Wow, has it really been that long (three weeks) since I last posted anything about the travels of life with ‘Lenny’ and Me.

All I can do is say, “it happens.”  Now I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it’s all I have and all I can offer – hence the title of today’s posting being ‘Preoccupied and Noticing’.

The ‘preoccupied’ part is just what it is, getting so caught up in life itself that you get sidetracked from some of your normal routine or patterns of life to the point that it may even seem as if you have fallen completely off the normal road of life that you travel – that was me the past few weeks.

The last we shared I was celebrating a brief 36-hour visit from our oldest grandson and all the joys, sharing and love that went with it.  We also talked about the anxiety of preparing to have a EGD (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy) done as I had not had my system checked in nearly 50 years, which surprised the doctors after I explained to them that I was born without an esophagus and it had to be reattached to the top of my stomach system.

Starting with that, I can say it went better than I was maybe expecting and despite still feeling as if I was having some difficulties swallowing over the following three days, the procedure did seem to do what they were hoping as they dilated my swallowing system (in other words they stretched it out) as it did have several spots where it was narrowing.

Even better for me, the folks that put me under took serious my COPD/Asthma condition and monitored everything very closely which kept ‘Lenny’ from getting riled up and causing an undue problem.

By the end of a week, I could feel a good change in eating as swallowing was not the major effort it had been previously, though due to having one side of my larynx paralyzed I still must be careful with eating too fast and trying to swallow too much at once.

The preoccupied stuff continued though as two of our five adult children were running into bumps in their life travels that could have major consequences – stuff I will not go into detail with, but stuff that as a parent can and will just push you to the emotional limit of exhaustion.

In the process, ‘Lenny’ seemed to know I was walking an edge and politely began to cause little spats of problems whenever I seemed to want to stretch myself and try to walk or do something which might push my limits of lungs and heart both – the noticing part.  While ‘Lenny’ did not fire up any major flare-ups or exacerbations, the spats were enough to frustrate me and cause my oxygen levels to drop enough that it just seemed like I had just run at least a mini-marathon when I had done no such thing.  Those spats just made me feel exhausted and wanting to dose off without any warning at all.

One thing I do have a temptation to do when I get preoccupied or stressed – is eat, and those of us that have problems with COPD, Asthma and maybe some heart issues know that being overweight or trying to run at an uncomfortable weight is never a good thing and I was reaching that point.

So, this past few days, while our one adult child begins hammering away at the roller coaster called a divorce, I realized that that uncomfortable weight may be much of my problem with ‘Lenny’ and feeling fatigued – so I am back watching everything and anything that I do or may consider eating.  Do I like it no, but that is because I am cutting out nearly all my breads, potatoes and pasta while limiting my dairy, and not being real strong on the number of vegetables and fruits I will devour without complaining it is making meal planning a real challenge.

We will see where it takes us, but I am betting it will go far because I have grandkids to live for and have every intention to survive and celebrate life happenings with each, and every one of them.

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

Want to know who ‘Lenny’ is?  ‘Lenny’ is the name I gave my constant companion called COPD/Asthma.  I have found that referring and dealing with my chronic illness as a companion I am less apt to get angry with it, but instead more likely to work with it like you would in a strong relationship.  Besides treating anything with TLC is much better than hammering away at it as if it was an enemy.

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 good breathing, is a person without a good life’, so let’s do what we can, to learn what we can, to improve what we can.

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 medical founded information.