When Michelle Ellis learned she had a partially collapsed lung, doctors at SWHCS were ready to help.

At first, Michelle Ellis shrugged off the dull pain in her back. "I thought I had pulled a muscle while carrying my toddler," she recalls. She didn't think to mention it during a routine chest X-ray a few days later (her internist, Purnima Patel, M.D., had ordered the test during a checkup). Then, while driving home from the X-ray, she received an urgent call from her husband.

An Emergency Situation
"He told me to get to the Emergency Department right away," Michelle recalls. "The radiologist had been trying to reach me with the news that I was walking around with a partially collapsed right lung."

The X-ray had revealed a spontaneous pneumothorax, in which air escapes into the space between the lung and chest, preventing the lung from expanding properly. Left untreated, Michelle's lung could have collapsed completely.

Immediate Care
Upon arrival at Inland Valley Medical Center, she was met by a team of physicians and her husband, Rich Ellis, Chief Operating Officer at Southwest Healthcare System. The couple was shocked to learn that Michelle's lung was 40 percent collapsed. Treatment involved inserting a chest tube between her ribs to remove the excess air and allow the lung to reinflate.

"It was frightening, but I felt that I was in good hands," she says. "Everyone took the time to explain exactly what was happening." After a night in the hospital, she was released.

Recurrence and Recovery
The experience served her well three weeks later, when she experienced similar warning signs. This time, she knew to go to Inland Valley immediately, where another chest tube was inserted. She ultimately was transferred to Scripps Green Hospital in San Diego for a laparoscopic procedure to seal the lung and the space in her chest cavity to lower the risk of another recurrence.

Today, Michelle is slowly recovering and getting back to her busy schedule as a mother of four. The Ellises and their doctors are thankful that the problem was caught relatively early. "It shows how important routine screening exams are," Rich says. "If it hadn't been for Dr. Patel's diligence, it could have been a much more serious problem."

"This was the first time I had a health emergency, and I'm grateful it turned out the way it did," Michelle adds. "I'm looking forward to getting back to my life."

Give Your Health a Tune-Up
As Michelle Ellis' story shows, life threatening conditions can be caught through routine checkups. To schedule an appointment with a physician, please call Direct Doctors^SM Plus at 1-800-879-1020.

Inland Valley Medical Center 36485 Inland Valley Drive, Wildomar, CA 92595 (951) 677-1111 Rancho Springs Medical Center 25500 Medical Center Drive, Murrieta, CA 92562 (951) 696-6000