In 2003 I was radiated for neck cancer. The adverse effects of radiation are progressive and irreversible.
The life threatening diseases, such autonomic nervous system failure, are not obvious from the outside, but while the dysphonia and dysphagia will not kill me, they have ended social life which involves talking or eating.
My medical diagnoses with start dates in parentheses include:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (2003)
- Severe muscle loss in neck and shoulder (2005)
- Autonomic nervous system failure (2009)
- Paroxysmal hypertension and orthostatic hypotension (2010)
- Central sleep apnea (2012)
- Dysphagia due to loss of oral muscules and severe esophageal dysfunction (2018)
- Dysphonia due to fibrotic vocal cords (2018)
- Hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia (2019)
- Mandible degeneration and dental extraction (2021)
- COPD with FEV1 of 1.7 liters/sec (2022)
- 100% occlusion of left internal carotid and 50% right (2023)
- Hospitaled with aspiration pneumonia and fractured ribs (2024)