"You aren't going to die from your lung disease"

As we spoke, he began asking questions... How was I sleeping, was I confused first thing in the morning, did I snore. Questions that didn't really seem directly related to Alpha-1, but being new to the game, I wasn't really sure.

Once we had asked all of the questions that we could think of, and he patiently and happily answered every one, he gave us his prognosis. As long as I continued to follow up with him, and as long as I avoided irritants (smoke, workplace chemicals, etc...) than he was extremely confident in this:

"You aren't going to die from your lung disease"

It took a moment for the news to digest. I knew that my major symptoms were from the liver, but after seeing all of the lung information, I was certainly unsure of how this would play out. His news, however, did come with one caveat: Although I had come to see him about the Alpha-1, he was always trained to spot symptoms of any other issues that he could address and heal. He did highly suspect Sleep Apnea, in my case (hence the "strange" questions that he had asked). He scheduled me for a sleep study, where his suspicions were proven correct. A small hiccup in the healing process, compared to what I had feared.

I have continued to see this Doctor for the last two years, and would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone in the area who needs a pulmonary Doctor, or even a second opinion. I recently heard him speak at an Alpha-1 Education day, and, even after doing two years of research on Alpha-1, he still managed to impress me with his knowledge and presentation skills, as well has his pure humanity. If anyone needs his information, please just contact me!