Embrace the Challenge!

This is the third in my “rules for remaining positive when faced with medical challenges”. 

And a note to let you know that I am NOT saying these are guidelines everyone should follow. These are what has worked for me. If you already follow one or more of these suggestions that I have been and will be talking about, great. Same if you think something I’ve said is right for you. But we are all different and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another.

You may find this week’s entry a weird one. It took me a while to realize that I was doing this. But here it is. When facing a medical challenge, embrace it. Embrace it not as a you would something you want or love, but as what it is, a challenge. 

I first realized this about a month after my last kidney transplant. I was rushed to the hospital with what turned out to be a complete bowel obstruction. I was told I would be transported by ambulance to the University of Wisconsin, where I had just had my kidney transplant, because doing any abdominal surgery on me would be a challenge for anyone not familiar with “my plumbing”. After all, I was carrying around four kidneys and two pancreases with locations and connections far removed from what most surgeons were familiar with.

As I was laying on a bed waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I realized that my mind was preparing for a fight. This surgery, any surgery for me has a higher level of risk because of the anti-rejection drugs I take and because my body heals so slowly, leaving it open for infection. And I felt myself getting ready to fight and to win. I refused to let myself worry or be scared. I felt myself getting ready to tell family and friends not to worry because I would be fine. And I believed it 100%. I felt myself acknowledge that I would have pain but that pain would go away in time as long as I did what I needed to do. 

Since then, I certainly don’t wish for bad things to happen to me. But when they do, I am happy to accept the challenge. Who’s going to win this time? I am. I will come out on top. 

Since that bowel obstruction I’ve fought stage 3 colon cancer, an elbow broken in two places and my continuing vision degradation. I battled an infection that in most people shows up as a skin rash but for me it took up residence throughout my body and came closer to killing me than anything else. It was an infection so complete that I have to take a very strong anti-fungal medication for the rest of my life. And of course, that medication does not play nicely with my anti-rejection drugs so there is constant monitoring.

I will always have these challenges presented to me. Each time, I will accept it and fight it. If there’s any chance of me winning, I’ll do all I can to reach that outcome. I won’t wonder what’s going to happen to me. Instead, I’ll wonder what hurdles I’d soon be jumping over. 

If you enjoyed reading this or any of my “rules”, please click here and make a donation toward my Tour de Cure Ride on June 2! 

And thank you!