Pneumonia!

When my husband was diagnosed with pneumonia my first reaction, because he could walk and talk, was, "oh, people survive pneumonia all the time, that's why its called 'walking pneumonia.'" The doctors quickly schooled me on the facts. Pneumonia comes in many forms, and much depends on when it is diagnosed and how it is treated. In every form it is a serious, potentially fatal illness. To call it "walking pneumonia" is to be dismissive of its seriousness. If not taken seriously, and treated, it can suddenly take a deadly turn.

That's what happened to Howard. He thought he had a bad cold, tried self-medicating, took the course of trying to "power through." By the time he finally got to a hospital, and got the antibiotics he needed, it was too late, and after three weeks on life support, he died at age 57.  His pneumonia was streptococcal, bacterial, with symptoms that included fever, cough, aches and pains. That's why he thought it was a bad cold or flu.  A chest x-ray showed one lung was compromised and the other lung was on its way. The doctors said a similar case happened to Jim Henson,  the creator of the Muppets, who had many of the same symptoms as Howard, reportedly put off treatment, took a turn for the worse and died suddenly at age 53. 

In our modern age with advanced medicine, pneumonia caught early is treatable, and many people survive. Pneumonia that is ignored is still a killer.