Wednesday, January 14, 2026 – Day 519

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Good morning, everyone.

Y’all came through yesterday. Cindy was flooded with happy birthday wishes all day long. We even had Angel Peggy stop by and join us for a casual pizza dinner. Thank you for helping make it such a special day.

Unfortunately, I nearly derailed the entire thing—simply by crossing up a few numbers. I recently bought a pulse oximeter—the little device you clip on your finger. They’re inexpensive, and since I’ve been feeling short of breath, I wanted to see whether my oxygen saturation was being affected.

Over the weekend, I started paying attention to the readings. I thought my SpO₂ (oxygen saturation) was showing low 90s and even high 80s. I didn’t give it much weight at the time and mentioned it briefly in Monday’s blog. I try to be open about what I’m experiencing with ALS so people understand the journey.

Angel Peggy saw those numbers and was understandably concerned 😟. She asked me to contact my pulmonologist, which I did through the portal. He responded within 15 minutes and recommended a CT scan to rule out pneumonia—preferably through the ER.

Things escalated quickly. We started making calls to arrange care for Bear, packed an overnight bag, and braced ourselves for a possible hospital admission. As all this was happening, it was nearing 11:00 a.m., so I decided to do my midday formula feed—figuring the ER wait could be long.

Just as we were about to head out the door, I took one last oxygen reading.

That’s when I realized the problem.

I had been reading my pulse rate as my oxygen saturation.

Sitting in my wheelchair knowing that I put everyone was an edge, I thought to myself: “You’re such an idiot.”

My actual oxygen saturation was in the mid-90s—exactly where it should be. My lungs were fine. Nothing was wrong. With equal parts embarrassment and enormous relief, we started making calls to stand everything down. Everyone laughed, grateful that it was a simple mistake and not a medical emergency.

Later in the day, Peggy told me just how alarming the numbers I’d shared had been—especially for someone with ALS. She had even planned to stop by to talk about end-of-life issues. That hit hard. At the time, it was very real and very heavy for her, and for that, I’m truly sorry.

Cindy went back to enjoying her birthday. I went to take a nap—stress-induced and self-inflicted—and slept for a solid two hours. Bottom line: I need to stick to describing how I feel and let the medical professionals handle the measurements and interpretations.

That said… I did take another reading this morning.

SpO₂: 95%.
I couldn’t help myself.

Have a great Wednesday. Love you guys! ❤️