Sweet Freedom

I've been kinda lax in my updates lately but I've been busy doctoring and tending to the everyday goings on. Hard to believe March is here and that Spring is almost here. It's been snowing like crazy back in North Dakota and I can't say that I'm real envious :-) Winter here has been fairly mild and they are forecasting near 50 for the weekend.

Things have been going pretty good healthwise and my Coumadin levels have been nice and stable. I'm happy that my blood draws are only weekly now. There also has been some bleeding around my trach recently and on Tuesday I had a bronchoscopy done. The doctor put a camera scope down my airway to check things out. Turns out that my cuffless trach has caused an ulceration on my windpipe. My pulmonologist ordered in some trachs that are made of a softer and more flexible material. They should be in next week and I look forward to this problem getting resolved.

I have some awesome news to share about my friend Lori B. Lori has been trapped for the past 4 years in the North Dakota State Development Center. After a long hard fight, she recently was able to leave the institution and move to Minneapolis to live independently. I'm so thrilled for Lori and wish her all the best in this new endeavor. I'm disgusted though at how little North Dakota cares about it's citizens with disabilities. Lori and I have been forced to leave our home state to have any shot at living in freedom. We are like modern day pioneers pursuing a new homeland where we can lives the way we choose. This weeks picture is from the summer of 2005 when Lori came to Jamestown to visit me.

That's all for this update but I'll return sooner with the next edition. Take care and stay well.

Mark