For as long as I can remember I have had asthma. My parents and I chose at a very early age to not let this be an inhibitor to leading a normal life. I was much too active to try and relinquish that freedom and I refused to allow the ability to breathe stand in my way of having fun. This plan of action does have risks and inherent danger especially if you choose to be active in sports.
My parents always made sure that my medications were fairly regulated and that I had an inhaler with me at all times in case something should arise during a game. I never quite know what is going to affect my asthma so therefore I just need to be flexible and prepared for the unexpected. The problem is that sometimes I am not real good at noticing the early warning signs of an asthma attack. I can get much too involved in a game to let my body dictate when it has had enough.
This has led to some very close calls. I remember in high school while playing basketball I began to feel a shortness of breath coupled with a slight wheezing. Rather than calling time-out during a crucial sequence I chose to wait until a break in the action. Unfortunately that break did not occur before the game ended and by that time I was in dire straits (and I don’t mean the band). My inhaler would not work in that sense and instead my mother rushed me to the hospital for an emergency treatment. It was a costly mistake on many levels.
As I’ve gotten older and a little less active my asthma has been in check a little more. My doctors are very good at making sure I have the appropriate medications and continually monitor my symptoms. I still get an occasional attack but not nearly as often as I did earlier in my life. My body though has taken the brunt of my ignorance and I find that my immune system is not nearly as strong as it needs to be. A cold quickly moves through my system and before I know it, it has settled into my chest and turns into bronchitis.
As a guy I would love to just ignore that and let the sickness takes its course. Unfortunately that doesn’t work in my case. Before long that bronchitis becomes pneumonia and I end up flat on my back in bed sick. It’s frustrating and I don’t deal well with being sick. Recently we have had a couple of the kids who have gotten sick. Somehow I have now become the primary carrier of this bug and for the last couple of days I have not been feeling too well. Trina is scheduled to be out of town starting tomorrow so she immediately began calling for doctor’s appointments
The doctor got me in fairly quickly and what a surprise; I have bronchitis that looks to be turning into a case of pneumonia if something isn’t done soon. The doctor has prescribed a mountain of medications that when placed in a bowl looks like Lucky Charms. Unfortunately none of these pills taste anything like Lucky Charms. The after-taste of these medications seems to linger on my palette making everything taste like medicine.
My throat is raw and I can barely swallow. Overall, life kind of sucks right now. I feel exhausted and drained of energy yet I have work that is piling up unabated. Couple that with the fact that the Diamondbacks are still struggling on the road and Trina is leaving town putting me in charge of Tiffany and Dakota and it is quickly looking like a tough week around our house.
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