Fighting to Breathe Air is free. Breathing is one of the most normal things a human being does each and every time. And a lot of people take it for granted. They assume that it is every human's right to breathe. In my childhood and part of my adulthood, there is no single time I ever sat and thought that someone could have difficulty in breathing; until I met her. Polly was a beautiful girl. I had known her since my younger days just after completing high school. I first met her outside our house and my brother couldn't fail to introduce her to me. She was my sister's friend's sister. I noticed her big spread out a smile that brightened her face and twinkled her eyes. I liked her instantly and we became friends. After 10 years of friendship, we decided to get married. Living life with your soul mate is wonderful. I liked it from the first day. I still remember it was the last week of January and I could not hide the excitement of having a wife. July is a cold month and that is when I noticed that she had proof ems with cold. She was asthmatic. Sometime, she could not be able to breathe properly. And as she lay on the chest, I could feel how difficult it was for her to grasp of air into her lungs. That's the time I appreciated breathing. After one year, she gave me a handsome son. I was overjoyed. The feeling of being a father is such an exceptional feeling. It makes a man feel that he belongs and his future is guaranteed. Of course nothing I guaranteed in life, but having a son is like meeting your clone or duplicate. Miraculously, her condition disappeared. She was no longer having severe instances of lack of breath. We guessed that the hormonal spikes during pregnancy corrected the problem. I do not know if it is scientifically or medically possible. But it happened. And we were glad that she could be able to live a normal life. My son was born in January. January is usually a hot month. He was a quiet child that loved sleeping. When he was not asleep, he used to spend his time staring. I guess its a common toddlers' habit. July, the cold month approached and for the first time, he developed flu. He had difficulty breathing too. We took him to a doctor and after examining him, he diagnosed a possible asthma attack. My wife denied. She could not imagine that the condition had passed on to our son. As you might know, asthma is hereditary. And he had acquired it genetically. Over the years, we struggled with the condition. Keeping him warm and dust-free. Even when it was damn hot, he would be on a warm jacket and a woolen muffin. The most difficult one was to keep him out of cold ice cream. Amidst the challenges, it somehow worked, but only for a short time. When he enrolled in school, we lost control. He was hyperactive, and he would always want to play on the ground, with the soil, like the children. He couldn't resist. One evening, he got an attack and we took him to hospital. He was admitted. We were allocated a chest specialist to check on him. I still remember what he told us. "He will be well. He will be able to play with other children, sprint without running out of breath and even eat cold ice cream. You will be surprised that there are athletes that are asthmatic" Those words were very encouraging. My wife attested to that. It was hard for Polly to accept that our son will have to use inhalers daily to control the condition. But the hard truth was that he had to. There were times when he would wake us up at night with a tight chest and coughing. We would initially think it was the normal childish habit of seeking attention, until when he would start to wheeze. There are also instances when we used to take him to the hospital and the doctor would recommend nebulization. Nebulization is the process of opening the airways using liquid Ventolin, vaporized through oxygen. We would think that the doctor was looking for ways to make extra money through the administration of extra unnecessary services. Over the years, the condition has improved. The instances of attacks have reduced. The fact that he is now older and able to avoid the stimulants has helped him in managing it. He is also able to detect the attack and prevent its severity by using inhalers or walking away from the cues. Polly still believes that a miracle will happen to him, just like it did to her. We actually hope that during his teenage, the new hormones produced will correct the problem. This month, we are celebrating our son's 13th birthday. He is officially a teenager. As Polly awaits the miracle, I believe that he is now able to take care of himself better than when he was younger. Asthma is not curable. It's a condition that one needs to manage. With a proper lifestyle, one can live a normal life. No need to worry. I will leave you with this statement that one counsellor told me "Everyone has a condition, they manage them; it could be physical, mental or spiritual. Some are worse than your. There is no need to worry about your condition. Just learn how to live with it." |
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This blog post was published on 05 Feb 2020 in Life category. Access all the posts at Blog |