Illness It’s Personal Now

Illness is a part of the human condition, for me illness is a challenge.

As a ten year old child I fought a very serious illness, powassan encephalitis to be exact. I survived. Many people affected by this virus do not. Half of all cases result in permanent neurological damage and 10 – 15% result in death. Some said it was a miracle that I had no damage and survived.

Today I witness my youngest daughter struggle and help to manage her asthma.  Asthma is a terrible disease that exhausts the breath and energy but not the spirit of my daughter.  It is something she can not change but something she can control. On Facebook I recently clicked like on the Asthma page. It seemed surreal because it is a condition I do not like. I get updated via my Doctor, Facebook and other platforms about asthma because it’s important to know how to treat asthma effectively.

Photo Credit: ninasaurusrex via Compfight

I admire my oldest daughter who struggles with a sport induced meniscus tear. She popularized the condition with her friends before Jeremy Lin recently made it famous. She had surgery and it hurt (a lot)!  She will always have knee pain and manages (some how) to work through her knee problems and persevere.  She mandatorily retired from the sport that caused her meniscus tear and now enjoys playing lacrosse for her schools Freshman team as an eighth grader.
Photo Credit: bhtcbtech via Compfight

What issues to you face when challenge is at hand.  Do you run and hide? Or do you fight and survive like me (and my daughters)?