Before Dr. Fletcher left the exam room he stopped, turned his head, looked at me and said emphatically, “If you remove wallpaper or paint again you need to use a mask.” Two weeks later I scraped, caulked and painted the last room in the house that needed painting and I wore a mask. I did not cough during or after the painting and I am breathing well.

The Evil Cough

I was weakened with a cough that wouldn’t stop.  My breathing was fine but the coughing was constant. No fever, just an uncontrollable hacking.  Since I insisted to myself that I have earned a “physician’s degree” by raising two kids and marching through life with various ailments; I thought that I could easily treat a cough. So, I began with great confidence by using cough drops, cough syrup, and sleeping sitting up to name just a few self remedies.  I kept thinking it would stop under my care. It didn’t!

I finally went to see Dr. Fletcher. When he listened with his stethoscope to me breath he said, “You have a crackling sound in your lungs.” A crackling sound, I thought? What is that? Is it the crackling sound of opening a new bag of potato chips? I don’t think I want my lungs to sound like a bag of potato chips. Dr. Fletcher continued, “I want you to get a chest x-ray so we can know better what’s going on in your lungs.”

The Chest X-Ray

Getting an X-ray is an easy medical procedure. All you have to do is hold your breath for a few seconds. However, it wasn’t that simple for me with my constant cough.  I was afraid I would cough during the holding of my breath and blur the X-ray. It was a long “few seconds,” but I didn’t cough until the time was up and then I went into an embarrassing, uncontrollable, coughing marathon.

The X-Ray Results

“I’m not happy with your X-ray results,” my concerned doctor said. “There is a shadow on the right lobe of your lungs.” Oh no, I thought, shadows are mysterious things and crackling shadows can’t be good.  Dr. Fletcher continued, “It may be that you have walking pneumonia. I’m going to prescribe an anti-biotic and see if we can clear up that cough and the shadows.” I thought, that doesn’t sound so bad. No sooner had that thought passed through my brain when, the doctor added…“I also would like you to have a C-scan of your chest.” I could handle walking pneumonia. Meds and rest can take care of that…BUT, a C-scan sounds more serious. I guess I should be afraid of shadows.

The C-scan Results

Two days later I got a message from Dr. Fletcher’s office that he wanted to see me. Now that sounds ominous. Usually the office gives me test results over the phone. The antibiotic worked and I’m feeling better and the coughing is almost gone. So, I wondered what’s going on?  I called the doctor’s office and made an appointment for the next day.

The Scary Questions

Dr. Fletcher walked into the examining room, shook my hand and said, “I’m happy to say that your C-scan did not show cancer, however, the shadows on your lungs are scar tissue.”  I thought that’s weird. “How did I get scar tissue in my lungs?” I asked.  “I’m a runner.  Runners should have clean lungs!” The doctor looked at me seriously, as doctor’s sometimes do and said, “I don’t know what brought on the scars, but I don’t like your having them. Your last X-ray showed clear lungs. Do you smoke?  Have you had lung trouble before? Have you been doing any different activities lately?

The Scary Answers

My answers to the doctor’s questions were: “I smoked once in the eighth grade, inhaled, got dizzy and swore off smoking forever. I had pneumonia when I was 25-years-old but that was way before the comparison X-ray you have on file which shows clear lungs.  I love to paint and lately I have been redoing three rooms in our house. I’ve also been removing ancient wallpaper by spraying the paper with a strong solution that takes off the nasty old stuff.  Oh, yea, and I had to caulk the gouges in the dry wall and then paint. “Did you wear a mask when you did all that work?” asked Dr. Fletcher. “No,” I answered, “Masks are a nuisance. You can’t breathe or talk while wearing one.”  Dr. Fletcher did not look happy. “The mask,” he said firmly, “might be a nuisance but it protects you from most chemicals. It’s possible that you burned your lungs, causing the scars.”

Yikes, my mind was wrapping around what Dr. Fletcher just said. I could have burned my own lungs because I was too full of myself to take good advice. My friends, Jean and Bonnie, both told me to wear a mask when I did any work with paint or chemicals. They said that they got dizzy when painting without a mask. I didn’t listen to them because I took great pride in knowing myself better than they did and “I” decided not to wear a mask. After all, I’ve painted before and have had no health problems. But, then again, I had never taken wallpaper off a wall. The wallpaper remover did smell a bit strong.

“Fools die for lack of wisdom” (Proverbs 10:21).

Epilog

Before Dr. Fletcher left the exam room he stopped, turned his head, looked at me and said emphatically, “If you remove wallpaper or paint again you need to use a mask.” Two weeks later I scraped, caulked and painted the last room in the house that needed painting and I wore a mask. I did not cough during or after the painting and I am breathing well. I will have to have a follow-up C-scan in six months. Through it all I learned that my great “I” needs not to be wise in my own “eyes.”

“Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones” (Proverbs 3: 7,8).

“Listen to advice and except instruction, and in the end you will be wise” (Proverbs 19:20).

Miriam Gautier is a member of Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Stuart, Fla.