A NEW LEASE OF LIFE !

BACKGROUND
I had been suffering from allergies from pollen, grass, weed, plants etc since about 6 years now (2009 as of this writing). It was almost a year round thing where I had to take OTC Loratadine and Pseudophedrine (combination of Claritin-D) once every day. Without this life was bad with breathing problems, scratchy eyes and what not. About a year or two back, I started noticing crusts in my nose that would bleed profusely upon removal. Of course I had no means to remove them than using my finger, without which my nose would remain blocked and I had to breathe through my mouth.
I travel a lot for work and also started noticing something was not right with my ears when I would take off and land in planes. The ears would have a hard time adjusting to the changes in pressure in the plane. But that was really not a huge problem. I noticed but had not complains.

TRIP TO INDIA
March 2009 I flew to India for my Dad’s CABG. On landing in Seoul my left ear got blocked and I could not adjust the pressure in the middle ear back to normal. It was terrible. With all the noise from the airport funneling from different directions into one ear, my brain was a perfect chaos, trying to decipher and distinguish the total cacophony. Anyways I took the next flight to Bombay and in the meanwhile the ear was still a mess. Luckily the TM did not burst. My eustachian tubes were clogged. In India I tried to self remedy the ear problem but in vain.
The next problem… Between home and hospitals I started feeling chills and fever (similar to two weeks before I left for India – but that lasted over the weekend only) and weak. I found a way to subside it – Combiflam (Ibubrufen – fever reducer and Paracetamol – pain killer). Life moved on. My sister who flew from New Jersey was right beside me noticing what I was going through. But things were still under control until this pain! Excruciating pain in my right side near my lower lung lobe. For a while I hoped it would be muscular but I could feel it was not. It would pain mostly in the nights when I would try to lie down to sleep. I tried to keep this to myself for a while, but had to open up as it was going nowhere.
I first started with the ENT who put me on antibiotics (Ezithromycin), next showed to a pulmonologist who initially suspected Pneumonia and asked me to continue Ezithromycin and ordered a CXR. As expected there was a patch in the lower right lobe of my lungs. A sigh of relief! A diagnosis was made and treatment was well in its way.
5 days in and no improvement. The antibiotics should have done the magic on Pneumonia. By this time my uncle (Gynacologist) suggested changing the antibiotics to Augmentine, and I did. Dr. Parag Mehta (Pulmonologist treating me) suggested a CT scan immediately. I was getting this bad feeling of something is not right. The CT scan of the lungs had not yet arrived but the Dr. alerted me to the possibilities of tumor.
By this time the mission for which me and my sister were in India was over. Dad’s CABG was a huge success and dad was back from the hospital, well on his way to recovery from the surgery. What a strong guy with an awesome will power! My sister was back in the US.
I updated my cousins in India of the situation and called up my sister and wife in the US. They freaked out. We all decided to pull in my flight back to the US immediately. My wife got me booked for the next available flight back to US. In the meanwhile Dr. Parag Mehta called me up with the CT scan results that suggested 7.5 cm x 4 x 3 cms size mass tumor which could be benign or malignant. The dr. suggested a biopsy immediately. By this time I was getting ready to get on to my flight back and we decided to conduct the rest of the tests in the US.

BACK TO THE US
My flight back was not pleasant. On takeoff from Seoul my left ear TM had ruptured. I was getting very weak. The plane with 400 passengers for 20 odd hours flight time, and the chances of me getting worse was high. By the time I landed in SFO I was pale, tired, exhausted and lifeless. My wife and kids came to receive me. That was the most pleasant sight after a long time. I drank some Gatorade, and rested at the airport for a little while before I came back to some senses. Two hours of driving time, and we were back. I took a quick shower and rested for a couple hours and we decided to hit the ER.

At the Folsom Mercy ER: The Folsom Mercy ER was not very chaotic. In about 15 mins I was assigned a bed. The ER doctor feared I may have generated blood clots during the long flights. So he first ordered a D-Dimer blood test that indicates any signs of clots. It came up positive. Scarry once again… Next, to determine if that was indeed the case we went for a CT scan, that proved otherwise. A sigh of relief! CT scan results matched results from the India CT scan suggesting the tumors. No clots! This was a Saturday. I was discharged with a suggestion to follow up with my Physician on Monday.
So we see Dr. Parween Moness the following Monday, who puts us on a broad antibiotic and refers us to Dr. Amit Karmakar (Pulmonologist). Dr. Amit suggested that we not do the biopsy just yet as I was on antibiotics and test results would get affected, besides it cannot possibly be cancer as I was having chills and fever. 5 days had passed by. No improvement. My shoulders started hurting. We consulted Dr. Amit again and he suggested getting admitted and would be easier for him to diagnose in an in-patient environment.
At the San Juan Mercy ER: We rushed to the ER at San Juan Mercy. It was very chaotic. Dr. Jennifer Buttler was assigned as the general physician to me at the hospital. Dr. Amit came by soon. We had ordered a CXR that indicated elevated levels of the effusion in the lungs. He performed Thoracocentesis which is a technique that allows the removal of an abnormal accumulation of fluid or air in the pleural space through a catheter or a needle, inserted percutaneously into the chest cavity to the pleural space. A 300ml liquid was extracted and sent to the lab. I was able to breathe a bit easier although through my mouth. I was still in the ER.
My sister was worried and flew down to California. My in-laws flew across from India. It was not pretty. Was is a tumor? Was still a question. By this time Dr. Buttler (reminds me of Dr. House) had established to doctor – patient connection with me. She and Dr. Amit were like a god sent angels, consoling me every time updating me of all the happenings, assuring me everything was going to be just fine. She had noticed a murmur in the heart soundings and coordinated cardiologist visits along with ENT. Morphine helped reduce the murmur to almost nil. Dr. Hemphill (always with a smile telling me I had a strong heart and had nothing to worry about) ordered an echo cardiogram, that revealed a good heart. That was very good to know.
CT assisted biopsy was performed and it would take around couple days for the results to come back. Right around that time (3 days in the hospital) Dr. Buttler came up to me informing that there could be a possibility of something called Vasculitis – Wegener’s Granulomatosis. A rare form of auto immune disorder where the immune system turns around and starts attacking your own organs. ANCA tests were done that came positive.
With immediate effect I was put on IV Prednizone and Cytoxan. Three days and I seemed to have improved a lot. I was discharged with follow ups scheduled with ENT, Pulmonologist and Rheumotologist.

Back Home: I still have some pains at the sight of the Thoracocentesis, perhaps the mass is still lingering around, perhaps getting bigger? I do not know. Crusts keep forming but manageable – I use the Deep Sea Saline water to spary in the nostrils to soften the crusts. They do come out big and large. But not as bloody as before.
My ears are still a mess. I have a follow up with Dr. Kerns tomorrow (May 5th).
In all I am keeping up my spirits. With prayers form family and friends and due diligence on the team of doctors I was able to get my life back.

There are so many people I would like to thank, my wife Rajni and sister Uma who stayed besides my bed day and night listening to my fears and cries consoling me I would live and become healthy again, my in-laws who rushed to take care of the house and the kids, Senaka and Lalani who supported us during all our pains that we went through, Gurdarshan and Hardev who at a moment’s notice rushed to SFO to receive and pick up my in laws. Preety and Ashok, caring and loving... brought food for kids and family. My family in India including my cousins who so selflessly supported my dad’s CABG and then went through the pains of taking me around the city hospital. All my cousins, People who I did not even know - Pastor Robin Martin who prayed for us to give us the strength to cope up with this disorder. Placida who we did not know very well (met her at Senaka and Lalani's party) performed nine prayers a day for nine days for me, what a selfless great soul. My cousin Suman and her husband Kaushik and Uma who kept researching on this disease and feeding us with valuable information from the internet while we were all in the hospital (they still continue to do so while I rest at home). My team at work who covered for me while I was out fighting with odds, wished me luck and added me to thier prayers. God listened to all of their prayers’ and sent me back with a new lease of life! – I once again would like to acknowledge all their prayers, wishes and help with a deep sense of gratitude. I now am starting to view the world with a different angle that brings hope and wish a good life to everyone.