Photo taken several days ago as I prepared to go play chess with friends. You can see the oxygen tube to assist my breathing.
Greetings to everyone. I hope that as you read this you are in good spirits and health. As many may know I have been through a tough patch of health related crises. I’ll give you a rundown as well as update you with how things stand currently. Also I want to invite you to join with me for the New Year celebrations here at the temple and I’ll give you a rough outline of what will be happening.
Recap on Health
This is one of the chest tubes after surgery. This tube splits into four separate tubes inside my chest. This is before an additional tube was inserted.
On the 6th of November I was flying across country to visit my brother in California. While on the plane just before landing in Phoenix Arizona for the last leg of my trip, my lung collapsed. This means that a hole developed in my lung which caused it to become deflated and due to the fact it was my left lung it fell on top of my heart. This meant that I was unable to draw in air in half my lungs and my heart had to work extra hard to continue to do its thing with the lung now wrapped around it. The heart/lung issue is normal depending upon which lung collapses. While on the plane some emergency aid was provided until we could make an emergency landing. Upon landing the paramedics were waiting and immediately took me off the plane and to a local hospital emergency room.
The first thing done was to insert a tube into the side of my chest. Because all pain reducing medications inhibit lung function I was not given any anesthesia or pain medications. It was quick insertion and beyond the initial pain of cutting the necessary hole, the most painful part was the wiggling of the tube to get it between my muscles and ribs and into the proper spot in between my chest and lung.
After waiting 3 days to see if the lung would properly inflate itself, sometimes it does, sometimes it does not, it was determined that I would need to have surgery to complete the re-inflation of the lung properly. On November 11 I had lung surgery to carefully lift the lung into place and an additional tube was placed in my chest.
All of the procedures were reasonably successful and so I won’t go into a lot of details.
Finally on November 25 roughly 3.5 weeks later, I was discharged from the hospital in Phoenix after one of the chest tubes was removed. My brother, who lives in California just east of Los Angeles came to pick me up and drove me to his house. I spent two weeks at his house trying to recuperate.
My recuperation was only so so. It was difficult to get to the Veterans Administration Hospital, VA, from his house and since that hospital was not my home hospital I really was not fully connected with a good medical team. Because of this I decided that getting home to Syracuse was my best medical decision.
My brother, Tim, as we waited for the train to Chicago at the San Bernardino Amtrak station.
I took the train from my brother’s house to Syracuse, traveling 3 days. Since I can not fly because of the potential for the lung to re-collapse I had no choice other than train or bus and bus was out of the question.
After arriving in Syracuse I immediately went to the Syracuse VA and was admitted to the ICU for almost one week. I had multiple lung infections that needed to be treated with strong antibiotics given through my veins. After discharge I had to return to the hospital one more time for 2 days in the ICU.
Current Status
I am now at home and have been at home now for over a week with no issues. I went in on December 24 and had the final chest tube removed. It is now December 29 and the pain is significantly less than before. There is still a great deal of pain, however I can tell a difference.
I am still very weak. Walking from one end of the house to the other is an exhausting journey. Showering is exhausting. Going upstairs is impossible, though I did make it up once the other day, and needed to rest before I could come back down.
I am on supplemental oxygen to assist my breathing. I can happily report that my use of oxygen is significantly less than when I first came home. I do not know if I will ever be able to not need oxygen, however that is my long range goal.
I receive daily home visits from nurses sent by the VA. They have been a great support and they are able to monitor my health on a daily basis without needing to be in the hospital. The may provide me with a chair lift to get upstairs, we shall see what they say after the reassess my long term health prognosis.
Long Term – Future
We never know exactly what the future has in store for us. Some things I do know are I can not fly for a long time if ever again. Medically, normally the restriction would be for 3-4 months. In my case 6 months to a year or more.
Oxygen use will be necessary for the foreseeable future. Around the house I only use it occasionally. I can not, should not, leave home without oxygen tanks. I don’t know when or if that will change. My hope is that it will become less necessary and I am exercising to make that possible.
Strength is greatly diminished. I am very weak and unsteady on my feet due to that weakness. I am doing exercises at home, walking in place and leg exercises given to me by the VA. I will be going to physical therapy shortly after the new year to further increase and regain my strength. Before this happened I was walking up to 3 miles a day several days a week. I would like to get back to that point soon. Presently I need to walk with the assistance of walker to support my weight and provide support for balance.
Drawing of two of many people who have greatly assisted me. The top figure is Michelle, a dear friend from Charlotte who one morning had blueberry waffles delivered to me from a local eatery, Funk n Waffles. The other woman is Susan who had four bags of groceries delivered to my door including several already prepared meals and staples for cooking. Two of many Bodhisattvas who have helped me.
Weight loss continues to be an issue. It has been difficult for me to prepare meals and eat properly. With the support from the VA as well as friends we are working on trying to get my weight back up again. Weight loss has been a lifelong challenge and this illness only exacerbates the problem.
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