to Dilwala

[Guest guest]

Dilwala,

I can document it and everything for Bruce, but doesn't like the

taste of crow. Beth will pop by and get me and we'll be right

there (that girl loves a road trip!). I just went to Hawaii in June

and it was wonderful. I'd have to think a while which island I want

to settle on.

About your Vats... can't say what's right for you, but I always say

you gotta go w/ your gut. Make your decision and your gut will tell

you what's right.

You do sound a lot like me though and I just couldn't see getting

laid up when I was functioning so well. I could've gone forever,

for the next 70 years how I was when diagnosed. I said I was fine

breathing 2 breaths for every one of a regular persons. I just

wanted to focus on controlling the cough. Really, I still was

playing ice hockey, coaching h.s. ice hockey, hiking, biking,

running, walking, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, playing sand and

indoor volleyball, taking care of one kid, then 2, traveling. Since

there is no absolute you could do the same. You could continue on

doing all that you are doing and just track it w/ PFT's, CT and

those type of non-invasive things. It doesn't sound like you are

going to drop tomorrow and so I don't see rushing into a VATS w/ a

doc that is treating you like you are a number rather than a real

person. My doctor wanted to do a biopsy also, but he respected me

enough to appreciate that it was not the right time for me. At the

time I was bringing a brand new baby into the world and we could

decide to do it later, but while I was still healthy and stable.

Then I was just so high functioning and not needing O2 to do what I

wanted to do. I couldn't do stairs and couldn't do an aerobics

class, but I could do the things I wanted to do. I even could do

hockey because it was a shift sport and not sustained aerobic

activity. I could do all those things I listed just maybe at a

different pace (just to name one trip... Yosemite and Sequoia in

2002) and w/ resting (I never really liked running anyway). I think

your first course of action is to get a doctor who will give you

more than 20 minutes and treat you with respect and as an individual

and not talk in absolutes, and dismiss anything but textbook or

traditional practices. Many in the field have had to do just what I

said and admit the absolutes or traditional practices of giving

prednisone automatically to everyone was not the best practice.

Sorry to be so wordy, I got on a role. Time to sign off and get

started on 1st grade homework.

Kerry

IPF '01

S. IN