I have no "reserve" for holding my breath

I am a former smoker and Pharmaceutical industry person. I have COPD which limits the elasticity of lung tissue. I trying to build myself back up by swimming a half or to walk a mile a day in the pool. I have just discovered that i need to work even harder to go though the lung operation and I am trying to make my body stronger by going to rehab and swimming classes every day.
The problem is that I have no "reserve" for holding my breath for any length of time. I've tried meditation, deep breathing prior to swimming and just about anything else that I can think of including the Power Lung. After less than 10 seconds, I'm out and it's difficult to build up a cushion again.
Is there any workable exercises or tips that I can use to increase my lung power? Any help would be appreciated. If this has been covered before, I apologize.

“I am not strong enough for the operation”.

Today I went to the University of Pennsylvania to find out if I am qualified for a double lung transplant.




The news was not what I had hoped. But then again, it wasn’t the worst news either. I was told by Dr. Lee since I have been in the hospital so much this pass month “I am not strong enough for the operation”. Dr. Lee however, is given me I guess you can say a second chance. For the next month and half I have to loss a few pounds, stay out of the hospital if possible and gain my strength back. Dr. Lee said if I had the operations today in my current condition I most likely would not survive.


I know this news is not the best or what I had hoped for but I have not given up my fight for the Lung Transplantation. I would hope that everybody sees this as a second chance and I will strive to reach my goals that Dr. Lee wants.

Testing is over for Now!! Now we wait for the out come on 09/27/2010

Testing is over for Now!! Now we wait for the out come.
What happens after my pre-transplant evaluation?
At the end of your pre-transplant evaluation, and after the test results are complete, the Lung Transplant Team will meet to jointly discuss whether or not a lung transplant is the appropriate treatment for you. The transplant coordinator will then notify you of the Team’s decision.
Please understand that abnormal test results might require further investigation. The goal of pre-transplant testing is to ensure that you will be able to undergo the transplant surgery and recover without any significant risk of complications.If you are approved and are going to be placed on the organ waiting list, the transplant coordinator will tell you what you need to do while you wait for your transplant. This has been the longest ten months of my life, I'll fined out on September 27th 2010 from Dr. Lee team if i made it on the list.

Three major Tests in three weeks from today.

What is the test?
The ventilation-perfusion scan is a nuclear scan so named because it studies both airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. The initials V-Q are used in mathematical equations that calculate airflow and blood flow. The test is used primarily to help diagnose a blood clot in the lungs, called a pulmonary embolus.
Today, ventilation-perfusion scans are rarely performed because a chest CT scan is a much more accurate diagnostic test for detecting a pulmonary embolus.
How do I prepare for the test?
About one hour before the test, a technician places an IV in your arm. A slightly radioactive version of the mineral technetium mixed with liquid protein is injected through the IV to identify areas of the lung that have reduced blood flow.
What happens when the test is performed?
The test is performed in the radiology department of a hospital or in an outpatient facility. You are asked to put on a hospital gown. Once you are ready, multiple pictures of your chest are taken from different angles, using a special camera that detects the radionuclide. For half of these pictures, you are asked to breathe from a tube that has a mixture of air, oxygen, and a slightly radioactive version of a gas called xenon, which can be detected by the camera, and which measures airflow in different parts of the lung. For the other half of the pictures, the camera tracks the injected radionuclide to determine blood flow in different parts of the lung. A blood clot is suspected in areas of the lung that have good airflow but poor blood flow. Except for the minor discomfort of having the IV placed, the test is painless. It usually takes less than one hour.
What risks are there from the test?
Many people worry when they hear that the liquid and gas used in this test are slightly radioactive. In truth, the radioactivity you are exposed to in this test is so small that there are no side effects or complications, unless you are pregnant.
Must I do anything special after the test is over?
No.
How long is it before the result of the test is known?
The results are usually available within a few hours, because the test is done primarily when you are suspected of having a potentially life-threatening condition (pulmonary embolus). The Second test is An arterial blood gas (ABG) test measures the acidity (pH) and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood from an artery. This test is used to check how well your lungs are able to move oxygen into the blood and remove carbon dioxide from the blood.
As blood passes through your lungs, oxygen moves into the blood while carbon dioxide moves out of the blood into the lungs. An ABG test uses blood drawn from an artery, where the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels can be measured before they enter body tissues. An ABG measures:
• Partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2). This measures the pressure of oxygen dissolved in the blood and how well oxygen is able to move from the airspace of the lungs into the blood.
• Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2). This measures how much carbon dioxide is dissolved in the blood and how well carbon dioxide is able to move out of the body.
• pH. The pH measures hydrogen ions (H+) in blood. The pH of blood is usually between 7.35 and 7.45. A pH of less than 7.0 is called acid and a pH greater than 7.0 is called basic (alkaline). So blood is slightly basic.
• Bicarbonate (HCO3). Bicarbonate is a chemical (buffer) that keeps the pH of blood from becoming too acidic or too basic.
• Oxygen content (O2CT) and oxygen saturation (O2Sat) values. O2 content measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. Oxygen saturation measures how much of the hemoglobin in the red blood cells is carrying oxygen (O2).
Blood for an ABG test is taken from an artery. Most other blood tests are done on a sample of blood taken from a vein, after the blood has already passed through the body's tissues where the oxygen is used up and carbon dioxide is produced.
Why It Is Done
An arterial blood gas (ABG) test is done to:
• Check for severe breathing problems and lung diseases, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• See how well treatment for lung diseases is working.
• Find out if you need extra oxygen or help with breathing (mechanical ventilation).
• Find out if you are receiving the right amount of oxygen when you are using oxygen in the hospital.
• Measure the acid-base level in the blood of people who have heart failure, kidney failure, uncontrolled diabetes, sleep disorders, severe infections, or after a drug overdose.
How To Prepare
Tell your doctor if you:
• Have had bleeding problems or take blood thinners, such as aspirin or warfarin (Coumadin).
• Are taking any medicines.
• Are allergic to any medicines, such as those used to numb the skin (anesthetics).
If you are on oxygen therapy, the oxygen may be turned off for 20 minutes before the blood test. This is called a "room air" test. If you cannot breathe without the oxygen. The last test is What is cardiac catheterization? This is a procedure to examine blood flow to the heart and test how well the heart is pumping. A doctor inserts a thin plastic tube (catheter) (KATH'eh-ter) into an artery or vein in the arm or leg. From there it can be advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries.
This test can measure blood pressure within the heart and how much oxygen is in the blood. It's also used to get information about the pumping ability of the heart muscle. Catheters are also used to inject dye into the coronary arteries. This is called coronary angiography (an"je-OG'rah-fe) or coronary arteriography (ar-te"re-OG'rah-fe). Catheters with a balloon on the tip are used in the procedure called coronary angioplasty (commonly referred to as percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]). Catheterization of the heart may also be done on infants and children to examine for congenital (kon-JEN'ih-tal) heart defects. And then on Sept 27,2010 I will be see Dr Lee at 1:30pm to see if i pass all the test.

Be Someone's Hero. Give Blood

Friday, July 30, 2010
When I first read this question, it brought me back to the 80’s. Does anyone else remember those first articles about the “gay plague” that was originally called Gay Related Immune Deficiency? Back then we were told that the only folks at risk for this teriffying new disease were gay men (not lesbians – just gay men), Haitians and intervenous drug users. That made Americans feel better because it meant it was confined to “those people.” A bit later we learned that because HIV can be passed through blood transfusions, another at risk population was hemophiliacs. (BTW, the blood banks knew for awhile but refused to do anything to mitigate the damage being caused. I highly recommend the book “And the Band Played On…” by Randy Shilts.)

New, improved HIV tests In March 2006, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB and America’s Blood Centers proposed replacing the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact. New and improved tests, which can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection, make the lifetime ban unnecessary, the blood groups told the FDA.
However we know now exactly how and why AIDS is transmitted, we know how to test for HIV and we know that AIDS is not limited to any single demographic or small group of demographics. This rule is a throw back, it remains simply because of homophobia, and it needs to be changed. This is so sad because for over twenty five, I have been tested every year and for twenty five years it's has come back Negative. What's wrong with this picture? But without hesitation they ask for my donation of Forty dollars each year to keep my name on the list of donors. With all the modern advancement that we have overcome, you would think it would change the way we give blood and the way it's it tested. Here is a list of who can't be a Blood Donor below.

Persons at risk for AIDS (or those listed below and their sexual partners) are NOT permitted to give blood:
•Anyone infected with the AIDS virus (HIV)
•Anyone who has ever used illegal IV drugs (using needles)
•Any male who has had sex with another male, even one time, since 1977
•Anyone who has had sex in exchange for money or drugs since 1977
•Anyone who has had gonorrhea or syphilis (VD) in the last 12 months
•Anyone with hemophilia who has received clotting factor concentrates
Blood donors are needed every day. If you are able to give blood, please join our efforts to save lives on Delmarva!

Do we really have true friends!!

A real friend won't always wait for you to call. I've been in one-sided friendships before in which the other person, or "friend" wouldn't make any effort at all. I decided to stop calling the person for a week or so, and learned that when left to their own devices, the person wouldn't try to make plans or anything. Thinking that I might be jumping to conclusions, I gave them another week. Still nothing and then months. I haven't seen or talked to them since, and it's because she wasn't willing to make the small amount of effort to keep up our friendship. It takes two to maintain a friendship, and a real friend will eventually call, no matter who usually calls first, just to make sure everything is okay.

You can tell if someone's a real friend or not if he or she notices when something is wrong. If you're not acting like yourself or seem unhappy, a real friend will pick up on it because he or she will be paying attention to your emotions and expressions. Someone who's just acting as your friend might not notice anything at all and act as if everything is normal because he or she doesn't really know you very well, or might not even really care whether or not you're feeling alright. A real friend can read your emotions, no matter how hard you try to conceal them, and will be genuinely concerned about you.

If someone's really your friend, he or she won't give up aiding you so easily. A real friend will try to move heaven and earth for you before throwing in the towel. This means that he or she won't limit him or herself to "conventional" methods to help you out, because conventional methods are easy, and when an easy action just doesn't cut it, you'll still need help and your friend should be there for you. Good friends won't give up when they're needed, because it's easy to pretend to be a friend and back out when things get tough; it's hard to get in the middle of a problem and work your way out.

The easiest way to tell if someone is really your friend is to attempt to have a really deep, meaningful conversation with him or her. Talk about a relationship, family matters, the future or illness, or something that you find yourself thinking about when you're alone. A real friend will actually get into the conversation because he or she knows that it means something to you, whereas a "pretend" friend will say you're acting strange and dismiss the conversation. Real friends don't mind being uncomfortable or emotional every once in a while, and this test is almost sure to weed-out the fakers.

REQUIRED YARD MANTENANCE

REQUIRED YARD MAINTENANCE

This is my view that I get to look at everyday in the summer and all year round really nicely maintained. The only time the yard work is done if there is a party or something else going on, maybe every couple of weeks.

These are the items that minimally need to be done on a regular basis during the growing months.

1) Cut your grass on a regular basis - once a week during the growing season
2) Edge your walkways, driveways and flower/tree beds - This prevents the grass and weeds from creeping into these locations
3) Weed Control - Chemical applications will take care of the weeds in your lawn. Hand pull or spray the weeds in the flower and tree beds.
4) Weed Eat around the mailbox, sides of the house and any street signs located on your property or right of way.
5) Refresh your pinestraw, mulch or other landscaping material in your tree and flower beds in the spring and fall.
6) DONT LEAVE GRASS CLIPPINGS IN THE STREET, DRIVEWAYS OR SIDEWALKS.