It’s been about a week and a half since we heard from the Cleveland Clinic pathologist and there are some plans to see if the steroids are going to help either clear up something else which is going on in my lungs or, perhaps, at the same time begin to slow down or find a way to slow down the IPF. There is a common consensus the IPF is there.
I went for a bone density scan the other day which was almost comical because they wanted to check the density of my bones across my body so that they have a baseline on where I’m at now and see what the steroids do to my bone density overtime. Well… I’m there with the radiologist and trying to get things set up for the bone scan. They can’t scan any area that has got surgical steel or metal implanted in it. By the time we were done reviewing all of the surgeries and all of the steel implants I have and false joints or whatever, they ended up being able to take one photo section across my hips and that’s it. My hips were the only bone scan they could do. Everything else has already got something implanted in it. It will be an interesting but very short read on that scan I think!
I also had another chest X Ray just to see if there’s any difference in that X Ray from the last X Ray and again to watch it for any changes. Now for an echocardiogram because the pathologist found one or two cells in the lung that seem to have higher blood pressure than others or something to that effect so they want to make sure that there isn’t something cardio also going on that they could be somehow affecting the overall outcome. That’s not scheduled until late in May so I’m not I’m not making any big plans for that yet.
How have I’ve been feeling? I get that question asked a lot and there’s a lot of hopefulness that the steroids is going to slow down things a little bit, but I am still getting winded and I’m still, you know, the heart rate goes up when the oxygen saturation goes down, it’s a challenge. However, I continue to be able to rest or sit down for a time and my oxygen levels recover so I’m very thankful for that and I trust and hope that that will continue to be the case. The 02 level dropped pretty low today but even then after a short rest, it was back in the 90’s.
Thank you everyone for your prayers. I am always amazed at someone who will step up to me and tell me they’re praying for me because they’ve seen this blog and the readers it’s getting, I’m grateful for you all. I want you to know through this blog that it is God in control. Christ is the captain of the Starship and we’re going to take it wherever He wants it to go. I’m very content with just following his lead because I know He knows what’s best. I trust him fully and there is no place I’d rather be than right there by His side. So, how do I feel? As my father would say back when he was facing tough times… “with my fingers.”
I’ll keep you updated as things go. Right now, it’s just wait and see and that’s what we’re doing. God bless and have a great rest of your day!
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