Mother was immediately hospitalized after arriving at the general hospital by ambulance. She had pneumonia and was struggling with excessive phlegm accumulation in her lungs, requiring suction treatment.
At my examination, I was told, "You have mild symptoms, so you won't need specialized medication." Mild? Despite having a 40°C fever and being unable to drink water due to severe throat pain? I felt dismissed. Though unlike mother who couldn't walk, I could still move around.
Surprisingly, by that evening, my throat pain suddenly subsided, and I could eat again. Was it really mild, or had severe symptoms rapidly improved? I suspected the difference lay in our initial treatment approaches. Father, who received similar treatment, remained fever-free at this point.
We began visiting mother daily (except for me until full recovery). Father, emotionally distressed without mother, went to visit regardless of circumstances. Mother could barely eat anything.
Days later, father developed a fever, testing positive for the same illness. He received strong specialized medication, but after completing it, developed a progressively worsening cough. Hospital tests showed neither asthma nor pneumonia, leading to mild cough medicine prescriptions initially.
The medicine proved ineffective, and his condition deteriorated severely. He couldn't sleep due to constant coughing and developed urinary control issues, leading to frequent accidents - it was truly a devastating situation.
The hospital then prescribed strong inhalation medication for asthma, but it didn't help. They referred him to urology for the urinary issues.
As his symptoms worsened, two relatives shared information about coughs potentially being heart-related. They told us about someone whose persistent, undiagnosed cough was eventually discovered to be cardiac-related - tragically too late for treatment.
Could the cough be heart-related?
We decided to switch hospitals, visiting a respiratory and internal medicine specialist. Though uncertain, I boldly requested a cardiac examination as well.
To be continued...