I receive of dozens of letters from people living with really bad asthma, but this one really touched me, because the person who wrote it….. is only 16 years old. Hey Stephen, Read your website have to say it was quite intriguing! Just want to say you are a hero and a role model for [...]
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 Ive since withdrawn my lawsuit against the parties involved and ...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 ...
Hospital survival Kit, don’t leave home without it.
This is what I call my Hospital survival kit. Always packed and on standby 24/7, my HSK is a small carry bag I keep in my bedroom, that’s filled with everything I might need for a hospital stay. If (or when) I get sick and have to go to the hospital, all I have to [...]
There’s a lot going on in our small airways
You’ve probably heard me talk about the “small airways” in our lungs, but you might be surprised on just how small they actually are. Here’s a color enhanced photo of the inner surface of our smallest airways taken with a scanning electron microscope. The hollow cavities you see are the alveoli ,this is where the [...]
6th incarnation
Unless you’re new here, you probably noticed that I changed the appearance of my blog… (slightly). This is the 6th makeover I’ve done in almost as many years. Hope it looks OK. To be honest, I was getting really tired of all those blue colors in the old layout, and the core theme itself, was [...]
ah….the age innocence
Me and my brother at age 5. Can you tell which one is me ? (girlfriend ) Related Posts:No Related Posts
World Cup Racewalking Championships
Dave Mc Govern who will be competing this weekend at the Chihuahua Mexico. Dave will be doing the 50K race ….that’s 31 miles! I was checking the local weather report for Chihuahua, and the temperature for the 50K at race time on Saturday morning is expected to be 70 degrees F, and heating up to [...]
No Thermoplasty for Steve
Ive been getting a lot of email lately from people asking me if I’m gonna have the new clinical trials phase of this new procedure back in 2006, because my asthma was deemed “too severe” by the study investigators. People with very severe chronic asthma usually have a fair amount of scarring, and some have [...]
My drugs are still in the closet
(Get it?) Actually, I was inspired by Kerri’s messy drug drawer posts, to straighten up my own medicine storage area. ( There’s all kinds of double meanings here) No , this isn’t my medication drawer, it’s my medication ROOM! I have so many boxes of Albuterol/Atrovent nebules.. I could open up a pharmacy ( a [...]
Lessons learned from Boston/
It’s been just over 2 weeks now since I did the Boston marathon, and except for today, which I can’t blame on the marathon, Ive managed to stay pretty healthy. That hasn’t always been the case right after a big race. Looking back on how things played out on Boston weekend, I think the strategy [...]
WAD 2010
May 4th is WORLD ASTHMA DAY! ASTHMATICS WANTED! Can’t think of a better time to recruit people for our Severe Asthma Facebook Group. If you, or someone you know has difficult asthma, please join us. To Dr
I’m renewing my RCP License
You might recall that over the past couple of years, Ive been trying to decide whether or not I should State of California continuously for more than 25 years now , and retiring it just because I’m no longer able to work, would be a shame. I’m an RT whether I practice the profession for [...]
Boston to Big Sur
Francis, for completing the Boston to Big Sur Challenge this past Sunday. These 2 wonderfully nutty people, along with a couple hundred other crazy people, ran BOTH the Boston marathon in Massachusetts AND the Big Sur marathon in California just 6 days apart. Two tough marathons in less than a week on opposite sides of [...]
