Greetings to all of my friends and family. This is Timothy J. Thompson writing to each of you. I have just returned home from an eleven day stay at the hospital. More than three weeks ago, I began experienced periods of shortness of breath. I let it pass, and continued to work. Then, I began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. All of these symptoms began to manifest themselves. Then, I had to leave work after only two hours on the clock. Then, on Thursday, September 4th, the short-ness of breath worsened. So did the light-headedness. Unable to determine exactly what was wrong, I managed to drive myself to the Emergency Room at Trail Winds Plaza in The Villages, a few miles from my home. They admitted me right away and conducted a chest X-ray. The results were very bad. The X-Ray revealed that I had suffered a complete and total collapse of my entire left lung. Right then and there, I thought that I was going to die. Fortunately, the ER Facility In which I was at is referred to as a, "Free Standing Facility." That means they do conduct certain initial operative procedures. One of these is treating a collapsed lung. They managed to get a chest tube into me and connected me to a suction. I was then transferred to the HCA Hospital in Ocala. I met with a multitude of very fine doctors over the next two days, and they discussed my case. What alarmed the physicians was that my lung was not reinflating. There was some sort of puncture in the upper left hand area of my left lung. They believed that only with surgery, could the puncture be repaired. I agreed, and the operative procedure commenced at 8:15, on Wednesday morning. I prayed and prayed. My family and friends did the same. My good friend, Phil, from work came to see me at the hospital, and he conducted one of the most beautiful prayers. I even phoned him before they wheeled me into the operating room, and Phil said a beautiful prayer once again. The prayers were all answered. I came through successfully. What the surgeons discovered was astonishing. I had more than 18 CM of tissue engulfing the top of my left lung. The attending surgeon even took a photo of it. She and her colleagues had to cut away about 1/4 of my lung in order to get rid of it. To make matters worse, a blister had formed on the damaged tissue, and then it popped. That is what forced my left lung to completely collapse. It was also the reason why it would not heal. as it turns out, I was born with this. The doctors described it as a rare birth defect that afflicts 1 in 25,000, to 1 in 35,000. And it was not discovered until now. The surgery saved my life. I would have eventually died from this. I think about that often.

The care I received from all of the doctors and nurses at HCA in Ocala, Florida was beyond outstanding. I cannot thank them enough. And I will never be able to repay them for saving my life. One of the many reasons why I am writing this, is that I had to talk about it with my friends and family. I am also asking, very humbly, for your financial support. I missed a great deal of time at work. I used up all of my sick pay. I have good insurance, yes. However, the bills for the ER and surgery, and the lengthy hospital stay have already begun to pile up, as a result of the co-pays, and my 20 percent share. I will never be the same physically. I have made peace with that. I will also have to go on short-term disability for several weeks. Then, I will probably have to have a different job assignment at my place of work. I just need everyone's prayers and their heartfelt generosity. I would never ask if the situation was not desperate.

Thank you and God Bless,

Timothy J Thompson