesday and the X-Ray results.

The G.P. was both puzzled and delighted to see me. His listen to my chest revealed a clear set of lungs and the X-ray from the previous Thursday had no evidence of pneumonia. “Bizarre” he said…and I said “yes, but all good” and after the week that was…worrying as well as wearing, I said “No more doctors, I am off to enjoy what I have missed in the last 4 months”.

He smiled and agreed.

Now that I have more time to reflect health checks can be just such an imperfect measure at times. I also know though, that I finally felt EMPOWERED to begin my re-entry of sorts.

Hair cut (late) but so good.

GOING SLOWLY BUT SURELY WITH CONFIDENCE.

This version of me has learned more about the older versions from my past years’ experiences and I am going slowly and surely into what parts of life I have missed and what I need to do health wise. I am overdue to podiatrist visit, and one to see my prosthodontist, along with having a bone scan. But here’s the difference, I am spacing these appointments out and giving myself recovery and rest days as I need them.

That’s my story. I am glad I could share it on line as it has helped me with healing.

Do you have some interesting results that might have been proven incorrect from a medical professional?

I guess it just shows, if we do, that they too are human and fallible.

Denyse x

Joining with Min and friends for WWWhimsy a friendly link-up each Wednesday held here.