Doctor's Appointment In Birmingham

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 35 degrees, high 65 degrees, clear skies, frost this morning

The day for the doctor's appointment in Birmingham finally arrived, and I was more than ready for it to happen. Judy and Roger had to go to the same general area for Roger to see his pulmonary specialist, so they invited us to go with them. What a help they were in finding the clinic we needed to go to! We would have been lost in all that hustle and bustle, but they knew exactly where we needed to go. Thank God we had their help. And the company on the ride there and back was good.

We arrived in Birmingham early enough that Judy asked that we all go the cafeteria for breakfast at the VA hospital. I had eaten before we left, but Carolyn ordered something, since she wasn't hungry before we left home. After eating, Judy took us to the Kirklin Clinic, which serves just about every specialty known to man, with about 500 doctors under one roof.

The place was bustling, but the staff seemed to be able to pull order out of the people, doing what I thought was a pretty good job of getting people to where they needed to be and served. My first stop was at the lab, where they pulled enough blood to keep Dracula happy for half a night or so. Next, I had an EKG performed, then moved to another area where I had the most complete echocardiogram performed that I have ever had.

After all that was finished, the results were interpreted by specialists on the spot. Then, I was called in to see my primary specialist, Dr. Bourge. I had heard many good things about him, and had seen his picture before, but was really impressed with the way he came in and introduced himself. Then, he dropped the bomb.

After meeting and greeting was out of the way, I was told I have a very bad disease. He explained where I was at in the progression of the disease, and it appears that some doctors may have missed an opportunity to diagnose the disease sooner. Like, 2-3 years ago, when it was just starting to grab me. I think it may be understandable that a diagnosis may have been missed, since this is such a rare disease. But, I'm still disappointed that I didn't have better results than what I did. Maybe I could have gotten treatment sooner and slowed down the progression of the disease. As I mentioned before, there is no cure, but in many cases it can be slowed with an increase in quality of life.

At this point, the disease has affected the electrical signals to my heart to such an extent that he recommended I have a pacemaker installed as soon as possible. Another option he offered was to do nothing, and my heart would stop pumping to the point that, as he said, I would drown. I agreed to the pacemaker, obviously, and the appointments are being set up for as soon as possible. Dr. Bourge thinks the pacemaker will help my quality of life, and relieve some of my symptoms. At this point, I'll be thankful for any help I can get. The pacemaker will be installed one day, I'll stay in the hospital overnight for observation, then go home the next day.

The pacemaker is not a cure-all for the disease I have, but if it can help me feel better, I'll be happy. The doctor did not give much hope for alternative treatment because of my age and the advanced stage of the disease. He did say he was the resident expert on the disease and keeps up on all the new treatments that arise, and he would call me if he heard of anything that might help. He also offered to help me with any second opinions that I might want to pursue. At this time, I haven't decided on second opinions, since I think it is important to have the pacemaker installed quickly.

The next question that comes up is how will this affect my daily life, and does this mean the end of RVing for us? Those questions remain to be answered, but we are hopeful that the pacemaker will give me the energy and strength to want to be out on the road at least part time. If the doctor advises against it, we'll face that when the time comes. In the meantime, the RV is in safe storage, waiting patiently for us.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Birmingham, Alabama: The Pittsburgh Of The South

Not all who wander are lost.