Here I am in the transplant wing of Tampa General Hospital, waiting for 2 new lungs. I was admitted on November 28th & after 24 different tests a medical board reviewed my case & was placed on the transplant list on Dec 5th. So now we wait.
The name of my disease is Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). More info on that here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiopathic_pulmonary_fibrosis. It all started 20 years ago. I went Elk hunting in Colorado with some good friends from SUPERVALU. When we reached the top of the mountain, I lost my air. A few days later, I had to get down off the mountain.
I had a real problem breathing, the mountains just made it more obvious. Once back in Minnesota, and a number of miss diagnosis later, I was put on high doses of prednisone for about 9 months. That seemed to work, at least for the next 10 years.
In 2008 it was back. The same recovery plan had similar results. That seemed to work, at least for the next 5 years.
In 2013 it was back. This time it never went away. So we tested and tested and continued with the prednisone. We couldn’t or didn’t put a name to it until this year, now we know it’s called IPF.
The only cure for IPF is a lung transplant. I'll be here in Tampa General Hospital until that day. Thank you for your concern and your prayers. Kim & I appreciate all of you, more than you know. We will keep you updated through this page.
