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Baycitywalker

Baycitywalker
Tribulations and triumphs of a lung challenged marathon walker and wannbe racewaker.

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Change of plans
2009-07-01 16:08:00
Last Saturday I did my first post-hospital semi long training walk for the new racing season, but it turned out to be much more difficult than I thought it would be. I was pretty much breathless the entire distance and had to terminate the walk at mile 7 instead of mile 8 as planned. Since my lungs tend to dictate how far and fast I can walk, it looks like the San Francisco (1/2) marathon is NOT going to happen for me this year. My lungs are just too screwed up right now to tackle a 13 mile walk. That last flare up really did a number on my body, and with less than 4 weeks to prepare, there’s no way Id be able to pull it off. I’m a little bummed, because I really thought Id be healthy enough, to not only do the race, but also be able to push myself hard enough to PR it. I may, as the date approaches, sign up to do the 5K or progressive marathon just for fun. A lot of my friends do the various races at the SF marathon every year and it would be nice to at least h...
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Mike and Roxlyn “Slacking” off again.
2009-06-29 15:57:00
Check out Roxylns report about the Slacker half marathon/relay/4m run in Colorado. Boy, those mountains sure look beautiful don’t they? What blows me away, is that this race STARTS at an elevation of 10,600 ft….thats 2 miles up! These two never cease to amaze me. (Mike and Roxlyn as they prepare their rigs) (to climb this mountain!) Share this post

It’s official
2009-06-26 18:08:00
Received my Boston finishers certificate today. It took me more than 7 hours to do it, but I’m now officially the first person ever, with severe refractory asthma, to enter and finish the Boston marathon! He won’t admit it, but even Winston is proud of me. I can tell, because his eyes are glowing green.(No, I’m not allergic to cats) PS..Registration for next years race opens in September…hmmmmmm I wonder ? Share this post
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It’s official
2009-06-26 18:08:00
Received my Boston finishers certificate today. It took me more than 7 hours to do it, but I’m now officially the first person ever, with severe refractory asthma, to enter and finish the Boston marathon! He won’t admit it, but even Winston is proud of me. I can tell, because his eyes are glowing green. PS..Registration for next years race open in September…hmmmmmm I wonder ?
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Silly asthma questions
2009-06-24 17:33:00
As asked by Physicians when I’m in the hospital and ranked in order of dislike. ( I’m sure my fellow lungers can relate) #1) What triggered your asthma attack this time? #2) Why does your asthma get so bad? #3) Do you think anxiety makes your asthma worse? #4) Do you know how to check your peak flows ? #5) What can we do to keep you out of the hospital? #6) Have you ever been intubated for your asthma? #7) Why did you wait so long to come in for treatment? And this is how I usually answer them. #1) I don’t know. #2) I have bad asthma. #3) Suffocating to death tends to make me a little anxious . #4) I know more about pulmonary functions then you can ever hope to know. #5) How about taking care of me when I’m NOT sick. #6) I hold the worlds record. #7) Because I hate answering stupid questions like these. Do you detect a little sarcasm?
More About: Questions , Asthma , Silly

$ 138,000.00 for one asthma asthma attack?
2009-06-20 16:45:00
I think this is a record….even for me. 138 grand for 6 days in the hospital? The bill itself, is enough to give you an asthma attack! It’s funny…just by reading the line by line hospital charges, I was able to come up with a chronological time line of the events that took place. I was able to figure out when they put me on the ventilator and when they took me off. There were also things charged for that I didn’t even know happened. An abdominal CT scan with contrast for example; I didn’t even remember having that done until I saw the charge for it…almost $5,000. Page 5 has some real whoppers, like $2200.00 just to set-up a ventilator or how about $100 per hour for Albuterol treatments! It just blows my mind. To view the entire itemized bill ( all 16 pages of it) Click here . I think you’ll be amazed at just how much each individual item costs at this hospital.
More About: Asthma , Attack

The days of Aminophyline
2009-06-18 16:35:00
Had a follow up appt with my pulmonologist, tachycardic all the time. But, here’s the real kicker….. You know that “other” doctor they show in the clip? Thats Dr Lazurus! ( 35 years ago) who has been my lung doctor at UCSF now for 6 years. That would explain why he wanted me ...
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It ain't all bad.
2009-06-17 03:38:00
Despite all the difficult times, I’m very lucky to call this place my home. Close enough to the city center , so we never get bored, but far enough away, so we can to enjoy the quiet. My great great grandfather was one of the first pioneers here, arriving in San Francisco from Ireland in 1848. He made his fortune by selling goods and real estate during and after the gold rush. Yesterday , Douglas and I hung out at some of our favorite spots. The steroid taper is going well. My Front yard: My Backyard: Inside My House the international dvd : At the request of my friend Kerri ( Sorry , only a few pics, as this is our private sanctuary.) Share this post

It ain’t all bad.
2009-06-17 03:38:00
Despite all the difficult times, I’m very lucky to call this place my home. Close enough to the city center , so we never get bored, but far enough away, so we can to enjoy the quiet. My great great grandfather was one of the first pioneers here, arriving in San Francisco from Ireland in 1848. He made his fortune by selling goods and real estate during and after the gold rush. Yesterday , Douglas and I hung out at some of our favorite spots. The steroid taper is going well. My Front yard: My Backyard: Inside My House: At the request of my friend Kerri ( Sorry , only a few pics, as this is our private sanctuary.)

Ohhhhh No…O2
2009-06-15 18:16:00
Would look better on him than me Ive resisted this for a long time, but I suppose it had to happen eventually……I now have oxygen in my home. ( Just the sight of these little green cylinders bums me out). Hopefully, after I recover from this current bout, they will stay hidden in the closet , never to see the light of day again. The good news is that my O2 sats are near normal again when I exert myself. Ive only been desaturating to the low 90’s, compared to the low 70’s just a week ago. Having O2 available in my home, was one of the conditions of my release from prison last week. They weren’t going to discharge me unless I agreed to it. I’m only going to use it during flare-ups, but some of my doctors think that because my asthma is so severe, that I should be on it all the time. Apria ( the O2 company) even tried to set me up with a concentrator ( a machine that makes oxygen), but I refused to take delivery. I was able to get the order ...

Ohhhhh No…O2
2009-06-15 18:16:00
Ive resisted this for a long time, but I suppose it had to happen eventually……I now have oxygen in my home. ( Just the sight of these little green cylinders bums me out). Hopefully, after I recover from this current bout, they will stay hidden in the closet , never to see the light of day again. The good news is that my O2 sats are near normal again when I exert myself. Ive only been desaturating to the low 90’s, compared to the low 70’s just a week ago. Having O2 available in my home, was one of the conditions of my release from prison last week. They weren’t going to discharge me unless I agreed to it. I’m only going to use it during flare-ups, but some of my doctors think that because my asthma is so severe, that I should be on it all the time. Apria ( the O2 company) even tried to set me up with a concentrator ( a machine that makes oxygen), but I refused to take delivery. I was able to get the order changed to just small cylinders. ...

Recovering faster than a speeding asthmatic on steroids.
2009-06-11 20:11:00
Ive only been out of the hospital for 4 days now , and despite being still quite sick, I’m actually starting to feel more and more normal again (thats a scary thought huh). Though very limited, today I was able to resume my daily walks. I don’t think healthy people realize just how much of an impact a single severe asthma exacerbation can have on the rest the body…It takes a lot out of you and sometimes the treatment is as bad as the disease. All the IVs and tubes they insert in you, and all the drugs they pump through them , effect not only your lungs, but the all the other body systems as well. I always come out of the hospital majorly bruised and beat up. This time in particular, it did a number on my arm and leg muscles. In just 10 days I went from having moderate upper body strength, to having absolutely none at all. Just 3 days prior to this last hospitalization, I was lifting weights in the 80-120 lb range on the weight training machines at the gym. T...
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Number 94….the not so glamorous side of being a severe asthmatic, pe
2009-06-08 19:02:00
I had been feeling really crumby most of that weekend prior. My dyspnea was increasing and my peak flows were gradually trending downward. By Sunday evening it was pretty evident that this flare-up was getting worse , not better. I bolused myself with 60mg prednisone and decided I would try to tough it out another 24 hours in order to give the steroids a chance to kick in. On Monday morning I woke up lethargic and more breathless than the night before. My peak flows were now below 200 (my red-zone) and the neb treatments weren’t helping anymore. By early that afternoon, I was starting to get really uncomfortable and fidgety ( this is usually a sure sign that my CO2 is rising), so I decided to call it day and headed to the hospital. At 2 pm my partner dropped me off in front of UCSF Emergency room . The next time I saw him, was 24 hours later after waking up on a ventilator. The events of the next 7 days are for hardcore lungers only, so if you’re squeamish about the...
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Hardluck Asthmatic
2009-06-04 21:53:00
.!. Just a quick thank you to Rick of the Respiratory Therapy Cave for the nice article he wrote about me in his column over at Myasthmacentral.com entitled ” Hardluck Asthmatic” Rick and I have a lot in common, in that we are both Respiratory Therapists and both of us have asthma. Fortunately, Rick has managed to keep his asthma under control and is able to work full time. Rick lives in the mid west and writes about what it’s like to work as an RT in a small community Hospital. Good stuff. Thanks again Rick!download the music of cosmos mp3

Taper time
2009-06-01 23:17:00
.!. I usually don’t write reports on training walks, but the “20 miler” is different. It’s almost like a marathon because towards the end, you kinda enter that nomans land ( anything over 18 miles) where your body starts telling you. .”Ok, Ive had enough now” “Why are you torturing me” ..”Just put a bullet in my head.”…you know, those kinda of things. Well, I’m proud to report that I completed the dreaded 20 miler , and so far, seemed to have survived it with only minor breathing problems. I wont say anymore about my lungs cuz I don’t want to jinx myself (sometimes there’s a delayed reaction). As for the walk itself, it was well, as you might imagine…as difficult as any 20 mile walk would be. I racewalked about 90% of it . Let me re-phrase that, I stayed in “racewalking form” for 90% of the walk. ( there’s a big difference). My actual pace varied from about 15min/mile to ...
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The not so glamorous side of being a severely asthmatic marathon walker.
2009-06-01 20:15:00
Yeah, I made it to Boston , Ive walked the Rome and Portland marathons a couple times, and yeah Ive been written up in lots of walk magazines and medical journals, but I think a lot of people who hear about me or read my blog, assume that because Ive done all these things, that I lead an exciting life and that my asthma is well controlled and more of a nuisance than anything else. What they don’t see, and what I rarely write about unless I’m really sick, is the hell I go though on a daily basis when I’m not doing all these fun things. Most days start out pretty good with my best breathing occurring during the morning hours , but that effect rarely extends into the afternoon. Generally ,as the day progresses, so does my breathlessness. If I eat even a small meal for lunch or dinner, the bloating that results, only adds to my breathing discomfort. By early evening I’m usually so short of breath , that I will have to take neb treatments every hour or two un...
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What’s next on the agenda?
2009-05-28 20:31:00
Boston is definitely tough act to follow, but there are still a lot of fun races out there, and many more challenges I’d like to tackle. Next up for me are the SF and ET half marathons, both of which Ive done before , but want to do again…. each for different reasons. The San Francisco marathon choice was pretty much a no brainer for me. Not because of its a very challenging and beautiful course, or the fact that the race is held in one of the most fascinating cities in the world, but mainly because it was the very first race I ever did. It was the race that started it all for me. Its also one of the few races I don’t have to hop on an airplane to get to…lol. Having done this race 4 times already, it’s kinda like comfort food for me. I’m totally at ease with it. No pre-race stress, don’t have to arrive 3 hours early. I know every twist and turn in the course and I know that after I finish the race, I can be home in less than 20 minu...
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Enjoying the downtime
2009-05-26 15:52:00
This past week my partner has been on vacation , which is the only time we really get to spend with each other. We really don’t venture too far from home , because he hates to to travel, so we’ll do a lot of things locally. One of his/our favorite things to do, is browse through vintage and alternative clothing stores. There are several scattered throughout the city. The Haight and upper Market street have some of the best. They’re basically high-end thrift stores that specialize in clothing and shoes from the 70’s ,80’s and 90’s ,as well as current fashions you’d find in European countries. Sometimes you can find really cool, one- of- a kind items. Another thing we like to do, is drive up along the coast , just above San Francisco ,stopping at different Antique stores along the way. We’ll usually make a whole day of it and then loop back down to the city where we’ll spend the late afternoon roaming the financial district or t...

A quarter million puffs
2009-05-21 16:42:00
Care for some Albuterol? How the heck did that Primatine Mist get in there? I sometimes jokingly claim that Ive inhaled more bronchodialators(asthma medicine), than any living person! Well, after doing some rough calculations , that claim might not be as far fetched as it sounds. This past week I had a lot downtime due to crappy breathing , so I thought it might be a fun diversion to sit down and try to figure out how much Albuterol Ive inhaled over my life time. For the sake of simplicity, and the fact that Albuterol ,has only been around about 25 years, I decided to include ALL the inhaled bronchodialator medicines that Ive taken. The results of course ,will be a rough estimate. OK, assuming that Ive been using inhalers for appx 45 years , and assuming that I was taking just the minimum recommended dose of 1-2 puffs 4 x day. That works out to 131,400 hits off the inhalers. The math ( 8 puffs per day x 365 days x 45 years= 131,400 puffs). But wait , that’s just the beg...
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Mel’s 1000th
2009-05-17 21:06:00
Meet another amazing walking friend of mine, Melvin. On Saturday May 16th, Mel completed his 1000th round trip walk across the Al Zampa bridge in Crockett,California . To celebrate his amazing achievement, about 100 of his friends and admirers, many of whom actually met Mel while walking along the bridge, gathered to take that historic 1,000th walk with him. He is the only who has walked this span more times than I have . The bridge itself is just over one mile in each direction. Mel estimates that in total, he’s logged more than 2500 miles in the course of those 1000 walks. I walked ahead of the group to the vista point on the Vallejo side of the bridge and caught this picture of Mel and some of his entourage still mid-span. Mel doesn’t racewalk, but it would sure be something if he did. Somehow we managed a nice group shot Mel and his wife, Mary Oh….don’t know if you caught this on Mel’s jacket…., but he turned 81 years , 4 ...

A few more Boston Marathon Photos
2009-05-15 21:49:00
You’re probably getting sick of hearing about the Boston marathon, but here’s a few more photos . These were taken mostly after mile 18… and it sure shows on my face. They’re high resolution photos and were bogging down this page, so I moved them over to Picasa. You can still enlarge them , but not like before.
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Some down time
2009-05-14 16:24:00
To say I’m worn out by the frantic pace of these last 3 months, would be an understatement. Going from the highest highs to the lowest lows, and everything in between, I’m flat out exhausted! I need a couple weeks of doing nothing overly physical , so that I can recharge my batteries and start all over again. After last months flare-up, my lung function is gradually returning to baseline, but all those outdoor allergies have been kicking my butt. Ive even considered going back on Xolair. It didn’t do much for my asthma, but I think it helped with my allergy problem. Of course, I’ve still been doing my 5 mile bridge walks 3x week. Nothing could stop me from doing those, it’s the only chance I get to racewalk, but that’s about it, as far as exercise goes. Ive been occupying most of my time, catching up with my blog reading, doing things around the house, and dealing with various media requests regarding my participation in the marathon. Earlier t...
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Hijacked at the Boston Finish line..
2009-05-10 18:02:00
This is my account of what actually happened at the end of the race; ( warning: this is another long post) I think it started around mile 20 as we were descending into downtown Boston . The winds kinda whipped up out of nowhere and within a matter of minutes the temperature must have fallen 20 degrees…. I was freezing! It was then that I started to feel a noticeable change in my breathing . My lungs were getting progressively tighter anyway because it had been more than 6 hours since Id had a neb treatment, but now I was starting to audibly wheeze, which I rarely do, even when I do marathons. I remember I was also air-trapping pretty bad, so I had to purse-lip non-stop for the rest of the race to prevent it from getting worse. We had now been walking non-stop for nearly 7 hours and as we approached the last mile, I remember telling Mike that my inhaler just wasn’t cutting it anymore and that I would definitely need a neb treatment once we finished the race. No prob...
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Mikes Story
2009-05-06 21:08:00
If you get a chance, read Mike McBrides story over at COPD International, and what it took for him to make it the finish line at the Boston marathon. Pretty amazing stuff… but then again, he’s a pretty amazing person! Mike Mike , Cameron and I , the day before the big one You can see more of Mikes Boston Marathon race photos on his Facebook page.
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