Another long-term concern is pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive disease in which scarring thickens and stiffens the lung tissue, making it difficult for oxygen to move into the bloodstream. Dr. Elsaeg describes the lungs of pulmonary fibrosis as “hard balloons from the party store.” My face flushes when I try to force air, but I simply refuse to inflate.
With former Palisades residents intending to return to their neighborhoods, Dr. Elsaieg has also doubled as a trustworthy confidant, leveraging personal experiences to help patients face uncertainty and find solutions.
“In an ideal world, go there and 'Everyone who lives in Pallisard and LA county, let's all move. Let's go somewhere else. There's no need to worry about this,” he said. “That's not the reality. We're trying to find an incredibly difficult balance of helping us return to normalcy and return to our lives, but we're doing it as safe as possible.”
In early February, Dr. Elsieg pulled up a chair next to Dana Michelles, a cybersecurity lawyer and healthy mother of three, checking for damage at her home, and now she couldn't cough.
“Lovers, you're not moving the air at all,” Dr. Elsaeg said to listen to her lungs through a stethoscope and quickly order a breathing test and a nebulizer. The lung student asked to listen, then glanced at Dr. Elsaeg, looking confused.
“I've not heard anything,” the student said. Dr. Elsaeg gave him one nod.
After years of rental, Michelle and her husband got their first mortgage almost four years ago. It was a family milestone. Now, as their Palisades are smoked in the house, the family is split into two rental apartments at Marina del Rey. One is for boys and the other is for girls.
