by Jennifer Bunn

Created on: September 29, 2008

Having just recovered from my first pneumothorax, I can assure you that this condition is quite painful and terrifying at the time of occurrence, and leaves you with the lingering fear that it will strike again.

I was attending a wedding out of town with my three children, ages seven, ten, and sixteen. Between the wedding and reception, we decided to do some shopping at the local mall. Being from a very small town, we love to take advantage of shopping opportunities whenever we go out of town. I had been feeling vaguely unwell all day, with a nagging pain in my chest that I had chalked up to driving for a long period of time. The pain was not severe, but I was uncomfortable. However, I soon got into the spirit of shopping as we traveled fron store to store looking for shoes for everyone.

As we walked in the mall, I was suddenly overcome by the most intense pain I have ever experienced. It started at the apex of my heart and soon spread to my upper chest and underarm, then through to my back. With every breath the pain intensified. Walking made it evn worse. I quickly found a place to sit while my mind raced. I am 39 years old and thin, and as a nurse I thought to myself that it was highly unlikely I was suffering a heart attack. I felt that the pain was related to my lung, as breathing intensified it. I sat and attempted to breathe shallowly while my sixteen-year-old daughter threatened to call an ambulance. I strictly forbade her to do so, although I was feeling very scared myself. Having been dropped off at the mall by my father, who had returned to his home a half hour away, I did not want to "bother him" to come and pick us up. I was not thinking very clearly due to the agonizing pain of breathing, else I would surely have ceded to my daughter's wishes to get help.

After sitting for awhile, I felt somewhat improved, enough to crawl to a drugstore in the mall and request the strongest over-the-counter medication that they could give me. I swallowed three tablets and sat and rested again. After another half hour passed, I found the pain had improved enough that we could leave. I called a cab and rested until it came. We actually went to the reception for a short time, as my two youngest children had never been to a wedding and were heartbroken at the thought of not going.

Upon going to bed that night, and still experiencing pain, I became alarmed at what can only be described as a crunching sound that occurred with every heartbeat. I was suitably alarmed by this but still did not seek medical attention that night as I did not want to wake up the local MD. I slept fitfully, and in the a.m. decided that perhaps I should see the doctor, who was suitably impressed by the "crunching" sound of my heartbeat.

I have since learned that my lung collapsed partially, and it has since healed on its own without the insertion of a chest tube. I have been chided for not coming to the hospital right away. However, I can assure you that, having once experienced the pain, I will definitely "bother the doctor" should it occur again. Apparently, my chance of reoccurance is fairly high and this scares me the most. I have no desire to experience that pain ever again! Should it happen again, I will be smarter and seek help immediately, as a spontaneous pneumothorax can progress to a life-threatening emergency if not treated adequately. I am suitably chastened.

I now live every day fearful that it will occurr again, like waiting for the proverbial "other shoe" to drop. I have come to realize that denial is powerful even in professionals who should know better, and I urge anyone who ever experiences pain such as I described to seek medical attention immediately. I have learned my lesson!

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