Monday, May 9, 2011

Old Me


I remember in 2007 while at a friends home, she was telling me that her doc said her oxygen levels were at 93%. I responded "so... it's in the 90's, that sounds OK." She thought so too, and told me she didn't feel too bad. In 2009 I was visiting my nephew in the hospital. For "fun" we all placed the oxygen meter on our finger. I was at 93-94%. I didn't feel bad, and actually thought of it as no biggie since my friend was 93% and she was Ok.... so I lit a cigarette, poured myself a glass of wine, ate some cheese, and never thought about it again until mid 2009 when I visited the ER for the first time with shortness of breath and dizziness. X-rays and test showed negative to any real problems. I was given a peek flow test, which I blew in the low 300's, a steroid inhaler, and it was "suggested" that I quit smoking, and I was sent home where I continued with my lifestyle, not really knowing what to do with this "thing" the doc gave me. Then, in January 2010 I was taken by ambulance to the ER room for a "sudden" asthma attack. Looking back, I was exhausted for days before this attack, and the day of the attack I slept all day until I was rushed away at 11:30 p.m. This was my first brush (one of many - took me a few to "get it") with death. I attribute all of my problems over the years to bad living, with the polyps a RESULT of my bad living. For the first time in probably 20 years, I actually feel alive and awake by following a super simple diet; some, but really not much, exercise, and paying attention to my environment - avoiding smoke. (btw: oxygen levels for me at this point are between 98% and 100%, and my peek flow meter registers between 450 and 520.)

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