It's never so simple...

I just got off the phone to Dr D'Souza. Man talk about a Chinese puzzle to sort out!!
He said that the written CT report describes areas of inflammation in the lungs.. fine we knew that.
But he then goes on to say that it could be caused by three things... Hodgkin's, an infection or inflamation (radiation pneumonitis).

OK I have no problem taking that in.. But it gets tricky when trying to work out which.
He said that a PET scan would light-up exactly the same for Hodgkin's as it would for inflammation.. so we would be none the wiser. I suggested throwing steroids at it and seeing if things improved, therefore proving inflammation. He said that Hodgkin's responds to steroids much the same as an inflammation.. so once again we would be none the wiser as to which we were treating.

So we are going to throw some heavy duty antibiotics at it and see if we can't at least get some sort of result that way. If it doesn't work we are still left with two possibilities... one of which could be Hodgkin's.. I don't want to consider that. I'll stay focused on it being an inflammation.
Meantime I'm doubling my dose of inhaled steroids to see what that does as I have had some modest success with the dose I'm on now and my GP said I could double it if I felt I needed to.

Radiation Pneumonitis ?

Not that I'm obsessive or anything, but having spent many dozens of hours scouring the internet for an answer to what ails me, I've found one scenario that fits like a glove. Radiation Pneumonitis.

Symptoms include constant cough and a low grade fever. I've emailed my Haematologist, again, I bet he's sick of hearing from me! He's given a quick reply asking that I phone him tomorrow morning to discuss things.

My formal written CT results show that there are some areas of inflammation in my lungs, so that too fits with my theory. It's a serious condition that if left untreated can cause permanent lung damage, but it's easily treated with steroids, so I would expect to see a rapid improvement after just a few days.

It annoys me somewhat that I first complained of a constant cough over six weeks ago and it's been completely ignored once the clear CT scan came through. If I wasn't the sort of person to push and push for a result it would be three more months until my next scheduled appointment and by then the damage would be done.

Fingers crossed that this is in fact the problem!

So why the long face ?

At a time when so much seems to be going so well, you'd think I'd be dancing in the street and singing from the mountain tops.. alas I just can't shake this feeling that something is not right.

Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon, maybe it's just this bitterly cold weather we have been having.. That would good if it were so simple, An attitude change could fix it all.
However I have a few thorns in my side and until I can get some answers, I can't relax and enjoy my declared "remission".

I still have a cough. It's nowhere near as bad as it was, and it seems to have been tempered by a steroidal based inhaler. I no longer cough when changing from a cold to a warm environment, but have a bit of a cough when I talk sometimes, and in the morning, like an old smokers cough.
That gives me some indication that perhaps it's the lung damage that showed on the CT scan. If I have a cough for the rest of my life.. then so be it, as long as I'm alive to complain.

The other thing I have is a constant low grade fever. I run at about 37.5C during the day and peak at about 38.4C during the night. This has been going on for about a month as far as I'm aware. At night I either sweat or feel chilled. There seems to be no in between.

A constant low grade fever is a symptom of Hodgkin's disease. However I have a CT scan that shows I'm clear so I'm going to have to take a leap of faith and believe it. The other causes of constant low grade fever are a viral infection or a lung infection. The latter fits in with the cough.. wouldn't that be a nice co-incidence.

If it were Hodgkin's and it had somehow managed to hide from a CT (How it could do that I have no idea) then I'd expect to have all my other B-Symptoms back as well. Back pain, Itchy skin, night sweats and an intolerance to alcohol which in turn produces an extreme back-ache.
None of these I have.

Other symptoms I have are lack of appetite and fatigue. These are symptoms of Hodgkin's but also of a lung infection or a virus. I emailed my Haematologist last week, but have yet to receive a reply. I'd say I'm going to have to push really hard to get someone to look at this one seriously as the clear CT will no doubt be more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to getting extra tests done.

If it's just a bug and it clears up in a few weeks, then fantastic, I'll throw a huge party and everyone is invited... if it's not ... sheesh... I wouldn't even know where to go from here.

Oh! one more bit of good news (so I don't end on a low note) Our building consent approval came through on Friday. I couldn't help but notice that all the paperwork had been date-stamped "approved" on May 27th, it just took them another week to inform us! So that piece of news can technically be added to May's list of good fortune. :)

"KING OF THE MOUNTAIN"

I can't remember a time in my life when so much has happened in such a short period of time.
The month of May 2009 will go down as one of the watershed periods in my life.

I started the month with an amazing result in the Napier hillclimb events, where I went head to head with a far superior car, I didn't win but I showed it was ultimately possible.

Sarah and I then moved house and at the same time got Resource consent to start the earthworks required for our new home in Kelson.

I celebrated twenty years in business on May 1st.. man how time flies!

I was given a clean bill of health by my doctors and declared in "Complete Remission" following a clean CT scan.

I've discovered my constant cough may be Asthma related and can be controlled with std medication.

Last week I won the Duncan McKenzie Trophy for greatest number of points won in all Wellington region sealed sprint events. This is the fourth year in a row I've won it and a record for the most number of consecutive wins.

I was awarded the Mobil : Wellington Motorsport Personality of the Year award for my contribution to the sport and my success behind the wheel despite the hurdles of the past year.

As if all that wasn't enough. and just before the last day of the month rolled around. I travelled to Hunterville this weekend with Sarah and Murray to compete in the Manawatu Motorsport "King of the Mountains" Hillclimb series.

I won the first day (Otara rd) by a mere .4 of a second over Murray in second place. Day two, Lower Pahikikura rd, was looking to be more suited to Murray's rally car than my tarmac tuned car because of the strong likely hood of rain and snow showers.
Thankfully the rain and snow stayed away for the entire period of the event, other than a brief snow shower over the lunch break. The result was that I won day two as well, but by just .04 of a second over Murray.


The net result is I now hold the title of "King of the Mountains" for 2009 and Murray in the other Flextech car took out the second place position. (Jokingly winning him the title of Queen of the Mountains).


My mission for June is to jump start my health. I need to gain an appetite, put on at least a couple of KGs, get this cough under control and my body working the way it should be. (It seems to be missing a few hormones or something at the moment as it's all screwed up)

Wow!

Last night I attended the Wellington Motorsport Association annual prize-giving evening.
I'd been told I needed to attend, I thought it was because I had again won the Duncan McKenzie series for sealed events. This the fourth year I have won it in a row. Something that had never been done before.

Sure enough I was awarded the DM trophy and I made a short speech about how difficult the year had been, but that I had been lucky enough to still compete in all the rounds. Some of the events I entered in a very sick state indeed, But I had made my motorsport my goal... a focus to get me through my often harsh medical treatments. I mentioned my boyhood racing heroes and how I had set myself a goal of one day winning the Duncan McKenzie series.

One thing I did notice during the prize giving was the large number of competitors that won awards that I help out in one way or another. Usually it's a bit of free advice and a discount on the work I do on their cars. It seemed like I had a small hand in about 90% of the winning Rally and Sealed event cars.

Later in the evening we were told it was time for a very special award, one that is only given out every few years. We were told that the recipient had competed successfully at a very high level in local motorsport despite having several obstacles thrown in his way. This person was known to offer help to many younger motorsport competitors and contribute both his time and expertise to the sport. I began thinking ... gee that could be anyone.. heck it could even be me!!
He spoke of the fact that this person offered the use of their premises for motorsport events.. and I realised it was me he was talking about! I started to shake..

Suddenly my name was being called and the whole room rose, giving me a standing ovation.. I walked to the front of the room tears welling up in my eyes.. I was totally blown away.. speechless. The award.. "The Mobil Wellington Motorsport Person of the year"

It still hasn't completely sunk in.. Perhaps I should have guessed something was in the air when the General Manager of Motorsport New Zealand phoned me yesterday and asked if my car could be put on display in the foyer at Head Office...