Green Valley Moments

One thing you never bring up in Green Valley is someone’s health. You learn very quickly not to casually say to someone, “So, how are you?” If you do, you are considered fair game for receiving a complete medical history. I advise you to stop reading now, but for those of you who for some reason are interested in where I have been, you can…

I was advised some time ago that I needed a lung biopsy. Just a small incision and a couple of days in the hospital. Easy for them to say! I kept putting it off until I knew that I had to find out what was wrong with me.

I have dyspnea or shortness of breath on exertion. I have had it since last Summer. I have had bronchoscopies, MRIs, chest x-rays, all manner of cardiac testing, and still no diagnosis. Last Fall I elected to go on massive doses of Prednisone as recommended by my Pulmonologist. Several months later, and after experiencing all of the recognized side effects of Prednisone, and some not yet documented, the only change noticed was a worsening of my condition.

I went to the hospital Monday morning and got home this afternoon. I just now felt up to getting on the computer. I have many emails to answer, mostly from well-wishers who I will try to individually thank, but first I want to post something here for my loyal readers. All three of you.

A biopsy sounded basic enough until they started throwing around the term, lung surgery. Suddenly it sounded a lot more serious. I was given a general anesthetic and a 3-4 inch incision was made between 2 ribs. Two chunks of lung were removed; one sent to a lab and the other taken for culture purposes. The entry wound was stapled shut, but not before inserting a drainage tube, not much smaller than an ordinary garden hose.

I will never again chuckle under my breath when someone with a cracked rib winces in pain. There is pain with every breath. Yeah, there are pain medications to take, but the good ones are all narcotic, and they create constipation. But that’s a whole different story.

They sent me home with oxygen which I am supposed to take 24/7 until my next appointment a week from Thursday. So I am tethered to an oxygen generating maching with enough plastic tubing to go from room to room.

The good news is that I have a couple of new websites to work on, emails to answer, and posts to create for Green Valley Moments. The week should fly by quickly.

Remember, I told you to stop reading!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2005 at 8:43 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.