Hi, my name is Curt Thompson of Richland, Mississippi and I’m 71 years old. I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in August of 2015. My wife, her identical twin sister and one of their cousins (a 62 year old male) have all passed from IPF.
During the spring of 2015 I had a persistent cough and a couple of bouts of pneumonia. After the meds and the tests I was referred to a pulmonologist. A high resolution CT scan confirmed I had IPF. My wife and I had worked with Dr. Joao DeAndrade at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Naturally that was the first place I turned. I have been under their care since.
I have three adult children and six grandchildren. You can just imagine their feelings to have a mother and father afflicted with the same disease. To improve our understanding of this disease all three of my children and I attended the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Summit in Nashville this past year. It was at this Summit that we met the patientMpower guys. They helped me set up the patientMpower app on my iPhone and gave me my own spirometer. Having a spirometer is by far my favorite tool to use. I have tried the step counter and the reminder features also. I look forward to supplying them information for the digital biobank we we fight against this disease.
{Photo image: Curtis and his children at Lake Tuscaloosa in Alabama, summer 2017.}
