Pneumonia, a respiratory disease, is one of the world’s greatest killers that is still prevalent, and therefore it is vital to raise awareness of the disease. Sharing her diagnosis with pneumonia, Melissa talks about the fear of the traumatic experience.
Leading cause of fatalities from infectious diseases in the nation
Pneumonia cases in Malaysia are known as one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases in Malaysia, with over 18,000 fatalities. According to the 2023 statistics, 15.2 percent of the 119,952 medically certified deaths consist of patients with pneumonia.
Meanwhile, the Global Burden of Disease reported that in 2021, pneumonia claimed the lives of 2.2 million people, including 502,000 children. In the broadening numbers, the greatest risk remains with young children and the elders as the fight with pneumonia continues.
To raise awareness about the respiratory disease, World Pneumonia Day is celebrated globally on November 12, and this year, the theme is ‘Every Breath Counts: Stop Pneumonia in Its Track”.
What is pneumonia?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that is most commonly caused by viruses or bacteria. It can cause mild to life-threatening illness in people of all ages. However, it is known to be the single largest infectious cause of death in children worldwide.
In 2017, WHO reported pneumonia deaths in 808 000 children under the age of five, accounting for 15 per cent of all deaths of children aged five. People at-risk for pneumonia also include adults over the age of 65 and people with pre-existing health problems.
The lungs are made up of small sacs called alveoli, which fill with air when a healthy person breathes. When an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli are filled with pus and fluid, which makes breathing painful and limits oxygen intake. These infections are generally spread by direct contact with infected people.
Horrifying experience
According to victims, words could not comprehend the pain to grasp for air, and awareness for respiratory related diseases such as pneumonia is still scarce, with many still dismissing the extent of it.
For web designer Melissa, she recalled her horrifying experience being diagnosed with pneumonia and later on pneumothorax (lung collapse) in 2017. She was hospitalised for two months, twice being admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“It was unexpected. My parents only found out when we went to the emergency room (ER). I had been sick for about a week with a fever and a terrible cough and have been vomiting a lot of phlegm. We had been to the clinic before, and I was just sent home with some medication after being diagnosed as having a common cold.”
However, the cold never got better for Melissa. A week before she was hospitalised, she felt extreme weakness. “I also remembered seeing our white lights at home being yellow. The doctor later explained that it was due to a lack of oxygen.”
As she wasn’t recovering, her mother decided to take her to the ER. During the assessment, she was told that she needed to be admitted into the ICU. “It was just a shock for everyone,” she remembered the moment.
Stabilised, but scarred
The next few days went blurry for Melissa. When she recovered, her parents told her that they had almost lost her. During the ins and outs of consciousness on the hospital bed, Melissa recalled having a dream: “I was just talking to myself, or to God, where I was saying that, ‘I am at peace, but I don’t think I’m ready to leave everyone behind yet’.”
When she was transferred from the ICU to a normal ward, Melissa’s condition miraculously stabilised. Nevertheless, the disease had left her majorly depressed, scared, and in constant paranoia.
“I couldn’t be left alone, or I would just break down. My body became so weak I could barely walk, and I could barely lift my arm to brush my teeth or to eat; I couldn’t bathe; it was difficult to sit up without support.”
She remembered walking slowly to the bathroom herself while her mother and sister were asleep. “I didn’t want to burden them, but when I was inside, I fell, and I couldn’t get up. And I just stayed there and cried, thinking if it would be like that forever.”
The road to recovery
To recover was not easy. Melissa said that not long after her condition worsened, and she felt as though water was dripping down inside her chest. When her doctor performed a CT scan on her lungs, the result saw that she had pneumothorax. However, thankfully, with the help of a surgeon (who is also a family friend), Melissa recovered after a surgery was performed to expand her collapsed lung.
“After about two months, I was discharged and allowed to continue my recovery process at home, and I was beyond thrilled; I was finally able to breathe fresh air again, to feel the sun on my skin, to see people.
“This experience truly changed my life; I can honestly say I was not the same person after that. I was so humbled by the fragility of life — the fact that any of us could go at any moment. I learned to appreciate my body, my family, and the world outside.”
Though she has long since recovered, she was left with the aftermath of pneumonia in the form of a scarred lung and lower stamina in general. Emotionally and mentally, she was left with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where flashbacks would result in her being in tears and having panic attacks.
But as time passed, Melissa conceded that it’s less traumatic to talk about the experience. Though there is still a tinge of sadness whenever she talks about it, it does not bother her as much anymore. With the positive support and encouragement from her family and friends, she learned to forgive the past and move on.
