I walked across the street to the hospital gift shop to get a magazine as I was going to need something to do between appointments. Back to the clinics, I made my way down to the CT Scan area. It was there where I met a woman from the ILD Support Group who was dealing with another major issue other than her lung disease. She was never one to open up but I guess she really needed to talk. I hope I helped her by listening.
The CT Scan was to check the progress of the disease. Here is the report:
FINDINGS:
LUNGS:
Unchanged extensive upper lobe predominant and basilar irregular interseptal lobular thickening with traction bronchiectasis and groundglass opacities. Air trapping was not definitely seen on this exam but was visualized on prior exam.
PLEURA:
Normal.
MEDIASTINUM:
No lymphadenopathy.
HEART/GREAT VESSELS:
Normal for age.
CORONARY ARTERIES:
Moderate coronary artery calcification.
BONES/SOFT TISSUES:
No suspicious lesions.
VISIBLE ABDOMEN:
Limited noncontrast evaluation of the upper abdomen is normal.
IMPRESSION:
1. Unchanged extensive upper lobe predominant and bibasilar irregular interseptal lobular thickening with traction bronchiectasis and groundglass opacities compatible with hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
2. No suspicious pulmonary nodules.
Coronary artery calcium is present (as described above) and correlates with coronary artery disease. In the absence of known coronary disease, standard clinical evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk may be considered (see references cited above).
I had some time so I went by a sitting area, plugged it my phone and was enjoying my magazine when a little lady sat down beside me and asked for my help. She was questioning the sales tax from the gift store. She was from sales tax-free Oregon but I think it was just a way to make contact with a human. It was a rather sad tale. Her son had picked her up from the airport earlier then dropped her off at the hospital, where there were bathrooms and lots of restaurants so he could go to work for the day. Weird. I felt sorry for her but after twenty-minutes, I excused myself for the next test.
Thirteen floors up the elevator to the Pulmonary Function Lab, I chatted with Andrea at the desk, whom I have know for years. The testing was with an experienced tech who made it quick and easy. Here are the results:
Spirometry - Forced Vital Capacity - 1.43 or 47% of predicted
Diffusing Capacity adjusted for hemoglobin - 11.43 or 47% of predicted
It was pretty close to the last tests and not the downturn I was expecting.
LUNCH! I was hungry but it had to be quick. The sonogram of my belly was next!
Back across the street, the sonogram was a lot more work than I remembered. It involved a lot of holding my breath for longer than I could! It was hard! I should have brought my oxygen with me and will so if I ever need another one - helpful hint! This test looked at the arteries inside my liver, my bladder, kidneys, pancreas, stomach...you get the idea. It took just over an hour for the test and have not received the results yet.
I arrived home at 3:00 totally exhausted. Promptly falling asleep on the couch at 6:00, I actually climbing into bed at 7:00. Today is going to be a challenge. Jeannie is not going to rehab so neither am I! There is an outside gig with the Irish Fiddling group from 6-8 this evening at a fabulous mansion know for their gardens tucked away in an area known for horses. It is opened to the public and they are offering this special treat of evening music during the summer. After running some errands this morning, I am planning a nap before we drive over the pass at 4:30. It is going to be a long day since I have not fully recovered from yesterday.
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