A Clean Bill of Health

Since my last post a new year has begun, and I've got another 6 month lease on life. On January 3rd, I headed back down to Sloan-Kettering in Manhattan, and had my usual barrage of tests. A CT scan, bloodwork, as well as an EKG and Pulmonary Function Test to monitor possible damage to my heart and lungs.

The results were almost entirely positive. My CT scan was clear, and there was basically no change since my last scan, which is great. My bloodwork looks good, although I need to continue taking synthetic thyroid medication, since my thyroid is under producing. My EKG was fine, which meant my heart isn't showing any long term damage from my treatments, which I'm excited about.

My PFT was a little less than stellar however. My lung capacity last January was around 89%. One year and one stem cell transplant later my lung capacity is only 54%. This basically means there was a lot of damage and scarring to my lungs, which is to be expected, since I had radiation to that area twice a day for two weeks straight. The doc says I can expect to gain a bit of capacity back, but probably never get back to where I was. I'm fine with this, and honestly, I knew my lungs were struggling a bit anyways, so this only added a quantitative value to what I knew was going on.

So basically I'm clear to begin exercising, and the Doc will monitor my overall health as I ramp up for Ironman.

In other news, I'm back in California, and spent the past week moving out of my apartment in Berkeley, and relocating to Tahoe City, CA. I'm planning on spending the winter skiing, and working at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. I do not, however, have a job there yet, and this a detail that needs to be worked out in the days to come. I do have an apartment, and am stoked to be living with my buddy Erik Lake, a fellow triathlete, Ironman '08 participant, and veteran ski bum.

Here's a view of the house:

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-Jeff