Testing 1, 2, 3, 16

I going to take all of your blood, Matthew, the phlebotomist joked as my Thursday kicked off.

I'm alive, so I guess she was exaggerating, but it was a lot -- 16 full vials and two half-full vials discarded because the blood stopped flowing. The three punctures in two arms and big bruise in one tell the tale of a serious blood test.

But I didn't faint.

After that I came home and had breakfast, provided a urine sample (never easy for me -- just the logistics) and laid down for 45 minutes.

Then I was off to a pulmonary function test, which showed I have about 60 percent of the lung capacity I should have. This didn't worry the doctor. Neither did my shortness of breath.

He is more concerned with my mild sleep apnea, which he is confident will get worse. When he was mentioning treatment options, Mom mentioned that we need simple options because I can't do hard stuff. He replied by suggesting a tracheotomy. Sort of.

He said: we're not there yet, but a tracheotomy is an option. You'd not use it during the day and just open it at night.

Rather than surgery, I am first going to have an at-home sleep study.

The frustrating thing is that I was not worried about my apnea. My doctor mentioned it in some notes after my recent physical, and that is what the pulmonologist took his cue from, not what I was saying about my shortness of breath. Whatever.

I finished my day off with a pneumonia vaccine.