The initial symptoms of pneumothorax are sudden onset, sharp pain on the affected side of the chest like a needle prick, lasting briefly, followed by chest tightness and difficulty breathing, making it hard to lie flat. In August 2018, while working in the office, I suddenly felt intense fatigue and slight stinging in my back ribs. Lifting my hand was exhausting, a sensation I had never felt before, but I thought it was just work fatigue. I ignored it, went home, and after a night’s sleep, the pain was gone by the weekend, so I assumed it was nothing. In the afternoon, a colleague invited me to go shopping, and since the supermarket was a couple of kilometers away, we decided to walk. As we walked and chatted, the same symptoms reappeared—this time with stabbing back pain, weak legs, and painful breathing and chest tightness. I broke out in a cold sweat and felt nauseous. My colleague noticed my pale face and asked if I needed to go to the hospital. I declined, returned to the dorm to rest, and felt slightly better the next day.

However, after climbing six flights of stairs to the dorm later, I felt an overwhelming fatigue, sharp back pain, and nausea. Still, I decided to sleep it off. By the fourth day, chest tightness returned, forcing me to take a day off. While walking to the nearby supermarket for supplies, the pain returned, now excruciating with every breath. I couldn’t take it anymore and went straight to the ER, where the nurse quickly assessed my severe pain and gave me a priority emergency pass. After a CT scan, ultrasound, and EKG, the doctor told me my lung was compressed by 80% due to pneumothorax, common in tall, thin males. Immediate hospitalization was recommended to allow a thoracic specialist to examine me.

By the afternoon, I was admitted and assigned a primary doctor, an experienced, kind specialist who reviewed my CT results and explained that my pneumothorax was caused by large lung bullae and would require a thoracoscopic surgery to remove the bullae. Stunned, I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. The surgery was estimated to cost around 40,000 yuan, which worried me as I didn’t have even a tenth of that amount. However, the doctor informed me that social insurance could cover 70-80%, which eased my concerns, so I signed the consent.

The next day, I prepared for surgery, and my sister came to support me. The surgery involved general anesthesia, and although I felt slight pain initially, I eventually lost sensation and fell asleep. I awoke groggy and weak, with a drainage tube the thickness of a finger inserted into my chest. Breathing hurt, and I couldn’t speak or walk. My sister had to hire a caregiver for me. Gradually, I recovered and was discharged after about ten days, but I relapsed a couple of months later with a 30% lung compression, requiring another tube insertion. This pattern of recurrence persisted, each requiring hospitalization, and kept me in constant fear.

The doctor advised me to avoid heavy lifting and ensure a nutritious diet. After several recurrences, I tried various treatments and eventually found a supplement that helped stabilize my condition. Since November last year, I’ve been symptom-free for over six months, managing light activities with ease—a level of recovery I never dared to imagine.