It Started in a Manger

Merry Christmas, My Dear Friends,

I ventured to UCSF again this past Monday, this time taking my mother-in-law and my daughter with me.  My navigator was on a cruise in South America, so I was on my own into, around, and out of the city...and I did it without flaw.  She would have been so proud of me!  We started with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory in Macy's at Union Square, and had time to watch the ice skaters and check out the Christmas decorations in Macy's.  Then we made our way to my appointment at Mount Zion.  I met with the Nurse Practitioner, Tammy, as Dr. Ryan was in Wisconsin celebrating his parents' 50th wedding anniversary.

I should share with you that a week before this appointment, I had gone to see my family doctor, David Duncan, as I was having a really hard time breathing, and I was working hard bringing up steady amounts of mucous.  He checked my oxygen saturation and listened to my lungs, then began to ask me a number of questions.  The oxygen in my lungs was normal, and my lungs weren't crackly, but after getting some info from me, he asked me to have a blood test and do a sputum test.  I found out the next day that the blood test showed that I have an excess of fluid building in my body, which tends to suggest some kind of congestive heart failure, and the sputum test showed that I have a rare filamentous fungus in my lungs, so the sample has been sent to another lab for more detailed analysis, and I am on an anti-fungal medication.  So far it seems to be helping a little bit.  All of this led to Dr. Duncan getting my appointment with the cardiologist moved up two and a half weeks, though, so I met with her the day after my appointment at UCSF.

While it was not a"boring, just go home" appointment, there were not a lot of surprises at UCSF.  I have continued to lose weight, just a bit, as my appetite is so-so.  At this wonderful time of year where there are many once-a -year goodies, I just don't have much of a sweet tooth.  Any other time of the year, that would be great, but I am missing out on so many yummy treats!  I have to try and eat more protein as well as mine is low.  So will try eggs, nuts, protein drinks, etc, as meat isn't a favorite right now, either.  They were thrilled that my appointment with the heart doctor had been moved up as that is becoming a priority right now.  I will return to UCSF on Monday, January 4th, to go over scans, which I will have this coming Monday.  It will be interesting to see the results.

Matt was able to go to the cardiologist, Elizabeth Hereford, with me.  She met us in her office to go over all of the facts of my case, and to look at all of the meds I am on.  Wow, that was quite an array of bottles.  Then she did an exam, and decided to have another EKG done, and she did her own echocardiogram (like a sonogram) of my heart.  Matt got to see it, and she explained to him what it was he was looking at.  He found it very interesting.  She did not seem to think that the failure was as bad as the first echo led her to believe, although there is some there.  So she took me off of the high blood pressure med I was on and put me on another one that she thinks will help the issue better.  Of more concern to her was that my pulmonary pressure is twice what it should be.  That means that while the oxygen in my blood is okay, the blood coming from my heart is not flowing well to my lungs so the volume is not there.  This is causing my shortness of breath, which has become a regular thing lately, whether I am active or not.  It is scary at times.  Anyway, she is going to have to do some research on the meds I am on, how they work together or may be affecting me, and then will see me again in three weeks to see what the next step is.  Which means that I live with the shortness of breath for now.  But Matt and I had a really good impression of her, and feel confident that she will help us get to the bottom of this.  Not an immediate result, but perhaps we are finally on the way to some answers.

I recently was asked to share my remembrances of God at Christmas.  It all started at the manger, where God gave us Himself.  In a show of His incredible love for us and desire to be with us and dwell with us, He stepped down from the throne and became one of us so we could get to know Him, and learn to trust Him, and love Him back.  He could have done this many ways, but He knew that the best way was face to face.  Oh, am I glad that the baby that Mary welcomed in the stable did not stay a baby.  He grew up and showed us the kind of life that God wants us to live.  And when we fell short, He offered us the gift of a lifetime.  He went to the cross where He felt our sins, died our death, and lived our resurrection.  The birth of Jesus would not have been complete without the cross.  That's how much God loves us and wants to dwell with us.  It's very easy to remember God at this time of year, when His name is in our songs, when we model His gift-giving, gather in churches to celebrate His birth, and honor Him with our nativity sets.  It's so magical that we almost don't want it to end...and thankfully, it doesn't have to, because the God that we remember at Christmas can be found every day of the year.  I pray that when He yearns for your fellowship and stands at the door of your heart and knocks, that you will be sensitive to hear it, and will be quick to answer and not keep Him standing outside in the cold or send Him away to a stable.  May your heart be warm and inviting...a worthy place waiting for Him to dwell with you.

Merry Christmas, My Friends...and Fireflies,
Danene
December 25, 2009