I’ve heard from some of you lately, and I appreciate you emailing me and checking on me.

I’m doing pretty well. I’m on quite a few medications now (about 16 pills per day), but my recent visits to the pulmonary doctor, cardiologist and my family practice doctor rendered me rather good reports. All of them, however, want me to lose some weight. I’ve ballooned up to 248 and I hate myself for that. But everything tastes so good. Why? This month I will celebrate one year without smoking. I have not had a cigarette since last March (2009). I’m proud of myself and no I have not cheated at all.

Just in case some of you didn’t know or hadn’t signed on at the time, I announced a few months ago that in October of last year I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. You can google those for more details. I had a 1.5 inch stent planted in my right coronary artery (the main one) as it was 90% blocked. The doc said I was a heart attack looking for a place to happen.

In mid-November I had some ‘problems’ that prompted me to go to see a urologist. On December 16, I had to have done what should have been done when I was born. But my parents did not do it. Now that I have gone through it, I wish I had had it done at birth, or taken it upon myself to have it done when I first went to work making decent money. It was about 4 weeks of hell, but after that it’s smooth sailing.

At the end of December it was discovered after tests that I had sleep apnea. So now I wear a CPAP mask at night when I go to bed, and I also have 2 liters per minute of oxygen going into the machine that keeps me from sleeping and stopping breathing.

So it’s been a roller coaster for several months. I am still very short of breath but with the pulmonary problem I have, that’s what I live with. I smoked for 46 years, now it’s time to pay the piper. There is no cure for the pulmonary conditions --- they are only treatable. At some point down the road, most likely I will get to the point that even though they turn the oxygen wide open, I will not be able to breathe and the diseases will take their toll.

But until then… I’m going to live life, love it, be grateful for every moment I’m alive and hope and pray I do not end up with a long period of suffering at the end. I go and do and have fun, but I just haven’t recorded anything in a while. My 50th year singing and playing CD will be my last one of me singing, I’m afraid. I can play piano and not get very winded, but now I have arthritis real bad in my right wrist.

So – that’s an update, and I’m happy to be alive. I just packaged and made available a project I started about 3 years ago: a CD of just piano only and doing the old old hymns. That is being marketed now.

Thanks for everyone who has emailed me and asked about me or even thought about me. I think of you all often, and I even pop in and out of the PG site from time to time. I was unable to upgrade BIAB and RB in December/January, as doctor bills, hospital bills, drugs, etc., left me with no money to enjoy these things I treasure. Maybe next time. Who knows.

If any of you care to email me, just send it to razor485 (@AT@) gmail.com
Take out the unnecessary characters and you will have my email address.

BLESSINGS!!