A Fight

The first time I got bronchitis was during my senior year of high school. No fever but just an annoying cough filled with the phlegm that goes with it. It was in the spring, smack dab in the middle of lacrosse season. I pushed through, didn't miss school, practice or any games. But it came back again the next year. And the year after that and the year after that until it became a yearly thing. Every spring, right on schedule, it was there. I would go to my doctor, tell her that I was at the beginning stages of bronchitis and she would reassure me that I was far from the beginning but smack dab full in. When you get something like this every year, it becomes the norm and trying to squeeze that doctor appointment in just to confirm your diagnosis so you can get some medicine kind of gets put on the back burner. Especially when you are teaching. And have two little kids at home.

When I was eight months pregnant with my third child, I knew I was getting sick before it actually happened. I am so in tune with my body that I can feel it in my saliva. This time around though, it was November and not March when it usually happens. I thought I could wait it out but when I went to the doctor, I couldn't really breathe. My lungs were so heavy. I ended up being diagnosed with exercise induced asthma (I am a runner), had breathing treatments, was sent home with two different kinds of inhalers, and missed four days of school. Not fun. That was nine years ago.

Fast forward a few more years. Bronchitis still arrives right on schedule but this time my doctor is worried. The bronchitis is having a hay day on my lungs. My exercise induced asthma turned into reactive asthma. The moment I start getting sick, my lungs pretty much shut down. Walking and talking take so much out of me. It is horrible. So my doctor decides we need to be proactive. The moment I feel as though I am getting sick, I have to start taking an inhaler with a steroid to kick this out before it turns into bronchitis. And it works. It has been almost three years since I have had bronchitis.

My current situation is a fight. I am fighting off a cold that so badly wants to turn worse. I have been using my blue inhaler for a week. I have almost lost my voice. I slept until 11:45 this morning, which is a record for me. And when I stepped outside at noon, all I wanted to do was go for a run. It was 40 degrees, and you could smell spring in the air. But I couldn't because my lungs are heavy and I am fighting a battle. One that I hope to win.