After
Chris did some of that famous online research, I decided that starting today I
am going to try to get off the decongestant I take every day. It was prescribed for me by one of our
now-AWOL doctors at UTMB way back in the day before Claritin-D became an
over-the-counter drug. It does work for
me, by the way. It is a wonderful thing
to breathe. I kind of like it. But the research indicates some kind of
rebound effect when you take too much of a good thing over too long a
time. Your body decides it requires a
larger and larger dose, or something like that.
Sounds like the basic principles of addiction to me. It’s supposed to take four to seven days of congestion
before a breakthrough occurs. Of course
they never mention what “breakthrough” actually looks like. Will I suddenly wake up one morning and realize
I can breathe? That sounds like a
pleasant experience and all, but I kind of already do that. Pretty much ever since I became a
Christian. It comes with the whole “I appreciate
you for giving me life, God” concept.
And definitely since I passed 60.
Every day’s a gift when you get “that age,” you know. (I said that for Chris’ benefit. One of her greatest pet peeves is for a
doctor to start any sentence with any variation of, “You know at your age …” or
my particular favorite, “When we reach a certain age …” This being said by a youngster fresh out of
medical school. Lose the “we” my young
friend. You have no idea). So … here goes nothing. Let’s kick it.
Genesis
2:7 says, “the Lord God formed the
man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living
being.”
Father,
thank you for every day of breath you give me.
And thank you for that first blast of your life-giving breath. Amen.
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