Yikes! I've been away so long I had to sign back in!
Treydog, Mrs. Treydog, I hope both of you are doing well after your procedures. Grits, after the summer I've had, I'll be happy to have a
normal season!
I've fallen far behind and I don't know when I'll be able to catch back up on everybody. But I have news!
BIG NEWS!
After months of dealing with steadily worsening respiratory issues (including proliferating lung nodules) I finally have the answer! Hypersensitivity pneumonitis! McBadgere knows it well as farmer's lung. In my case, it is likely triggered by mold growing in our humidifier since last winter combined with the horribly hot, dry, dusty and moldy summer we have had around here.
We replaced the humidifier pad and the furnace filter, and will continue to do so every three months during the heating season. And the vents are getting cleaned out this Friday.
I've just started a course of treatment with high dose prednisone (taper off after two weeks). I was laid up in the hospital for a week following complications with a needle biopsy, ended up having an open lung biopsy via thoracoscopy. So I have about four or five small incisions around my right side, plus a larger one where they had a chest tube the size of a garden hose in place for two days after the procedure.
As part of the patient safety and risk management protocol at the hospital, the surgeon had initialed my right chest to indicate which side to operate on. Sneaky honoured user, he waited until I was under to do that. When I woke up, I looked down, saw his initials, and griped "They put the wrong tattoo on me! It was supposed to be a
SeaBee tat!" (Dad was a SeaBee during Korea).
I don't know when Julian will be back. She is determined to finish this story, but she understands that I've been struggling this past several weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to get the rest of the story written down so we can finish out our postings soon! Like, before Nanowrimo starts. Yikes! That's a little more than a week away!