Easy breathing

If you're a regular reader you know that I have asthma and have been going through treatments for a while. My allergist identified my triggers and started me on treatment including allergy shots a couple of years ago. However as time has gone by it seemed I'd improve to a certain extent then hit a plateau I couldn't get past. The treatments would be more intense and still no improvement. "There's something else going on," she said finally at the end of August. "I want you to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist to see if there's an obstruction in your airway."

So early last month, I went and saw an ENT to see if he could see anything. I was scoped down to my vocal cords and let me tell you having your sinuses numbed up feels weird. "There's nothing there I can see, " he said. "But there's definitely something going on because I can hear you very clearly and what I hear is wrong." So the next step was a CT scan. Bingo. There was an obstruction in my trachea, a web of tissue, that was narrowing my airway and making me sound like Darth Vader on a bad day. "Let's get you to the pulmonologist and see what we can do to take care of that." One visit to the pulmonologist later and I'm scheduled for a bronchoscopy and procedure to dilate my trachea.

The procedure was yesterday and I came home with a sore throat. But I can breathe!. I went to breakfast at my favorite neighborhood hangout and was able to talk to people as I walked through the door instead of waiting 5 minutes to get my breath. I walked home and the only things protesting were my legs from having to walk so far so fast. The pulmonologist said after the procedure was done that he was amazed I wasn't blue from lack of air because the hole I was breathing through was smaller than what was shown on the CT scan. I can only think that the muscles I built up from singing and used for breathing kept me oxygenated.

I am very thankful for my doctors, especially my allergist, for finding this and helping me. I don't feel old now.

OFFF

This last weekend I spent both days at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. Being ListMom for the Portland Spinnerati, I was there to promote the group and answer questions. I did some demo'ing of carding and combing fiber and spinning on a handspindle. Since I was going to be there both days I was careful not to wander around too much and conserve my energy but it was lots of fun being there. There were times when I was the only one in the booth as my friends went wandering about looking at the wares available but there were also times when the booth was packed with people as we were visited by various folks from the Portland Spinnerati and PDX Knitblogger groups. Stephen aka HizKnits was working at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth this weekend so he'd stop by to take a break. Joan Schrouder stopped by on Saturday as well as Marta McCall. MonicaPDX and I giggled over fun things seen on the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group on Ravelry. Quiet moments were nice to share with Judy. Saturday turned out hot with the shade on the lawn covered with spinners. Sunday had rain in the morning (memories of camping!) but it stopped long enough in the afternoon to allow people to wander about the grounds. All in all a very good weekend.

This boy was very proud of himself as his owner led him around the grounds.

Hair o'the Mo. Stephen brought his own lunch but some of us indulged in lamb.

Pretties!

Captain Lambert meets a celebrity.