Had a follow up appt with my pulmonologist, tachycardic all the time. But, here’s the funny part….. You know that “other” doctor they show in the clip? Thats Dr Lazurus! ( 35 years ago) who has been my lung doctor at UCSF now for 6 years. That would explain why he wanted me to see [...]
From the Archives
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 ...
Did you bring a note with you??
Back in the old days when you got sick and ended up in the hospital, it was probably because your primary care doctor put you there. Boy, have things changed. Nowadays you have one set of doctors who see you in the clinic when you're doing well, ...
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 ...
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 Ive since withdrawn my lawsuit against the parties involved and ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Me and Elvis do the Rome Marathon
Hey, what does yours truly, Elvis and the "Flying Grandmother" all have in Common? ...The Rome Marathon of course. Check out these other Italian websites : Corridori
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 ...
What a severe asthma attack really looks like.
This is what a severe asthma exacerbation looks like. This is the real thing. Unlike some movie portrayals, most severe asthma flares are a little less dramatic. Because Ive had this disease longer than most and have had so many severe exacerbations, I tend to be unusually ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
It aint all bad
Despite all the difficult times, I’m very lucky to call this place my home. Close enough to the city center , so we never get bored, but far enough away so we can enjoy the quiet. My great great grandfather was one of the first pioneers here, arriving in San Francisco from Ireland in 1848. [...]
Ohhhhh No…O2
Ive resisted this for a long time, but I suppose it had to happen eventually……I now have oxygen in my home. ( Just the sight of these little green cylinders bums me out). Hopefully, after I recover from this current bout, they will stay hidden in the closet , never to see the light of [...]
Recovering faster than a speeding asthmatic on steroids.
Ive only been out of the hospital for 4 days now , and despite being still quite sick, I’m actually starting to feel more and more normal again (thats a scary thought huh). Though very limited, today I was able to resume my daily walks. I don’t think healthy people realize just how much of [...]
Number 94….
…………..As in my 94th hospital admission for asthma. I had been feeling really crumby most of that weekend prior. My dyspnea was increasing and my peak flows were gradually trending downward. By Sunday evening it was pretty evident that this flare-up was getting worse , not better. I bolused myself with 60mg prednisone and decided [...]
The not so glamorous side of being a severely asthmatic marathon walker
Yeah, I made it to Boston , Ive walked the Rome and Portland marathons a couple times, and yeah Ive been written up in lots of walk magazines and medical journals, but I think a lot of people who hear about me or read my blog, assume that because Ive done all these things, that [...]
Whats next on the agenda?
Boston is definitely tough act to follow, but there are still a lot of fun races out there, and many more challenges I’d like to tackle. Next up for me are the SF and ET half marathons, both of which Ive done before , but want to do again…. each for different reasons. The San [...]
Enjoying the downtime
This past week my partner has been on vacation , which is the only time we really get to spend with each other. We really don’t venture too far from home , because he hates to to travel, so we’ll do a lot of things locally. One of his/our favorite things to do, is browse [...]
A quarter million puffs
Care for some Albuterol? (Hey…..how did the primatine mist get in there?) I sometimes jokingly claim that Ive
Mels 1000th
Meet another amazing walking friend of mine, Melvin. On Saturday May 16th, Mel completed his 1000th round trip walk across the Crockett,California . To celebrate his amazing achievement, about 100 of his friends and admirers, many of whom actually met Mel while walking along the bridge, gathered to take that historic 1,000th walk with him. [...]
A few more Boston Marathon Photos
You’re probably getting sick of hearing about the Boston marathon, but here’s a few more photos . These were taken mostly after mile 18… and it sure shows on my face. They’re high resolution photos and were bogging down this page, so I moved them over to Picasa. You can still enlarge them , but [...]
Some down time
To say I’m worn out by the frantic pace of these last 3 months, would be an understatement. Going from the highest highs to the lowest lows, and everything in between, I’m flat out exhausted! I need a couple weeks of doing nothing overly physical , so that I can recharge my batteries and start [...]
Hijacked at the Boston Finish line..
This is my account of what actually happened at the end of the race; ( warning: this is another long post) I think it started around mile 20 as we were descending into downtown Boston. The winds kinda whipped up out of nowhere and within a matter of minutes the temperature must have fallen 20 [...]
