Contributed by Bob Rawlins, consultant to CAIRE Inc.
~ So you’re on oxygen …
And I say, “You are special.” 🙂
We talk about being on oxygen with an attitude!! Recognizing that is important, but so easy for some to dismiss.
You have been prescribed supplemental oxygen for a reason, just like someone who is prescribed meds for high blood pressure, cholesterol, or whatever.
Oxygen is a drug, really – a drug you can and are allowed to be dependent on. We all need oxygen to live!!!
Acceptance, is a choice really when you think about it.
Live is full of choices we have to make.
I love the quote from baseball great Yogi Berra, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it,” well I guess he figured that way you could try and cover both choices at once, but we all know it doesn’t work that way.
I have had the chance to talk to many people about some of the choices they are making when it comes to oxygen therapy and acceptance. As I volunteer at the hospital, there are many people who are in the midst of making some of those choices.
Some, say, “I’m not going to walk around with this hose in my nose.” Others will say, “Home is a safe place for me.” I can’t really disagree, I have been there with them at times in my life.
Then we talk, “What’s important to you right now?” “Is there something, someone, or family that could help you when making these choices?”
Of course there is.
Children, grandchildren and family are key.
I have Identical twin boys, age 35, two grandsons, Henry and Graeme, 12-year-old triplets, Nicole, Bobby, and Faith, a wife, a dog, and a partridge in a pear tree. We’ll maybe no bird, but makes for a great verse to a song, right?
My Choice was easy, I’m going to live life to the fullest and to the best of my ability. God willing, I will live a long and productive life.
Was it that simple, NO way! We all go through many thoughts before we truly accept anything.
I can still recall that first time, I didn’t realize it was my first time, when I came to in ICU. There was noise in the room and then three faces – my wife, Terese, and my twin sons, Jordan and Justin. Jordan said, “There he is,” and those smiles, I’ll never forget those smiles. I do remember thinking, so nice to see you guys again. 🙂
My sons drove through a snow storm from Florida to be there having been told I had a very slim chance of making it. I can’t imagine what they were thinking.
We may sometimes forget what our loved ones are feeling, how scared they are, and their desire to know what they can do to help. The loved ones of someone suffering from lung disease often feel helpless because they can’t physically tell what that individual needs.
I always say, “Just being here and around is so great.” Moral support can mean everything.
They also can become frustrated with you at times.
As soon as I started to accept where I was and learn what I could do to start feeling better both, physically and mentally, I realized my frustration often spilled out onto them.
It’s not easy and anybody that thinks it is doesn’t realize and hasn’t been in a similar situation. Even today, I continue to learn how I can accept this and stay positive.
Have your days, feel bad, feel sorry for yourself, get frustrated, whatever, but don’t let it consume you. It will eat you up and the precious time we still have living life.
Share your experiences, learn and teach others how you are accepting the cards dealt to you.
#acceptanceiskey
#staystrong
“Laugh every day,” ’til next time, 🙂 Coach Bob
Bob Rawlins, 59, of Medina, Ohio, is husband to Terese and father to their 12-year-old triplets, a soccer coach, a hospital volunteer, and marketing guru. He has been on oxygen therapy for more than a year. He enjoys skiing and golfing with his SeQual eQuinox portable oxygen concentrator.
If you have been prescribed oxygen therapy, learn more about CAIRE by visiting www.cairemedical.com or calling 1-877-704-0878 to talk to an oxygen advisor.
When using any oxygen therapy device please consult the applicable product instructions for use for product indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and detailed safety information.