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As I mentioned in my last blog post, towards the end of last year I got sick. Really sick. Usually I bounce back from things really quickly. I pride myself on living a healthy, balanced lifestyle and keeping my immune system really strong with good nutrition, supplements and exercise. This experience has humbled me and taught me a lot about not taking my good health for granted.

Here’s my story:

My doctor believes this is how I contracted pneumonia: my husband tested positive for Covid and was quite ill. My toddler was also ill shortly after, but nothing serious and I felt a little bit of a head cold – mild symptoms, but no major fever or aches and pains. I was also being tested for Covid three times a week at work, and all the tests came back negative. My doctor says this could have been because they were rapid antigen tests and not PCR, so not always accurate, especially with the newer strains. I felt mostly fine and didn’t take any time off work. My postnasal drip started to develop into a cough, but I still felt A-Ok. I carried on with my life – working, exercising lightly and not giving it much thought. I am always reluctant to go to the doctor, as most of the time they’ll just prescribe a blanket antibiotic and that has so many long term side-effects. 

I can’t remember how long this cough persisted, but it started to get worse and worse. It developed a deep rattling sound in my chest. One day at work, I went from feeling ok, to suddenly feeling like I’d been run over by a bus. Then the fever started. I went home that day feeling awful and got straight into bed. My gut told me something was really wrong. I had an inkling that my cough might have developed into pneumonia, so I started googling symptoms. Tick, tick, tick to all of them: fever, body aches, rattling and congested cough, tiredness… It was time to take action. 

The next morning I made an appointment with my doctor and she immediately diagnosed pneumonia on listening to my lungs. Luckily the infection was only in one lung. She prescribed antibiotics (and it’s times like this when I will definitely say yes and be grateful for modern medicine) and booked me off work for a week. Taking time off from work in the film industry (even when severely ill or injured) is kind of frowned upon. It’s crazy, but true. Anyway, I put all my work guilt aside and got into bed, took my meds and slept and sweated it out for days. Rest really is the best medicine and I should have listened to my body sooner, but we live and learn. 

After a few days, the antibiotics had kicked in – my fever was down and I had a little more energy. Now this is the gross part with pneumonia. Once your body has kicked the infection, it will start to get rid of all the debris (phlegm) in your lungs. I have never coughed so much gunk up in my life. Some days I was shocked at the amount of gunk that I could hack up. I was really gross to be around – hacking and snorting and spitting away – but doctor’s orders were to get it out! This coughing continued for many many weeks, even after I felt totally fine. I did a lot of research and it said that pneumonia recovery can take anywhere from 1 – 6 months. I defs wanted to feel better sooner, rather than later, so I did ALL the things to help support the healing process. 

My doctor recommended deep yogic breath work to get the lungs strong and moving. She also recommended blowing water through a straw – you can look up some of these lung strengthening exercises. I also did a few Kundalini yoga kriyas which targeted the lungs – have a search on YouTube – there’s loads of free ones.

I really focused on hydration – not just water, but making sure my body had enough minerals and electrolytes to help in recovery. My fave electrolytes (no sugar and proper amounts of minerals) to use are DripDrop and LMNT. You can also make your own hydrating solution by just adding a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon to your water. I also drank loads of vegetable juices, hot lemon/ginger/honey drinks and took plenty of ACC200 (which is high in Glutathione) to help rid my body of all the excess mucous. 

Nutrition wise, I tried to avoid dairy as much as possible, so as not to produce any more mucous. I focused on plenty of nutrient dense vegetables and fruits, as well as protein. Your body needs more protein than usual when recovering from illness or an operation, so load up on the meat, fish and eggs! If you’re plant based, make sure you’re getting a variety of legumes, nuts and maybe a good protein powder to support recovery. Easy to digest foods like soups, smoothies and stews were very nourishing and comforting. In an ideal world, friends/family or a healthy meal service should be preparing these meals for you so that you can rest rest rest!

I took my usual arsenal of supplements: multivitamin, vitamin C, Vit D, Omega 3s. I added a probiotic and colostrum to support and heal my gut after the antibiotic course. I also took extra zinc and I started taking Quercetin, which is an amino acid that optimises immune responses and supports lung health. I highly recommend this if you have any respiratory issues. 

I took as much time off and rest as humanly possible (as a working mother!) and slowly eased back into “normal” life. I didn’t want to stress my lungs and body out while it was still so vulnerable, so I started with very short, gentle walks once I was feeling stronger. I think it was six or eight weeks before I felt well and strong enough to do proper exercise. 

I was lucky that I only developed pneumonia in one lung and didn’t need to be hospitalised. Many people are not so fortunate.

This experience reminded me how grateful we should be for our good health – to not take it for granted EVER! It also reminded me of the importance of listening to our bodies – they whisper, whisper and then they SHOUT for us to pay attention… and sometimes when it gets to the shouting stage, it can be too late. Honour your beautiful body. Know when you need to rest, slow down or ask for help. 

I am happy to say that I am 100% recovered and feeling strong, fit and vibrant again. I hope that this post is helpful in preventing you from getting too ill or in helping you or a loved one on the road to recovery. Please always seek medical advice and don’t rely on Dr Google or the internet for diagnosis and treatment! 

Let me know if you have any questions!

Much love 

xoxo

Oona