Breathing easier

In a year of firsts at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf add Norman Allemore to the list.

Allemore, of Port St. Joe, was the first patient to step inside the hospital’s “body box” to test his lung function under the guidance of respiratory therapist Michael Simmons and the first to undergo a bronchoscopy under the care of Dr. Rob Garver, who has established a lung disease clinic at the new Sacred Heart Hospital.

Allemore was, in every sense, the first patient of the new lung disease clinic now established by Garver at Sacred Heart.

“I was having problems in my chest and I went to have an X-ray and my doctor said there appeared to be something there in my lung,” Allemore explained. “I waited and then went for a second X-ray and it was worse. So I came over here to see Dr. Garver.

“I was treated by a good technician (Simmons) who knows what he is doing and a good doctor. I could not have asked for better care.”

As part of that care, Allemore was the first to undergo a bronchoscopy, a procedure similar to a colonoscopy or endoscopy – just a different tube to enter the body – in which a scope is snaked down into the lungs to take any tissue needed for later testing and to “wash” down and cleanse vital areas.

The procedure is done in an operating room with the patient under moderate sedation, Garver said.

“What he has will require follow-up and he and have had a long talk about the things he can do to help his situation,” Garver said.

Sacred Heart is the eighth rural clinic Garver, founder of SEC Lung out of Andalusia, AL, has established in Alabama and Florida. His other Florida clinic is in DeFuniak Springs.

Garver and his team are at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf every other Friday, seeing patients from 8:30 a.m. until.

“We are hoping to build our presence here, but we are starting from ground zero,” Garver said. “Traffic is building. Doctors need to get to know me and understand and be comfortable with what I do.

“We are in that initial two to three month period of doctors getting to know and be comfortable with me to refer their patients.”

Upon seeing a patient Garver puts them through his own battery of lung function tests, including a stint on a treadmill and a trip inside the “body box.”

The box is essentially a plexiglass phone booth with tubes running inside from a nearby machine. By calculating the cubic space in the box, minus the space taken up by the patient as calculated by their height and weight, Simmons and Garver can assess how much air should be coming out of a person’s lungs as they breathe through the tubes and into the machine.

“It is much like a bathtub,” Simmons said. “You know when you sit in a bathtub of water the water will rise with your weight. This is same thing and we use to calculate how much function you have in your lungs.”

After taking a patient through his own tests, Garver can craft a course of action.

“I integrate what I’ve learned from seeing the patient and an X-ray and any information from a referring physician and put together a treatment plan,” Garver said.

“I have been doing this for 25 years and I think anybody who has breathing problems should have them checked out.”

Breathing issues that bring patients to Garver effectively fall into two broad categories, he said.

“The top two complaints are a chronic cough or shortness of breath with no known cause,” Garver said. “It is sort of common sense. If you have something that causes shortness of breath for no known reason and that lingers for a week or two, you should see a doctor.

“A cough is something else. A cough can linger for any number of reasons. But if you have a cough that stays with you for three or four weeks, you probably should have that checked.”

The key to good lung health, Garver said, is to avoid smoking and to exercise aerobically at least three times a week for up to 45 minutes a session, or at least until the person is panting or breathing hard, Garver said.

Allemore had been a smoker but quit when he was 33, or some four decades ago. He was long-time jogger until his knees rebelled. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy and his lung symptoms presented since he began chemotherapy and could be related to the intensive regimen, Garver said.

Follow-up and close monitoring will be required until Allemore is off chemotherapy.

Allemore said his experience at the hospital and with Garver and Simmons was nothing but positive.

“He (Garver) was talking in plain-speak, I understood what he was talking about,” Allemore said. “I was treated very well and (Simmons and Garver) were very knowledgeable. This is great having this facility right here in Port St. Joe. If I do have a problem, they are right here.

“I feel pretty good. I can’t jog anymore but I can walk five miles without panting.”

And a year of firsts continues at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf.