Seems to be the new theme around here. Do a long training walk……get sick. ( by sick I mean an asthma exacerbation) Thursday I did the second to the last of my really long training walks for the Boston and Rome marathons (18.1 miles to be exact), and now, a day later, I’m having a [...]
From the Archives
I look too Healthy
I get this all the time......... "You look so healthy" "You don't look like you have a disability" "You can walk farther then I can" "You look amazingly fit for someone with severe asthma" "You make marathon walking look so easy", and so ...
Double Whammy Asthma
I often find it frustrating that here I am, a life long asthmatic, a Respiratory therapist and an asthma educator, yet still unable in normal conversation, to describe what makes my type of asthma so different from others. When asked to define asthma in general, I usually give the ...
I'm a recovering Albuter-holic
Rick, the author of the Respiratory Therapy Cave , wrote to me the other day talking about what it was like growing up with severe asthma. One of the things he mentioned that I thought was kinda funny, was how he used to sleep with an inhaler ...
Asthma guilt trip
How many times have you had a really bad asthma flare, but had serious trepidations about going to the emergency room for treatment? How many times have you felt guilty that maybe you weren't sick enough to be admitted to the hospital? Well, that's pretty much been the ...
Healing Walks
Carolyn Scott Kortge's new book is finally out and guess who's in one of the chapters? Carolyn contacted me about year ago for this project. She thought I had an interesting story to tell, and that it would fit in nicely with the motivational theme of the book. It's really ...
My New Old Passion
It's actually not a new passion, more like the reigniting of an on again, off again love affair Ive had since early childhood. I'm referring of course to the bass guitar, or for that matter any other heavy string instrument. My introduction into the world of making music actually ...
Boston 2011 Race Report
They don't call it the best marathon in the world for nothing , and this year was no exception. The weather was near perfect and the spectators and volunteers outdid themselves. The moment I entered athletes village and the disabled athletes staging area early Monday morning, my worries and stress about ...
Buried Alive
The photo is from the movie "Awake" , but what happened to me last September was not fiction. It was the real deal. I'll share with you now, what I couldn't 9 months ago because of pending legal action. Ive since withdrawn my lawsuit against the parties involved and ...
A quarter million puffs
Care for some Albuterol? (Hey.....how did the primatine mist get in there?) I sometimes jokingly claim that Ive
Questions for Dr. Wenzel
Last week after finding out just how damaged my lungs really are, the only thing going through my head was..WHY? All of the assumptions I had made about my asthma throughout the years, suddenly didn't seem to make sense anymore. I was beginning to wonder if ...
Do you know when it's time to go in?
The idea for this post came to me during the middle a recent severe exacerbation. Actually, it was the same exacerbation that put me in the hospital for 12 days, for which I am still recovering. Foremost on my mind during one of these really bad flares is the ...
Asthma Breathing Zones
This is the 2nd installment of my " Breathing, the mini series". This one is more for the non-asthmatics out there, but I think some of our lung challenged friends might learn a thing or two as well. If you hang around asthmatics or browse as many personal asthma blogs ...
#97 , misinformation and a virus from Hell
Battle scars: 4 failed arterial line attempts and 12 failed IV attempts. I have no veins left and my radial arteries are so scarred up from previous insertions, that it's virtually impossible to get access unless they put a central line in. Very frustrating for the doctors and ...
Multi-tasking
When you spend as much time behind a nebulizer as I do, you learn to put that time to good use. A back massage, reading a good
I wonder ?
I wonder what it would be like, for someone like me, to walk the mother of all races? To be allowed to participate in the most prestigious marathon in the world? I’m referring of course, to the
The Culprit
Finally, a possible explanation of what’s been causing the numbness and pain in my right arm, hand and shoulder. After more than
Its Shoe time!
It’s time once again to decide on a shoe to wear for this years long training walks ,and of course , the race itself. So far, Ive narrowed it down to either the Asics Hyperspeed 2s, or the Loco Banditos . I’ve used the Asics on my 5 milers a few times and they worked [...]
The Great Experiment
Earlier this week I got a chance to sit down with my Pulmonologists to discuss the problem Ive been having with these acute flare-ups that seem to develop a couple hours after doing my longer walks. (Sorry, this post has a lot of medical respiratory jargon in it, but I couldn’t find a way around [...]
Ready or not, Boston here I come !
here) and from what people have told me, it should be a pretty exciting 4 days. I’m looking forward to meeting up with a few of my friends who are also doing the race. I’d also like to get out and tour some the famous Boston area sights. Ive never been to any of the [...]
13 miles…. but at what price ?
OK, I’m starting to get a little frustrated. Ive been doing everything by the book in training for the upcoming marathon in March, but it seems that my body has other plans. It was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday morning and a perfect day for walking in San Francisco, but once again, a couple hours after [...]
The answer is ….YES !
Received the official word today, looks like I’ll get a chance to walk the mother of all marathons. My application for a slot in the “mobility impaired” division of the Boston Marathon was approved. More details as I get them….
Run the Rome Marathon right from your Computer.
In preparing to do this marathon for the second time, I thought it would be cool to retrace the marathon route step-by -step. However, the only available map of the course ,which is located on the marathon website , is more of a illustration than an actual map. So I decided to create my own [...]
Drink Drink Drink
That’s my motto from now on. One of my New Years resolutions for 2009 was to force myself to drink more liquids, namely water. I’m notorious for not hydrating enough, especially during exercising and training periods. It’s no secret that Ive had terrible problems with muscle cramps and soreness and it’s a pretty good bet [...]
Walk kind of walker are you?
Just as runners come in a variety of flavors (joggers, runners, sprinters, hurdlers, marathoners, ultramarathoners, etc.),not all walkers are alike. They also come in an assortment of flavors. ( Marciatori Racewalking Track… Circa 1900 ) (Italy’s Ugo Frigerio wins the 10-kilometer race walk at the 1924 Olympics) By definition, “walking” requires one foot to be [...]
Earthquake In Central Italy
My sympathies go out to the victims and families of the Earthquake which occurred in the town of L’Aquila in central Italy early Monday morning. It breaks my heart that so many people died or were injured. The destruction appears to be massive. We in California are not exactly strangers to Earthquakes. I know all [...]
2008 in Review
OK, everyone seems to be doing a 2008 year in review, so here’s mine. I fitness walked 838 miles , which is way down from the almost 1,000 miles I walked in 2007 and more than 1,200 miles I walked in 2006. Most of that decline was planned, because I wanted to spend more time [...]
