Me, Ralph and G

There comes a time in every women's life when you just want to say goodbye
to your oxygen machine…

With a tiny setback just shy of two months ago I started having a dry cough. To my dismay, my CT scan showed slight inflammation. I needed to return to oxygen therapy (Ralph) and increase my prednisone medication.

I recently watched an episode on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He had as his guest, Author Judith Heumann, who has lived with polio all of her life and is now in her 70s. She wrote Being Huemann. She told him we are all non-disabled. Meaning, obtaining a disability at some point in our lives is statically high...

Trevor, with a sudden look of clarity on his face, jokingly asked her was she threatening him? Our minds by default choose to be in denial about this. But I don't think that a little denial is a bad thing. I think it just pushes us through to be vigilant, no matter the circumstances.  Months before, I dismissed Ralph. I felt good. I felt strong. I felt healthier. “I’s married now” and I occasionally winked at my Superwoman cape safely retired away in my closet.

But Ralph, despite all of my happiness, refused to go. Instead he just packed himself away in the far corner of our living room, making himself as inconspicuous as a lifesaving machine could be. You see Ralph knew, like my pulmonary physician, once you let a good machine go it might be difficult to get it back. Ralph and my husband G are both secure in their respective roles as it pertains to me and neither are in competition with each other. The end game is to keep me healthy. Apart from the White House's dismantled Pandemic Team, Revelations Chapter in the Bible and a handful of fortune tellers, who knew we would be witnessing a global pandemic?

Can't go nowhere, can't have no folks over, without somebody suspiciously eyeballing each other. Makes you feel like you are in an abusive relationship. Except this type of isolation is saving your life and not hurting your life. I have been pretty much housebound, with the exception of my doctor visits, for almost two years. I am recovering from a curable lung illness brought on by a peculiar bout of pneumonia challenging my immune system to the 10th degree.

So what is the takeaway here if it's not a boat load of comfort food? Social
distancing is working because we are physically distancing ourselves from each other. As we are all beginning this uncertain journey of social distancing, pace yourself on the Oreo cookies and ice-cream and be thankful you are not on steroids! For that combination alone will restore our economy in record time in weight loss management stock options after this is all over.

In the meantime, as Ralph noisily chugs along, myself and G are bracing ourselves for the second wave of this monumental tsunami. Our college student will be home soon, and the feast of champions will commence with him. Now has never been a better time to get my crockpot up and running and load it with whatever I can.

When you look at the bigger picture, the boredom is insignificant. We will adapt, because this is what we do.

Stay safe, and stay well family

Warmest Always
Barbara Nyaliemaa Mosima