My son Will had a Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax (Lung Collapse)--again.

First one was four years ago in his right lung, this one is in the other. So far, it appears this one is less severe and won’t require any invasive procedures and he’ll heal up fine with just a little rest. Will recognized the symptoms pretty quickly this time and after waking up with chest and back pain lost little time in calling an ambulance and checking into the Emergency Room at his local hospital. Smart move and glad he's not more like his stubborn and stoic Dad. Once there he called me --and then Ellen and I got there a few hours later.

Big hospital (NY Methodist) in the heart of Park Slope and the biggest Emergency Room I’ve ever seen. When I got there I tracked down the doctor who had attended to him when he arrived and got her assurance that a Pulmonary specialist would be coming to see us shortly. Two hours later we’re still waiting. And I can’t find the first doctor anymore. It's a busy place, and for some of the evening it’s really jumping with a couple of cases that appear to be matters of life and death—so I remain patient. But after another hour—my patience runs out and I make something of a nuisance of myself. And it seems to work because soon after baring my fangs at the front desk and interrupting doctor #1 in the middle of a consultation with another doctor –we get some attention. As Ellen said: “squeaky wheel…” and she’s right, but it’s never fun to have to act like an entitled A-hole when all you want is at least some information—even if it’s to tell you how much longer you’re going to have to wait. Luckily, Will was doing ok, except for an hour or so when the pain was severe enough to warrant some Percocet so he could at least wait more comfortably. And he still had his sense of humor—when Doctor asked about any history of chest injuries, Will rattled off list of minor scrapes and bruises and then added: “…Oh, and a broken heart.”

Anyway, so far, so good. Hoping to hear more good news today and hoping he’ll be released. TBD.