I'm "Hard To Kill"

Blogging Friends.... This post required, like three days to write. Because I have been busy. Helping Mom paint our shed green!! And.... I am a bit behind in commenting on your Blogs!! Sorry about that!!

 

Some people are, in my opinion, "hard to kill". Heedless of what potential life threatening experience is thrown at them--whether self-inflicted or not--they're resilient. For those who are "hard to kill" bounce back swift as a boomerang. They do not fall flat on the floor like some inflated basketball. I think of my Kindred Spirit congenital diaphragmatic hernia Blogging Friends. All 19 of them. Each story unique as a zebra's stripe pattern, some much more dramatic than others, yet every infant's beginnings were terrifyingly traumatic. Killian, Whitney, Timoteo, Wyatt, Ramsey, Bonnie, Zoe, Ava, Catherine, Parker, Clara, Jude, Clay, Memphis, Sunni, Atiksh, Camden James, Oliver, plus Jim Beau are all "hard to kill". I think of Robert Downey Jr., and every disgusting narcotic that he repeatedly put into his body. On many occasions, no one thought that the naturally charming Hollywood actor would survive such addictions. Robert Downey Jr. is "hard to kill". I think of Hawaiian surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose left arm was ripped off by the unsuspecting shark--bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, veins, nerves and all--like some beloved rag doll. She lost nearly half of her blood volume. Bethany Hamilton is "hard to kill". As previously mentioned, nearly 30 years ago, I, like my 19 Kindred Spirit Blogging Friends, was born with C.D.H. . Now. Our experience was not nearly as eventful as most. However. As resulted, my left lung collapsed. It was by God's Grace alone that I evaded childhood asthma, for many C.D.H. kids suffer from that respiratory illness. Yes, by God's Grace alone. I lived a fairly "normal" childhood, and was able to run around sans being breathless!! God deserves the Glory for that!! But, then again. I do possess one pair of resilient lungs!! See, nearly eight years ago, in November 2005, I caught pneumonia at age 21. Yes, you read that correctly. I caught pneumonia. From my youngest brother, Michael, who had previously suffered from it. And no, up until then, we never knew that pneumonia was contagious, either. As per usual, I learned this lesson the hard, hard, hard way. It is how I roll, apparently. But. If anybody was going to catch pneumonia, it would be me, the female "Cranio" baby!! Because, every odd and strange medical-related incidence is always hurled my way like some sly curveball!! Trust me on that one. Anyway. So, in November 2005, I caught pneumonia at age 21. You know what? Had I known that this severe respiratory illness was contagious? I'd have transformed into some germaphobe--a creature that I was not up until this experience--and washed my hands so very frequently that they'd become chapped!! But, I cannot peel back time like some banana. "It is what it is", as that phrase goes!! My lung collapsing all those years ago returned to haunt me like some demon or ghost during the pneumonia. I constantly had to "catch my breath". I was unable to yawn. I could not blow out a candle without feeling dangerously light-headed. Singing was embarrassingly off-key. It is amazing to me how much our bodies can do with "lung power"!! I also suffered from a delirious fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. Nobody enjoys throwing up, and I am not exempt. Thus, I stopped eating for some time while staying hydrated. As resulted, I lost so much weight and became so thin that my loving sister gave this warning. "You'll need a feeding tube!!". Whoa. I was then faced with this pondering. Am I gonna let pneumonia take me.... Or am I gonna take it? The choice was mine. I then decided to battle this like the fighter that I am. I was ill with pneumonia for one month. To quote my Mom. "It was bad. It was really, really, really bad.". Well, I survived!! But, alas, I would spend the following year suffering from an ongoing cough. Many loving people said that it was asthma. But, how can this be, we wondered? I never had asthma before. Nonetheless, I recall sitting on our "girl's bathroom" floor once during an attack, terrified and breathless, unsure of what, exactly just took hold of my body. Eventually, a doctor diagnosed me. It was asthma. Their very logical theory? My previously collapsed lung could not withstand the pneumonia. So there we have it. My lung collapsing all those years ago returned to haunt me like some demon or ghost during the pneumonia. I was prescribed twain different inhalers, one of which I've since been taken off of!! Thanks be to God!! I now only use my albuterol inhaler when I'm battling nasty chest cold germs. Like last week. Now. Lest anybody wonder. My asthma attacks are not considered "severe", and they're nothing in comparison to pneumonia. However. During chest cold-produced asthma attacks--and this may be information overload, but I do not care--my airways become clogged up with mucus like some sink. {There. Take that visual. You're welcome!!} Then, I cannot inhale, because it feels as though my lungs push the oxygen back, rejecting that life-giving gas. This is quite an alarming experience, which has been known to awake me at ungodly hours!! But I know what to do during such episodes. Yes, I'm well-trained!! I grab my albuterol inhaler, and puff as deep as humanly possible considering the fact that, well, I am short of breath. Which is quite the challenge!! Puffing albuterol either successfully makes me cough up mucus, therefore "unclogging" my airways. Or not. That being mentioned. Although, I was never hospitalized, I basically spent my entire chest cold fighting to stay alive, if you do not mind me saying so. Because. Every time I coughed hard, it was yet another effort to keep breathing!! But you know what? God most certainly made our bodies amazing!! To think that all of that mucus is not supposed to be taking up residence within my lungs. So. My body rejected it, as if protesting this message loud and clear. Hey you!! Mucus!! You are not allowed in this body!! Get out!! Not spreading germs while struggling to breathe? That was the least of my problems!! Yes, I did, inevitably, share this nasty germ with those who I'm in close proximity to. But covering my mouth when I am batting nearly constant asthma attacks? Not an option!! I repeatedly half-jokingly made this statement. Staying alive is exhausting!! I'm "hard to kill". It is a curse. It is a blessing.