For weeks, Larry Bremmeyer Sr. shrugged off his cough and runny nose.
Family members, friends and employees tried to get the 56-year-old Vancouver man to see a doctor, but he kept brushing off his illness as a common cold. In late November, Bremmeyer’s health took a sudden turn for the worse. And by the time he sought medical care, it was too late.
After spending five weeks sedated in the intensive care unit, Bremmeyer died Tuesday from complications of pneumonia. His family was stunned, unaware of how critical pneumonia can become for a healthy man in his mid-50s. Now they hope to educate others about the risks of the lung infection.
“It was just so shocking,” said Melissa Bremmeyer, Larry Bremmeyer’s daughter. “Why didn’t we know how serious this was?”
“He was just stubborn,” she added. “He wouldn’t see a doctor.”
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in the lungs. The air sacs can fill with fluid or pus, leading to a cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and difficulty breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Pneumonia can range in seriousness from mild to life-threatening. The infection is most serious for infants and young children, people older than age 65, and people with health problems or weakened immune systems, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Bremmeyer was none of those. Bremmeyer had a routine checkup with his doctor about six months ago and was in good health, with the exception of carrying a little extra weight. He had no underlying medical issues, never had been hospitalized. He had never had pneumonia.
Each year in Clark County, an average of 37 people die from pneumonia. In 2015, the most recent year of available data, 38 people died from pneumonia. Ninety percent were people who were older than 65. The others were older than 55, according to data from Clark County Public Health.
Bremmeyer, who owned East Vancouver Automotive, first showed signs of illness in September. By November, he was coughing up phlegm and his nose was running nonstop, Melissa Bremmeyer said.
“He had some good days, some bad days,” she said. “His bad days were getting worse.”
On Sunday, Nov. 27, Melissa Bremmeyer grew concerned about her dad. He was sleeping all day and, from the other room, she could tell he wasn’t breathing normally during his sleep.
She and her mom, Theresa Bremmeyer, convinced Bremmeyer to go to the hospital. By the time they reached the hospital, Bremmeyer was short of breath. In the emergency room, he turned blue and his oxygen-saturation levels plummeted. He was intubated and put on a ventilator. He never regained consciousness.
The family learned one lung was full of pneumonia. The other had collapsed. Bremmeyer stabilized, but, five weeks later, his oxygen-saturation levels dropped again. This time, there was nothing doctors could do.
“He fought for five weeks,” Melissa Bremmeyer said. “He was waiting for the holidays to be over, and then he gave up.”
“It was just so shocking,” she said. “This is all because of stupid pneumonia.”
