asthma / badassmatics / health + fitness / wellness

exercise and chronic disease : sharing my asthma story

• by kerri

I’ve written exactly one blog post about the intersection of exercise and asthma.  Given the fact that asthma management is a pretty big modifier in how I exercise, and that both topics are really important to me from a personal standpoint, maybe it deserves a little more attention here.

So let’s start at the beginning. In grade eleven, the year I was diagnosed with asthma, gym class was not mandatory. This is likely both a blessing and a curse in that 1) My asthma was not managed well; 2) I did not have a family doctor, thus contributing to point 1; 3) I had not done anything more than a 1K walk since grade ten; 4) Being required to be physically active would have likely made me catch my asthma earlier and receive proper treatment sooner [Read: for me, “take your blue inhaler and you’ll be fine” is not proper treatment].

Fast forward to August 2008 — I’m using my rescue inhaler three to four times per day every day, and was symptomatic between doses finding myself awaiting the four hour mark so I could take my inhaler again (in that regard, I’m sort of a badass now and will dose more than two puffs every four hours if necessary).  Two months into my mandatory grade 12 phys ed classes I finally got put on additional asthma medicine (FloVent), which didn’t help as much as it should.

Fast forward to January when something made me decide to take dance of all things (how rad is it my high school had a dance class?).  Yeah, still got the uncontrolled asthma going on, still winter (my bad season), and now I’m basically going from zero to sixty in terms of exercise.  That’s gonna go well, right?  I spent more time than I care to sitting on the sidelines on days that i just couldn’t do it.  I started up on Singulair midway through the term, which was later discontinued as it was decided it wasn’t doing anything.  Towards the very end of my grade 12 year, I was started on Symbicort in place of the FloVent, and things finally started feeling a little bit better.

Around this time, midway through the term, I think, is when I connected with Steve, who has since become an amazing role model and friend. Steve was imperative in helping me get the asthma sorted out better and totally awesome in encouraging the physical activity. I strongly believe that if it weren’t for Steve that I probably 1) wouldn’t be a kinesiology major right now, and 2) would likely have just started sitting on my ass again after dance ended in June.  I started fitness walking around this time until it because freezing.

Fast forward again to midway through first year. It’s the winter, early 2010, the asthma sucks, and I start going to the gym. In no way was my asthma controlled, but it was better than it was nearly two years later, and I was sick and tired of waiting around for something good to happen. So I go to the gym. Take my inhaler beforehand, whatever, go give’r.

Here’s the deal: I went to the gym again today, and the issue is kind of just the same.  Especially in winter (granted, it is currently unseasonably warm, so I’m doing better than expected) I just cough a lot. It doesn’t really matter what’s up, good day/bad day, I just cough a lot, especially when I’m exercising. It’s one of the reasons I hate going to the gym, because I hate people staring when I cough like the guy beside me was today, and I hate grossing people out.  I hate freaking people out.  I’ve had enough of those experiences too–grade 12 gym when I crashed on the bleachers following running the last two minutes of the twelve minute run after walking the bulk of it because i was so freaking tight and didn’t know it was okay to take my inhaler again since I’d just taken it.  Then, in like, 2010 or something pushing myself way too hard and getting way too tight on the elliptical and having to stop, use the wall to support myself and take my inhaler. My friend who was beside me basically had no idea what was going on as she’d never seen my asthma get that bad before.  So the freaking out people thing? I’ve done it, and I hate it, and I try really hard to avoid that kind of stuff.  Like, at the start line of my first 10K, I took my inhaler and my coworker, standing beside me, didn’t even notice.

It’s why I prefer to work out alone, because then I can cough and cough up shit and nobody is there to get grossed out, and not have people staring at me every time I cough like the dude in the gym yesterday on the bike beside me. Like, sorry? [Related: No, I wasn’t breathing great at the gym, or before for that matter, so I was awake at 6 AM and don’t feel so good today, but in my mind it’s worth it.]

Since then my medication regime has switched up and things are better. It takes me three inhalers daily and usually a daily hit or two of the rescue inhaler (at least). But you know what? I’m doing it. It’s hard and it sucks sometimes, but it’s worth it.  It’s even more worth it when on occasion I can kick my non asthmatic friends’ butts endurance-wise, or in that ‘yeah, i have kinda shitty lungs and still do this, so . . . what’s your excuse for not taking care of your body?’

So yeah, exercise is still a current issue. That may never change. I just basically don’t care anymore, I try not to let myself be limited, and if this is as good as it’s getting, then I’m just gonna keep pushing unless I’m having issues when not exerting myself.  I’ll probably never be a great athlete, but what counts is that I’m getting out there and doing it and trying.  My current goal come spring will be training to walk a half marathon in Fall 2012.  Maybe I’ll feel like an athlete after that or something.

Yeah, chronic disease sucks. And yeah, it makes stuff in general way harder. But your body can only give you what you give it.  So what choice are you making on that?  Grab your goal, make your plan, and go for it. Whether it’s being able to run a marathon or walk up your stairs or play with your kids . . . you can do it. Own it.

What’s your story? Leave me a comment, or e-mail me about how you’re kicking ignorance through fitness.  Because unlike asthma, CF, MS, COPD, diabetes, heart disease or something else you may be facing . . . ignorance is a curable disease.  I’d love guest posts on the subject, so if you’re comfortable and would like me to share your story here, I’d be honoured — just let me know.

health + fitness / kinesiology

stairs.

• by kerri

In the middle of campus, there’s a set of stairs sandwiched between two escalators.  It’s been a topic of discussion in more than one of my classes, and Promotion and Adherence is no exception.  We watched this video in that class too — I’d seen it before, but I love the concept.  Who DOESN’T want piano stairs?

They might make more students actually use the stairs between the escalators on campus.  I actually race people by running up the stairs and seeing if I can beat the person who got on the escalator the same time I got on the stairs.  Mostly people on campus just STAND on the escalator, too, like the people in the video above. Hello, they are meant to make you go FASTER not SLOWER.  Additionally, a girl in my class said that the only people she ever sees on the stairs are people who are in kinesiology.  We need Point of Decision prompts hanging at eye level above all the escalators and elevators on campus.

Burn calories, not electricity. Take the stairs.

Today I was on a mission for baked chips on campus.  The vending machines in the athletic centre had none, so I ran [literally] to the other building via the skywalk on the next floor up, up one of the flights of stairs between the escalators, and up to the other vending machines.  Nada.  Back to the cafeteria.  Nope.  Oh well, no chips for Kerri isn’t exactly a bad thing, right?  Ran back down the stairs to the athletic centre again.

So, who is the only person on his way up the stairs as I am going down?  Yep, it’s my Promotion and Adherence prof, Jay.  Further underscoring the kinesology-people-on-the-stairs thing.

I try to take the stairs whenever possible — when I was still seeing my old pulmonologist [yeah, I’ve decided to ‘break up’ with him], I’d always take the stairs to the seventh-floor lung clinic.  Thatgot me a look from the receptionist a time or two!  [Hey, I may have asthma, but I’m young and otherwise healthy!]

They may not look like pianos, but they’re good for you!  If you don’t already, try it this week: take the stairs.  It all adds up!

asthma / badassmatics / dare you to move / race training

slowest ever 5K

• by kerri

After a totally fine day breathing, my lungs decided to flip gears for the night — of course, right before my 5K training walk today, right? I’m walking my second 10K race on September 24th, and unlike last year, I kind of want to train for it this time. Make myself feel more like the kinesiology student that I am. I’ve been working out lately with relatively little issue in the way of my asthma [which is much more touchy and frustrating than I ever would have imagined when I was diagnosed.]

So I slept off-and-on and found myself wandering around the house for an inhaler at 2:26 am. Who can really be bothered to find their inhaler that is around their bed in the dark when they know where the one in the kitchen is? And so it continued like that, waking up randomly, needing the inhaler again at 5:45. By 9 AM I was tired of fighting it and did a breathing treatment and then attempted to go on with my day. You know, and do a 5K at 11:30. Hey, I already feel bad, might as well just go, right?

Danielle and I kinda slowly meandered our way around for 5K. It took us nearly an hour and fifteen minutes — completely the fault of my lungs. But, hey, it’s done. We had a good talk. Chased it with a breathing treatment and a freezie [every summer I work at a daycare, I get addicted to freezies. Happened in ’09, happened again this year], then some Starbucks a few hours later. If I was by myself, it would have been so much harder. So, there’s definitely something for being on a “team” of sorts — so far, having a training partner has been awesome.

I’m crazy tired now and it’s not even 6 PM, but hey, at least I didn’t just waste another day! As irony would have it, the MedicAlert bracelet I ordered last week arrived today — with perfect timing in the ironic way of this being the worst breathing days I’ve had in about two months [dude, so I’m not cured? Dang it], but also that I’m off to Chicago and Minneapolis next week (and hoping this flare breaks before then!)

I’m hoping I don’t have to fight my lungs all week, but either way I’m looking forward to getting back on the road!

stuff bloggers do

introduction

• by kerri

I’ve written down my thoughts in some form or another since the time I could form sentences.  It’s as much in my veins as my red-and-white Canadian blood cells are.  So whether you’re new to following my journey, or have been for a long time, welcome!

My name is Kerri, and I’m a twenty-year-old university student about to enter my third year.  I began in my first year of school as an Education student, thinking I would graduate with a double major in International Development Studies and Developmental Studies, as well as my Bachelor of Education — though, I never wanted to be a typical classroom teacher.  Within my first International Development class, I was lost, and by my third I had called it quits and spent the rest of the class playing around on Facebook until the prof let us free and I went and dropped the course.  From there I focused on Developmental Studies and my first-year Education class.  By the end of the year, I received my student teaching packet in the mail, flipped gears, and dropped out of the Education program, much to the delight of many narrow-minded Education students who thought the only thing an Education degree could do was spend the rest of your life in a classroom.

Once that was done with, I attempted to focus on my Developmental Studies degree.  My developmental psychology prof was a guy who took a minute to breathe between each two words and we never accomplished anything.  I failed my first test [okay, so I didn’t do the readings] and dropped out of the class.  Oh yeah, I was also frustrated with his lack of addressing people with disabilities as people first, wrote him a lengthy but polite e-mail about it and then caught him correcting himself the next class!  At least i accomplished something there, right?

This left me with a plate containing two kinesiology classes and a sociology class.  By the end of my third year after unsuccessfully attempting to make a schedule to accommodate both a Developmental Studies and kinesiology major, I fully dropped the Developmental Studies program for now and am currently aiming for a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Applied Health.  I hope to enter the field of Occupational Therapy after I’m done undergrad, but of course, nothing is set in stone!

Aside from school, I work at a daycare as an early childhood educator assistant.  Yes, I get paid to play games and colour and have snack and stick the occasional band-aid on a kid.  It’s a sweet job.  I also work as a respite care facilitator for two amazing adolescent girls with varying developmental, social and behavioural disabilities.  I love them a ton, and they teach me so much!

In 2008, I was diagnosed with asthma.  While it’s had more of an effect on my life than I would have liked, it certainly hasn’t stopped me, but rather pushed me harder.  I’ve met tons of amazing people with asthma online, and this blog will also be a place for me to help share my experiences, in both living with asthma and in advocacy, with others.  It may be ironic, but because of my asthma I also became a lot more physically active, which perhaps is one of the reasons I’m a kinesiology student — it’s certainly not because I’m athletically skilled or talented!  I’ll be writing about the insanity that can be fitness in a place that can span from -40*C to 40*C on the positive side in a given year, about doing that with asthma, and about trying not to hate it too much. Come on, it’s much easier to sit in front of my MacBook and eat Cheetos.

Oh yeah, I think Jesus is a badass.  He’s the most powerful and influential badass ever, but He’s still a badass.  Come on, what’s not badass about loving people enough to help them to completely change the way they perceive and interact with the world?  He’s the reason I’m here writing this and the reason for what’s led me to where I’m at right now in everything I’ve written above.

So, here’s to the journey.  To friends, to travel, to learning, to experiencing, to laughing, to crying, to breathing . . . to living!