[Dennis Jackson]

Hanna, I had two CT scans in 2015, because I was having mild problems breathing. (I strongly suspected it was my heart–I had had 3x bypass coronary surgery at Johns Hopkins in 2012, but extensive tests on my heart in 2015–and more recently–showed that my heart was “okay.”) First I went to a pulmonologist in my hometown, Vero Beach FL. He did manage to have the proper tests done–a PFT breathing battery of tests, a six-minute-walk-down-the-hall using an Oximeter to measure my oxygen levels, and a CT scan. The latter indicated quite clearly that I had “pulmonary fibrosis,” but my local “doctor” did not bother to MENTION that to me. Same thing happened six months later at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The expert pulmonologist there said I should have another CT done in the future, but was vague enough about that (the importance of the words “pulmonary fibrosis” on my CT pathology report) that I left Ohio and just didn’t worry about my lungs until 2021. Even then, I just had mild breathing problems and increasing fatigue, and I felt positive I had HEART problems. I went to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Jupiter, Florida, to see a cardiologist, and figured I might as well visit their pulmonologist while I was there. The heart doctor said my heart was in “okay” shape, but the pulmonologist diagnosed me with “pulmonary fibrosis” (October 2021) and quite seriously indicated that I had a PROBLEM! It took her less than a half hour to determine that I had “Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis”—she spotted on my entrance papers the fact that I had a PARROT named Scooter, and I had been around him for about 9 years. She sent me to have a big battery of “allergen” tests, and sure enough, they indicated that I had an allergic response to TWO of the 100+ things I was tested for: mold (which one cannot escape, living in Florida) and PARROTS.
Right away she said, “there’s the problem,” and diagnosed “Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis” (a type of PF, with virtually the same outcome as PF). Poor Scooter had to pack his little birdie bag and go live with a friend who lives in Sebastian. I do think that that–the relocation of Scooter–may’ve helped a little, but 1-1/2 years later, I’m having more difficulty breathing (still no oxygen tanks prescribed and still no coughing problems). I’m 77-2/3 years old and that likely counts as a negative for me. My pulmonologist in Jupiter, Dr. Diana Amariei, is a very well-trained lung doctor. After med school at Boston University, she did a 3-year residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and was asked to stay on there for two extra years to aid in research on patients with PF (and specifically with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis), so I feel like I’m in good hands NOW, as far as having a very knowledgeable pulmonologist helping me. I am glad I made the decision to get OUT of the hands of Vero Beach pulmonologists, and go to Dr. Amariei, a young physician who practices about one hour south of me. The journey is tiring, but I hope I can continue to have her care for me from here to the end. Whenever that comes. I almost never get out of my home to see a movie or eat in a restaurant but my wife and I work around that. The one thing that HAS been different for me—having Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis diagnosed in place of PF–is that I’ve had a hard time getting into Clinical Trials for idiopathic PF.