S.O.B.

Posted 3:00 AM by Gerald So

Appropriately, the medical abbreviation for shortness of breath is the social abbreviation for son of a bitch. Almost two years after my mother, then eighty-nine, developed pneumonia with complicated pleural effusion, spending a week in the hospital and two weeks at a sloppy rehab facility, shortness of breath at a checkup Tuesday led her to a four-night hospital stay.

Her life wasn't as in danger this time, but her right lung proved to be trapped, so though a January 2023 pleural tap relieved her, the doctors advised against a second. Instead, they inserted a catheter to self-drain the fluid in smaller amounts, first once daily, then two or three times a week.

Since the pneumonia, she's acquired an oxygen concentrator, tanks, a cane, a walker, a wheelchair, and recently hired a caregiver, all of which allowed her to be discharged today to home care. The catheter is a palliative measure. Leaky valves have left her heart too weak to prevent the fluid buildup.

It was a small miracle she recovered from pneumonia two years ago during Advent. Now to have her life prolonged just before Thanksgiving, I'm surely thankful.