I’ve paused, laid low, and really absorbed life lately. The peace that I have been feeling as I continue to march through adversity has felt remarkable.
I recently had a chest CT scan. It shows significant scarring in both lungs as result of my battle with Covid.
Interstitial lung disease is the diagnosis.
The lung scarring is most likely progressive, which is terminal. But who knows what that really means…
At this point I have many more questions than answers.
I am in the process of making an appointment at the Norton Thoracic Institute at St Joseph’s Hospital for a second opinion.
I will fight this with the same approach I have used to fight all the other adversities I have encountered in my life.
No pity parties, no negativity, and no fear. But lots of hope, hard work, positivity, and gratitude.
Thankfully, I have a strong faith in God, and I am blessed with an unbelievable family, and amazing friends.
I will continue to gain great strength and joy from music—all day, every day.
I will stay as active as possible, while balancing much rest.
I will continue to practice the principles of yoga daily—and have class by zoom every week with my amazing yoga guru, Stacey.
I will be aggressive in finding the proper treatments—utilizing both eastern and western medical approaches.
I will eat right—making sure my diet best sets me up for success.
I will keep writing every morning. I just finished Chapter 10 of the first draft of my next book—which will chronicle my lessons learned from this wild journey from Covid.
I will pray often.
Shelly and I are grateful that the boys are nearby—Taylor moved back to AZ from San Diego in January. He now lives 5 minutes from Dylan in uptown/central Phoenix.
My parents continue to slow down but are doing well.
My Dad turns 88 on the 24th! I am fortunate that I can keep a close eye and spend so much time with them.
Shelly and I will live life to its fullest—we recently got back from a western Caribbean cruise with Dylan and his fiancée Ashley—so much fun!
I am blessed to have such a strong and caring wife. I cannot quite put into words how lucky I am to be going through life with Shelly. Her positive, yet pragmatic approach to everything life throws our way blows me away! It is unreal, and I thank God for her every day. This all is difficult for her. Please keep her in your prayers.
Right now, I am on day 32 of a 44-day detox cleanse to get mold out of my system. My mold levels are extremely high (we tested our house—it does not have mold). We have learned that there is a close link between mold toxicity/contamination and people that have had severe covid. So, now I am detoxing, fasting (i.e., starving 😊), and juicing. Hopefully, this cleanse will clear it from my system. If not, my pulmonologist will treat me with anti-fungal medications.
I have extreme fatigue—I take a nap daily.
I have a chronic cough and my lungs feel heavy.
My brain struggles to quickly process and remember things.
I am excited to have just begun treatment this week at a wellness center that utilizes red light therapy, infrared sauna therapy, and more (I thank my friend Dominick for introducing me).
I guess the term for me now is medically retired. I am thankful for social security disability, long-term disability insurance (through policies I bought with my last employer), and I go onto Medicare next month.
I continue to learn that we have absolutely no idea what is next in life, while having the understanding we cannot take our next breath for granted.
Please keep the prayers coming.
Shelly and I at the beach in Cozumel
With Taylor and Dylan seeing comedian Eric Andre at the Van Buren in downtown Phoenix
Shelly and I out at sea
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