Ok, not as dire. The doctor got several xrays done, the lungs are ok. He does have 2 broken ribs though. The theory is that the broken ribs are causing irregular breathing which can lead to infection/pneumonia etc.

They just pumped him full of dilaudid and he's got an abutrol nebulizer breathing treatment going now. I think he'll be discharged in the next hour or so.

Thanks for being here everyone. It helped me keep my shit together, I tell you what.

the lungs are ok.

Good news. Broken ribs, as I understand, are painful and all. But they heal.

And I am glad you had a place to worry aloud and then be strong with some support, Nora. Tonight sounded scary for you and for Tom.

Cass, yes. I am glad and grateful. Tom was super scared and I was able to stay calm thanks to the late shift.

Yikes! I'm glad Tom has something that time and a bit of care will heal.

Aims, I hope you're feeling better.

{{{Nora & Tom}}} Quick healing to Tom. Do we need to start wrapping Tom in bubble wrap?

{{{{{Pix}}}}} Your reaction sounds calm compared to how I would react.

Healing-ma for Tom. What a stressful night for you guys. Just reading this thread was stressing me out. I am glad it's ribs out of all the possibilities.

Oh Nora, I am so sorry you and Tom had such a scary night, but I am glad it turned out to be not as dire as it seemed. Heal fast, ribs!

Oh Nora, how scary for you and Tom. Here's to quick healing.

I have an exciting morning planned of waiting for the plumber. I should be doing laundry, but I'm going to hold off in case they need to shut the water off. Some cheap-fix~ma?

Yikes, Nora and Tom! I'm glad you got him to the hospital so it could get diagnosed and treated. Glad it's not a heart attack or collapsed lung.

But Hubby has single handedly raised the survival rate for heart attacks in our county. It's not necessarily the utterly catastrophic thing it could be.

My dad will kick in his FIVE heart attacks, just to raise the survival rate higher.