| Kathy A. Hertzog 2005-11-11, 3:24 pm |
| November 3, 2005
To Whomever Can Help:
My pastor has an undiagnosed breathing disorder/disease. He has had
numerous tests including an open lung biopsy (Pittsburgh, PA) and a
diaphragm function test (Cleveland Clinic, OH). No test has yielded
any light on his condition and doctors are stumped.
His condition began 1-1/2 to 2 years ago after having bronchitis which
turned into pneumonia and was treated with antibiotics, but the
symptoms seemed to persist and worsen.
He now has a 30%-50% loss of function/capacity and seems to be
experiencing a rapid deterioration of lung function. His family doctor
told him that if his function continues to decline at this rate, he
may not be able to stand up from a chair in about 9 months.
A year ago, he ran daily and exercised regularly. Now, he has low to
no tolerance for exercise of any kind. He can barely make it through
two one hour church ceremonies without feeling totally exhausted.
He says his doctors told him he has unexplained symptoms including:
* 30%-50% loss of function
* muscles around the lungs are loosing function, not the diaphragm
* collapsed sacs in the lung
* fluid in near the bottom of lung
* scaring of the lung tissue
* calcification in the lung
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