By Aidan
Introduction:
On January 19th at 9:15 I felt a rather strange pop in my chest while working out at the Otto Recreation Center on campus. This quite literally took my breath away and I found myself calling my friend to take me to the emergency room. After several X-rays I was told that I had a spontaneous pneumothorax (a collapsed lung) and was told I would have to have a chest tube placed in immediately. Fast forward three days and my lung was unable to support itself, so I am told I need surgery the following day. I had what is known as a Vats procedure (Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) and during this a small part of my lung was removed. Talc pleurodesis was done as well to cause irritation inside the chest cavity to prevent fluid buildup. I ended up spending a week in the hospital and was overwhelmed with support from professors from MNSU and from friends and family. I ended up having to spend a week at home to get my breathing back and heal enough to live on campus again.
Keeping up:
When I returned home finally in street clothes, I thought that there would be some restoration of normality. However with all the meds I had to take, the stamina I had, and my sleeping arrangement, it was not the case. The medication made it very difficult to stay awake for long periods of time, and the combination of having a large surgery and having to spend most of my time in the hospital sitting had my stamina at an all-time low. Due to pain and the difficulty I had breathing, I was unable to sleep on a regular bed and had to sleep on a recliner so I wasn’t all the way back. This unfortunate event had me missing two full weeks of school and all I could think about was how I would get caught up with both classes and research. I decided to embrace my situation and be thankful I was alive and healing. Getting caught up was very difficult as studying and lectures made up at least 12 hours of my day for days on end but with the help of professors, I was able to overcome the adversity. I felt as if I had let my lab partners down by not being there to help and was sad I was missing learning. My two lab partners Lauren and Eli have been amazing about carrying the load while I was gone and helped me learn the material I missed. Dr. Land along with my lab mentors have got me up to date with the protocols and have been so very supportive. I am so excited to be back in the lab and look forward to what this semester has to offer.
Reflection:
This was a very difficult experience that tested me both physically and mentally. Having to make up two weeks of school when new material is being pushed out is difficult and would not have been possible if my professors were not as supportive as they were. I was so excited to see my peers in the flesh and live normally again. Regardless of the field of study you are pursuing or research conducting I find it important to prioritize health as it is sometimes easy to forget we are all human and setbacks are inevitable. I hope to stay healthy and now have a newfound appreciation of everything I am able to do both inside and outside of RISEbio.
