How I Survived a Mid-Flight Lung Collapse 🫁

✨ Ever wonder what it’s like when both your lungs suddenly give up on you? 🫁 Here’s my journey with bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax—by far the scariest experience I’ve ever had. 😮‍💨

It all started with a lingering cough that just wouldn’t go away, so I went to see a doctor. They prescribed some meds, and I thought I’d be fine. Fast forward a few days, I was on a flight, feeling okay, getting ready to start service, when out of nowhere, it felt like my chest just collapsed. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak—just gasping for air. Within minutes, I was out cold.

I vaguely remember my colleague putting an oxygen mask on me, but I still couldn’t catch my breath. They paged for a doctor onboard, and though they tried giving me an inhaler, I couldn’t inhale properly. That’s when the pilots decided to make an emergency landing back to Singapore. I was rushed to Raffles Medical, but soon transferred to Changi General Hospital (CGH) after they saw something off on my ECG.

At CGH, they did an X-ray and discovered both of my lungs had collapsed—yes, both! 😵 My right lung was in worse shape, so they had to insert a chest drain immediately to relieve the pressure. It wasn’t pleasant, but I knew it had to be done. After a few days, my right lung started improving, but the left side wasn’t recovering on its own, even with oxygen. So, they had to insert another chest drain on the left side.

I spent about a week at CGH before being transferred to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for surgeries to repair both lungs. The surgeries were necessary to prevent future collapses. Right now, I’m still recovering and may need more surgeries, but I’m taking it one step at a time. 💪

For anyone going through something similar, I know it’s terrifying, but hang in there.

I’m happy to share more if you’re curious—stay tuned for part 2 if you’re interested😊

#pneumothorax #recoveryjourney #AdultingWoes #MyFirst #MyLemon8Diary