the air we breathe

have you ever thought about the air we breathe in and out everyday?

i never had until a couple years ago.

when my dad was diagnosed with scleroderma nearly 5 years ago

scleroderma

i hate the sound of that word.

my dad used to be the man with a project every weekend.

we'd go camping, fishing, help raise the ceiling in the kitchen (literally) with, he'd go skipping down the hall becuase he won $30 from a lottery ticket.

but now he cant, because he only has 23% of his lungs to use.

we breath at 100% on a normal basis, him 94%

let me explain.

scleroderma, is a disease, the buildup of collagen in the skin.

it can harden the skin. which he has.

but he has systemic scleroderma

which effects larger organs, hardening them, breaking them down to be unusable.

like the kidneys, heart and lungs.

his has attacked his lungs.

making it hard for him to breathe just to walk down our 8 foot hall way.

for a better definition click here

the time has come for the scleroderma specialist and the pulmonologist to discuss the next plan of action.

a: go back on a drug he had in the past which he can only take for a short period of time because it can effect the liver.

b: take a higher dose of the medicine he's on now, which can effect the live also.

c: activate his name on the transplant list for double lung transplant.

the doctor called, they arent going to do plan a or b. but didnt say c.

they have appointments next week to get the news.

its hard to see him how he is now. but i know how risky it is to have a double lung transplant.

a patient i work with has had one, he nearly died, recovered somewhat, and is now back in the er for colapse lung. UCLA has a great program, and i believe they will do their best. its just plain scary.

keep my dad in your prayers the next couple weeks, months, years.

give my mom strength to hold his hand through this and with whatever happens.

<3