Day 47

What a day.  I took my next door neighbor, Frank, out for coffee and to the beach for his birthday.  He turns 50, Happy Birthday Frank.  He's really a good guy.  He and his wife Debbie fed our dogs, both morning and night while Lovely Linda stayed most of the time with me at the hospital.  10 days or so, and he hand fed our picky eater, Lucas.  What great neighbors and friends!
I also went to see my girls at the Pulmonary Rehab Center at Morton Plant Hospital.  They were closed.  I was going there before the transplant and they were very kind to me and a lot of fun.  I also tried to go by my friend Wendy's home.  Neither place was available, so I went to my mother-in-law Agnes' to have lunch with Agnes and Lovely Linda.  Then I went to the beach and actual ran, albeit short spurts, on the beach.  Probably 2 miles of running and walking.  Not bad for an old guy with 31 year old lungs.  Yes I know the age of the lungs.  I chose not to know where they came from or the gender.  Let your imagination run wild.  I have heard everything like, " a black lesbian's lungs."  Guess that's why I still love women.  Ok that's enough of that.  Today's mission, Give a dollar to a homeless person.  Go ahead  and try it.  It'll make you feel good.

History III

Went home with Lovely Linda, still not wanting to accept everyone's diagnosis I started doing more research via the Internet. A warning about researching on the Internet, some is very useful but a lot is just plain CRAP! Be careful what you read and believe. I decided to get a 3rd opinion, and decided The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio was the best of the best. So, I checked with my insurance company and found them to be in network, so I made an appointment. We went in December 2009. Met with Dr. Jeffrey Chapman, a great guy and very knowledgeable. After 2 days of testing, he concurred with the other diagnosis, IPF. He thought it was a bit early for a transplant, but indicated that things could change rapidly. Boy did they, as I found out later. He wanted me to come back in three months for a follow up, then he said that within the year I would need the transplant. Not the news I wanted, but he didn't feel I needed a transplant right away. So, I had some more time to research. In January Tampa's Transplant team called to see what my status was. At that time I had taken a turn for the worse. I couldn't walk a flight of stairs, and needed 8 liters of oxygen 24 hours a day. I told TGH, (Tampa General Hospital), that I had met with Cleveland Clinic and they wanted to see me in 3 months for a follow up. The nurse, Kim, reminded me that they try to do things before you get so bad that you don't qualify for a lung transplant. I told her I wanted to wait for Cleveland Clinic. She said she would notify my local Pulmonologist and take me off of their list at TGH. She seemed a little pissey.