I am so high on oxygen right now. Seriously. You should get your hands on some of this stuff.

After living with relentless shortness of breath and headaches for what felt like forever, I finally got oxygen delivered to the house yesterday. So, for the first time in about a year, I can sit comfortably on the couch with Benny without feeling miserably breathless.

I could go on a tear about the absurdity of my month-long quest to obtain oxygen, but it’s already taken too much of my limited energy. Did I give up on trying to get it covered by insurance? Yes. But it turned out to be quite inexpensive if I eliminated the middleman. So, if you need an oxygen dealer, I’ve got the hook up. Everyone’s doing it. But you do need a prescription.

Last week I caught a cold, which quickly morphed into a disaster. By Saturday morning, I couldn’t stop coughing and was struggling to keep my blood oxygen levels up. Each time I gasped for air between coughs, it felt like someone was stomping on my brain with their work boots.  

After a trip to the ER, I was admitted to the hospital and finally got access to supplemental oxygen. Once the oxygen was flowing, I felt like I could breathe for the first time in months. My brain suddenly quieted. Even my limbs were like, “Hey, girl. Remember us?” I spent a few days inpatient and came home on Monday.

In early April, a test revealed that I have a large hole in my heart—a patent foramen ovale. Apparently one in four people have one, and they’re typically nonproblematic. But, in my case, we have reason to believe it’s causing my oxygen deprivation.

A few weeks ago, I saw a cardiologist about repairing the hole.

“How much is it contributing to your shortness of breath? There’s only one way to find out.”

PREACH. So, after a procedure on June 1, I will no longer be hole hearted—which will be especially great because I’ve had that song stuck in my head for six weeks.

Also, May is apparently CF Awareness Month, which reminds me that I’ve been healthing too hard to make my usual push for donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

But it’s not too late.

http://fundraise.cff.org/greatstridesatl/drew  

Come on. I just got out of the hospital.