2 Weeks With The Valves 1/24/09

I had a rough week this week.   Everything had been going well, I was walking every day (working from my rehab protocal) when on Tuesday morning I was bent down and trying to pull something out of a cupboard.  I was really straining when all of the sudden I couldn't catch my breath.  I had never experienced this experience before where I couldn't get a breath at all and I felt myself panic.  I was finally able to recover enough to finish getting myself together  and had to going to work.  My breathing was bad and it remained bad.  When I got home that night I was able to walk 10 minutes and I felt my airways open up and I thought maybe it was over.   Not so, the next morning it was bad again.  I struggled Wed and Thurs.  Friday I went to the clinic with my bag packed to spend the night. I found my support team and informed them something was broke.  They told me not to be alarmed, that all part of it.  That if I should feel worse over the weekend call the pulmonologist on call.  They said it normally takes about 3 months for the body to adjust to the valves and we don't even know if I have the valves.   The said they would write a full report and forward it to the Dr. in charge of the trial here in Portland.  This doesn't make any sense to me, I don't understand how you can feel good until one incident and immediately go down the toilet.