another view

look closely . . . i think you'll be able to

enlarge this, if you want to.

you might have to save it to your own computer

to do it, but if you are at all interested in

what a collapsed lung is all about, do it.

. . . . .

so, look at the area right at the first rib

you encounter moving up from my liver...

[looking inside my chest cavity]

follow that rib as it curves up and to the right...

you'll see what appears to be a hair across

the image... that's the upper edge of my lung!

christ! what's it doing down THERE???

i figured there would be a big old black blotch.

this view was taken before they inserted that

crazy tube. the tube acted as a siphon tube,

like when i used to steal gasoline. ya gotta

keep the bottom of the tube, which was

attached to a little plastic box with a handle-

-a sick little briefcase filling with BLOODY goo.

every now and then, they'd attach the box to

the suction thing on the wall but generally,

i was free to roam. it still amazes me, first,

that it got that far down there, and second,

that is came back so quickly.

i need to look at this from time to time, like today,

when i get so damned impatient when i'm

out riding, and feel myself a little short of breath.

[refer to my prior post about things

i don't take for granted: lungs]

. . . . .

update about me, for those who are keeping

track: since getting the all-clear the 18th,

i've been riding outside. i had hoped to ride

every day this week, but, mindful of the

fragile nature of my right lung, i decided to stay

inside earlier this week when it was rainy, and

earlier when it was really cold. i was advised

to avoid pneumonia, and what the hell, ok, i will.

so i've been gradually building up saddle

time, from one hour to two hours, to today,

when i got in about 45 minutes cruiser time

around noon, followed by about two and a half

hours this afternoon. the legs are fine.

but i am still experiencing a hell of a lot of pain

with that new, full-suspension collarbone.

and my little bib shorts aren't helping matters any.

but, oh well. i'm riding. and sometimes, i'm riding

with my sling. if it allows me to ride longer and

with less pain, then i'm all for it.

i look forward to actually riding with other people.

i met up with pig, pete, and lou...

[sounds like a bad folk trio]

in waterworks park today, and i'm planning

to ride with belling tomorrow. keith can

certainly appreciate riding with rearranged

bones as well as anyone, so it should be tolerable.

. . . . .

oh, while riding through waterworks, i tried

some gravel sections... and i'm not ready for

gravel nights! climbing the hills south of

grand was fun. no pulling on the bars.

i look forward to getting better.