Wait too Long or Do too Much?

It was a busy week in the quad life, but not quite as busy as it could have been. However, what did happen continued to linger on for a time.

On Thursday and Friday, I had doctor's appointments scheduled in Des Moines. My primary day nurse, Sara, generally takes me to all my outings, whether for pleasure or health. Unfortunately, Sara called Wednesday night that she was ill and would not be able to come the next day. Dad has also been very busy at work and couldn't take the day off. Therefore, I called my doctor as soon as the office opened and rescheduled in a month.

Friday started out the same with Sara still unable to come due to illness. Dad was still busy, but was able to get the day off. Thankfully he, and mom, both went with me to the city to get my visit complete. While dad and I waited nearly an hour for my five-minute visit, I felt some junk start to come up in my lungs. It isn't anything too unusual, and I was able to do version of coughing to clear my airway.

Next on our excursion was to find, and eat, lunch. While we dined on our fast food, I kept feeling more stuff accumulate in my chest. As always, I had my portable suction machine with me, but it's hard to use in the tight spaces of the van. I continued to try to cough and move the junk around so I could breathe and hopefully wait until we got home to suction. After lunch, the three of us headed to our favorite fish store to restock my aquarium after most of the tank died.

Driving through the city streets, my lungs started to get more sore and I was having a harder time breathing. At this point on doctor days, Sara and I would have been heading home, but we weren't yet. Getting to the parking lot, I considered how dad could clear my lungs in the confines of the vehicle, but it didn't seem likely. I continued to try my breathing techniques to do what I could to wait.

Fish selection took some time, but the three of us eventually headed to our last stop, groceries. As dad navigated the streets, I had a few times I could hardly get any air. When he parked in the lot, I had him try to suction so I could get relief. It took some trial, but he figured out how to do the procedure. However, by this time, I had waited so long the junk was hard to get out of my airway and my lungs were very sore. Dad cleared out what he could, but it only provided a little relief.

Upon entering, the store had signs stating face masks required. I can't breathe with the covering on anyway, and the sore lungs made it even harder. I was very glad when our list was finished and I could exit the building to breathe easier. Finally, six hours after leaving home, we were home again.

With hardly going out for over a year, I'm not used to being gone for extended periods. Friday night into Saturday, my lungs remained sore and needed more suctioning than usual. By late Saturday, they were finally feeling back to normal, but I felt hot and tired after the experience.

As the world opens up, I need to be more careful in not overdoing. Also, I'll need to do better at not trying to hold off on needed assistance. I'm thankful for God's care through my parents and hope to continue heading out, but not too much.