Fixing Me

A few days later I was released from the hospital.

My father and I went to the airport to pick up my mother.

I still remember watching them hold hands in the car all the way home.

Tom started coming over to my parents' home with me after

Sunday mass. I would always go over there to have breakfast on Sundays, watch a basketball game on tv with my dad, then meet later for dinner. Now Tom was invited to come over for breakfast too.

Easter weekend.

I felt pain once again, on the other side.

Tom was at my home - a duplex I rented a couple of blocks from my parents - and I thought I better call my dad.

I talked to my dad. I wasn't positive it was my lung. The left side would collapse to the point where I needed a chest tube. The right side would collapse to the point where I didn't need a tube, but needed to be observed in the hospital for a few days. The pain was in my right side.

Tom took me to the ER.

As the doctor was going over my x-ray with me, my father and brother walked in. My lung was partially collapsed. I was admitted.

I remember my father got a little upset this time. He told the doctor he wanted to know what we had to do so this would stop happening.

The doctor made a phone call then talked to us about surgery. It sounded like a very complicated surgery and a lot of recovery time.

My father decided that he would get a hold of Mayo Clinic and we would get a second opinion from there before doing any surgery.

I am so glad we did.

My parents and I went to Mayo for a check-up.

This place is amazing. I had x-rays and tests done. The first thing we found out when I was there - my left lung was partially collapsed again.

It didn't collapse as much as it did before because of the little bit of tetracycline that went through the chest tube. That had caused "burning" and now there was scar tissue forcing my lung to stay up. At least, that is my understanding.

After all the tests we met with a surgeon.

He was good, and he knew it.

He told us about the surgeries I would need. The one on my right side could be done with a little scope going through a small incision.

The left side they had to open me up with a long incision all around the side of my chest. They had to undo what the tetracycline did first. They couldn't believe that some hospitals were still trying that procedure. Not only did it not work very often, it was the most painful thing to do to a patient.

I will second that opinion.

We set up one surgery to be in May and the next one to be in June.

The one in May would be for my left side.