Hi Horizontal,

Just a few quick thoughts….I am so glad that you understand that nobody here would accuse you of whining. If anything I think we all really identify with what you are going through. Personally, I cried when I read your post. I cried because of the situation you are in. I cried because I understand perfectly your feelings of frustration, fatigue and loss. I cried because of how brave and upbeat you are.

I can’t use the computer much, so I may have missed some of your posts on the old Braintalk forum. Do I remember correctly that your breathing problems are the result of surgical damage to the phrenic nerve? This is a situation that we can all identify with perfectly, as it could happen to any one of us.

It sounds as though you have great doctors, but even so I’m wondering if it would be possible for you to consult with other docs to get their opinions? I say this because I think we’ve all had the experience of getting different or even conflicting opinions from each doctor we see. Often this is frustrating, but in your case, I wonder if it could be a positive thing—i.e, maybe an opinion from a different doctor could open up a whole new line of investigation or treatment?

It’s so important for all of us TOS’ers to have a place to go where people understand what we’re going through. I hope it helps at least a little to know that we are out here, that we do understand, and that we do care.

Best of luck H, and please keep us posted.

Hugs to you.