For a variety of reasons the back half of 2016 fell into a vast empty stage of limbo for myself and my persistent sidekick ‘Lenny’.

Let’s take a moment for a short reminder, not only for many of the readers out there who may truly be reading this – but also for me, to remind myself of the commitment I made a while back to myself and those other folks who are battling that nasty medical situation called COPD and Asthma.

Let me start with just who I am and who ‘Lenny’ is.

I am a guy stuck in the middle of the United States with late Stage III COPD and Severe Asthma.  The asthma part I have had all my life, the COPD diagnosis came a few months after I survived a ‘widow maker’ heart attack.  I am happily married to a lady who gives and takes a lot for me, and I am blessed by 11 grandkids.

Now ‘Lenny’, well that is the name for which I gave my COPD – it just seemed to be an easier way to deal with my disease, by making it more of a constant companion than a nasty enemy.  As a companion, I seem to be able to deal with it much better, at least most of the time.

For a long time I wrote consistently on my blog ‘Wheezing Away’ as kind of a therapy for dealing with my COPD and Asthma.  ‘Wheezing Away’ is my way to cope with not being able to work anymore in my choice of work, the food service industry.

I also began writing because I figured that maybe, just maybe whatever I bang out of the keyboard would hopefully hit a chord with someone, somewhere – the opportunity to remind others that they are not alone, the HOPE of touching others in the same similar boat battling the same similar disease.

So here I am, the beginning of 2017, once again sharing where I am at and maybe how I may or may not be in dealing with life and my own travels with COPD/Asthma.

HOPE is a big word with few letters.  One of the longer references to a definition for the word comes from that hot internet spot called Wikipedia.

In Wikipedia they describe hope as “an optimistic attitude of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: ‘expect with confidence’ and ‘to cherish a desire with anticipation’.

HOPE is what I use instead of those nasty things called resolutions that so many try to make at the beginning of a new year, only to have them falter or fail all together within a month, week, day or sometimes even minutes.

HOPE is what I use, because it seems more optimistic and I really to try to be and stay optimistic.

HOPE is what I need, sometimes on a daily basis when I am home alone fighting a day of SOB (short of breath) and can’t do much without making it worse.

HOPE is what I want since my latest spirometry test showed at least one of my four functions tested as having gained 17% in less normal function.

HOPE is what I look toward as I continue to fight a weight issue, one which most likely help my dealings with ‘Lenny’ but seemingly so hard to battle, especially during those periods of time when my breathing can make it difficult to exercise like I should or would like.

HOPE is what will keep me going in 2017, as I refresh my motivation for sharing my daily travels with COPD/Asthma, hoping that I once again can help others by letting them know they are not alone.

And that my friends is where ‘Lenny’ (my COPD/Asthma) and me are at 4 today.

As always – if you or anyone you know have any symptoms involving lung and breathing functionality, and they linger over and over while disrupting a lifestyle – then please ask questions and get it checked out.

Remember – a person without breathing is a person without life itself.

I bid to all – smiles, prayers, blessings and steady breathing – Mr. William.

(Copyright@2017, CrossDove Writer through wheezingaway.com – no part of this write may be used or copied without written permission.)

NOTES: Sometimes we share what may seem like medical information, but we are only giving descriptions and highlights of various aspects of having COPD and/or asthma and no way do we ever want our information to be considered medical treatment type of information, always consult your physician for more, clearer and more medical founded information.