Be Prepared

I’m learning how to live with the bag. It’s inconvenient but in some respects it’s better than the Pleurx system. We’ll see how it goes.

My biggest problem now is that I have almost no energy at all. My blood pressure is very low all the time now even after hydration which I’ve had twice over the past week. I have nausea and pain off and on. I believe it’s all a sign of disease progression

I don’t think I’ll be writing much more about medical stuff unless something significant develops. At this point all the medical care is “comfort” care, palliative care. I will continue to blog as much as possible but it is likely to be focused on my thoughts and feelings as I get closer to the end. I tell you this because some people don’t like reading about that. So if you continue with me to the end ….. be prepared.

Speaking of being prepared …. I am. I’ve had two and one half years to prepare. One of my main concerns now is making sure that other people are prepared. That’s not easy.

I’ll begin this phase with the following story.

In September 2008 I was severely overweight. I battled the weight all my life, sometimes successfully, but always ending up where I started or worse. I’m sure I was very close to having a heart attack. God intervened. He said that the only way to get me to lose the weight was to have me get sick. He basically said that I could have almost three more years to make things right in my life. That’s certainly preferable to dying immediately from a heart attack. After learning of my diagnosis and prognosis I would have been very grateful to know I’d be able to live almost three more years. Of course three years doesn’t feel too good after two and a half years are gone but that was the deal.

I can honestly say that these last years have been among the best in my life. I am truly grateful. I plan to make my remaining days just as meaningful. I hope to see as many friend and family members as will see me.

I plan to carry on.

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