A new pulmonologist; a new hope for antibiotics

This summer, I had an overly zealous resident doctor who wanted to solve all my medical challenges. She referred me to four different doctors, one of which was a pulmonologist. I was not in need of a pulmonologist. My lungs were doing ok. I did not want to keep the appointment.

The day before the appointment, I asked if I could do a telemedicine appointment. The answer was yes. I was given the telemed information. I tried to download the app, but it was ONLY for smartphones. I could not complete the telemed appointment because the app would not work on my devices. I re-scheduled for an in-person appointment a few weeks later.

The day before my second appointment, I again asked to have a telemedicine appointment. This time, I was able to use my mom's smartphone. I downloaded the app. I waited and waited for the appointment. It never happened. The day after the appointment, the clinic calls me to tell me my appointment (from the day before) was cancelled because the doctor had an emergency. The appointment was re-scheduled again.

A few days before the third appointment, I was starting to cough up thick, yellow sputum. My airways were heavy and congested. I laughed because now I actually needed to see a doctor. When my telemedicine appointment started, I was shocked the doctor knew about tracheostomies. He said I sounded bad. (My raspy voice and coughing were noticeable via the video conference.) He said he was going to prescribe antibiotics. He then wanted a sputum sample to see if I needed IV antibiotics.

I was stunned the doctor was being very straight forward and wanted to treat my symptoms. For nearly three years, I have been sick with respiratory infections. I would beg for IV antibiotics, but they would usually not be prescribed. I would become very sick and end up in the hospital. Now, this doctor is trying to treat me and prevent me from being hospitalized. I am overwhelmed with joy. He also wanted to have another appointment the following week to see how my symptoms were. My previous pulmonologist rarely followed up. My appointment were usually 10-16 weeks apart. If I needed anything sooner than that, I was forced to go to the emergency department.

After fighting for so long to get medical care, I have basically given up. I wait until I get really sick, go to the emergency department and hope I am given antibiotics which are effective against the bacteria in my lungs. I am usually given strong, potent antibiotics in the emergency department, but then I am discharged home on oral antibiotics which do not work against the bacteria. The infection never clears. I never get rid of the bacteria. In the weeks to months ahead, the infection comes back. I again go back to the hospital to start the process all over again. But perhaps, this endless cycle may now be coming to an end. My heart overflows with gratitude to God for this amazing doctor.