Friday. I had hoped for a relaxing day, but often it doesn’t work out that way. I did sleep late, though. It was my “pill” alarm that woke me this morning. I take my Ofev at 8:00, morning and evening, and when the alarm sounded, it woke me from a sound sleep. It’s become my habit lately, to rise at approximately 7:00. I guess I must have needed the extra sleep. It felt good to lay there with the dogs - Percy in Colleen’s place and Maisy at my feet. I opened my mouth and breathed deeply and slowly, listening again to the now obvious crackle in my chest. The noise is a characteristic symptom of my disease – idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. I’m getting worse. I can feel it.
Some mornings are harder than others. It was a bit of a chore to complete my ablutions and take the dogs around the block. Oxygen helped, but still, I felt less than energetic. I felt like a tired old man. I was glad to get home again. I’d set the coffee maker before I left and the smell of coffee brewing greeted me as I re-entered the warmth of the house. The couch seemed to beckon me and, after removing coat and boots, I sat. Mindlessly, I watched an hour of television. The phone rang. It was Patricia from the hospital pharmacy calling to ask how I was doing on my medication. When I told her I’d experienced no side effects whatsoever, she was a bit surprised.
“You are in a small but lucky minority,” she said. “This medication is notorious. Nearly everyone suffers side effects. Diarrhea is the most common.”
Surely the road ahead will be challenging. Fortunately, it's relatively painless at the moment.
On May 11th, we're to see Dr. Shane Shapera to undergo "pre-assessment for lung transplantation."
I know he'll comment on my weight. I wish I weighed twenty pounds less.
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Luck isn't necessarily what we'd call this disease, but I take her point. May this luck continue.
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