This one doesn’t involve marathon walking , or music, or sightseeing through an ancient city. Nope, this adventure is totally different. I’m going on a Polar Bear expedition in Churchill Manitoba in north eastern Canada. Okay, so maybe the word expedition is a slight exaggeration. I guess a more appropriate description would be “Tour”, but [...]
From the Archives
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 ...
My Trip to Churchill
My journey begins in Winnipeg (my very first time crossing the Canadian border). Just 2 days earlier there had been a pretty bad snow storm and potential weather delays at the airport were a big concern.Fortunately things worked out and I got there on time without any problems. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Bassist Extraordinaire…. Rick Shaw
A couple of Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of meeting one of my favorite bassists of all time, Rick Shaw. Rick has worked with all kinds of recording artists and is also the bassist for Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, my favorite jazz band. As a novice bass player, it’s difficult to express what [...]
Temporary Reprieve
Earlier this week I had my long awaited lung transplant evaluation at Stanford University. Dr Weill and the other team members were awesome. I learned a lot and am satisfied with the outcome. In fact I think everyone involved in my care to this point has learned something. Very few asthmatics are ever referred for [...]
Lung Transplant Evaluation Approved.
It’s been way too long since I posted to my blog. Been doing most of my updating via my asthma support group on Facebook. So anyways, after 6 months of going around and around with the insurance company, they have finally agreed to pay for a full lung transplant evaluation. My appointment is scheduled for [...]
So,what brings you here?
Over the years Ive built up a pretty loyal following of friends who are interested in what Ive been up to and how I’m doing health wise , but the bulk of visitors to this blog still get here while searching for answers to asthma related questions or topics. The following (in order of popularity) [...]
UK Adventure
Some photos of my recent trip to England. Had a great time and my lungs held out brilliantly. Traveled all over the central and western part of the country from Portsmouth to Liverpool. While in London I had the pleasure of meeting long time blogger Susannah and her husband Julian. How cool is that? Can’t [...]
Venous Access Port
After an estimated 104 hospital admissions for severe asthma and probably 10 times that number of IV sticks, I have no peripheral venous access left. A half a century of IV steroids has rendered my veins useless. The only place they can get lines in, are in my knuckles and toes. So rather than endure [...]
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 began at the age of 8. [...]
That Guilty Look
Tonight we had organic chile and beans. Took me all day to slow cook em, but man were they were delicious. So after eating we go into the kitchen to clean up and guess who’s sitting in the sink with that innocent look on his face. Don’t tell me my cat like chile beans? Earlier [...]
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 am now free to talk openly [...]
Air-Trapping
Ive written about this before, but this is such an important topic; one that effects most chronic lungers and causes more suffering than any other respiratory symptom, that Ive decided to come out of blog retirement to write about it again. Most of the information that Ive been able to find on the internet regarding [...]
Life after the Blog
Just a quick update on what Ive up too the last couple weeks. Lungs I’ve pretty much fully recovered from that last exacerbation and hospital stint. I think the intubation is what caused me to get so sick in the first place. An endotracheal tube is the perfect conduit for introducing bacteria and viruses deep [...]
Time to Move on
This is probably one of the hardest posts Ive ever had to write, so I’ll just cut to the chase. After 6 full years and nearly 600 posts, it’s time to call it a day. It’s been a great ride and proving people wrong along the way has made it even better. I promised myself [...]
