Pleurisy, Really??

About two weeks after going home from the hospital when Alyssa was born, my dad and I decided to take the baby up to Payson to see my grandparents. A day or so prior, I had begun noticing a pain in my right rib. I had had the same pain the month before having Alyssa and my doctor told me I had Bronchitis so I just figured I had pulled a rib muscle and tried to ignore it. I didn't want to take any more pain medication; I had been off of it for about a week from my c-section. While in Payson, this pain came and went, becoming more intense when I would breathe deep or move in a different position. My grandma had made us all soup, so as we sat down to eat, the pain became worse. I told my dad and we decided to head back home. About 10 minutes after hitting the road, I could barely stand it! The pain in my ribs was so intense it felt like someone was constantly stabbing me with a fireplace poker. We called my mom and she told him to take me to the ER at Arrowhead Hospital. Unfortunately, it was during rush hour traffing and we were driving West on the 101. You get the idea. Just past Fountain Hills, I was crying and begging my dad to stop at the closest emergency room; I didn't care if it was the Mayo Clinic, just stop! After what felt like an eternity, we made it to Scottsdale Shea Medical Center and my dad stopped at the front door to let me out. He parked the car and got Alyssa while I practically passed out in the doorway of the ER. After telling the staff what I was feeling, they quickly got me into a room and hooked up to every machine imaginable. Test after test was run, only to find.....nothing. The doctors could not see what was causing me this much pain! The doctors decided to admit me to run further tests, but the worst part was not being able to see Alyssa. She was at home with my parents and Justin and since the doctors weren't sure what was wrong with me, they wouldn't allow me to have her with me. Can you imagine, giving birth 2 weeks prior and not being able to be with your newborn 24 hours a day?? It's awful. But I was pretty drugged up so at least the days passed in a bit of a blur. After several tests, scans, IV's, etc, the doctors were finally able to figure that I had Pleurisy. It's similar to Pneumonia, only the fluid has built up between the lung and the protective sac as opposed to building up inside the lung. 4 days later, and armed with breathing exercises, I was finally able to go home.
I had to promise my doctors that I would do my breathing exercises several times a day, and it was hard, but after about a week I was finally feeling better. They refused to allow me to lift Alyssa on my own but I was able to feed and cuddle my baby girl. Every passing day brought less pain and a bit more energy but we weren't out of the woods yet.....