The Injured Deity

Deja vu. Serena had the same injury on the opposite ankle a year prior.

Serena probably had the scare of her 2013 career when she rolled her ankle in today's match. I was surprised how her ankles were tightly taped when her personal physiotherapist cut the almost cast-like bandage to assess the "damage". I thought that I should have known how to wrap my ankles the same way as I already had numerous strains and sprains since I started playing tennis again in 2011. Similarly, Andy Murray have those strappy thingies as well which prevents the ankles from twisting. I thought my new tennis shoes would do the trick as I felt more stable playing with them on but now I feel that I need to strap-up as well.

Anxiety was painted all over Serena's face after the medical time-out but she sure did win even on just one good ankle. I wonder how she will fair in the next rounds.

Before I get ahead of myself and imagine frolicking in the courts again, I need to sort out my shoulder with my physio. It has been about five months now since I last played because of this aching shoulder and I am still in treatment for the fourth month running. With the pace of the treatment I am having, I am hoping to be okay come mid-spring or early summer. If I had my physio in Manila, I would probably have been discharged after 2 months of continuous treatment. But because of the very conservative methods here in UK and the difficulty of getting a treatment slot, the progress has been very slow and I have had flare-ups between session. What can I do? It is free. I do not want to be spending a lot for private physiotherapy. I am not Maria Sharapova anyway, haha.

Sharapova bright in yellow screaming those oohs and aahs!

Speaking of Maria, she had a previous shoulder injury as well and has recently had a collar bone problem. Serena had her share of injuries too and well, Rafa is still recuperating from his knee surgery too. I have not a thread of Maria's skills nor Serena's muscles but if they can re-emerge from a setback, who am I to lose hope that I would never hold that racket again if they, the deities of tennis can do it?

Again, I remind myself that I am no Sharapova.

The Perks of Being Asthmatic

Being asthmatic means that I have to be very fussy with smoke, dust, and other allergens which nurtures ones obsessive-compulsive side. I got used to pills, inhalers, waking up in the middle of the night with continuous coughing and yes, the all-year-round sniffles and frequent chest infections. Rather than seeing them as restrictions, I see them as something usual to my everyday life. I even have auras about any impeding exacerbation or infections much like someone who has a migraine. Just like now, I have to work through another exacerbation and yes, another course of treatment.

It is winter time again and bugs of sorts start to spread their love to the most vulnerable people. Norovirus and influenza viruses are notorious during this season and people in other countries are now even reporting cases of H1N1 again. Year 2009 witnessed the worst influenza pandemic yet and yeah, I can tell you it was so terrible (second to the leptospirosis outbreak that same year) that even members of staff in the previous hospital I worked at became very ill. Everyone was so paranoid about catching the bug that if Sterilium can be used as bath water we would have gladly used it so.

My kind of cocktail

Contrary to popular belief, having a chronic health condition has its perks too. You get to know a lot of medicines (generic plus trade name) and you often get "checked-out" by doctors. You learn which medications work and which do not, which are cheap and expensive. You have met most of the celebrities in the antibiotic world like Augmentin, Zinnat, Klaricid, Levox and Zithromax and probably had a chance to have a longstanding love affair with the last one. Prednisone seems romantic but it is actually one name asthmatics hate together with all the other pills that sound like it (i.e. prednisolone and methylprednisolone). You learn to love purple and blue not just because of their tint but because of the relief they bring. You know what a peak flow meter is and why being in the red zone raises a red flag. You know that an O2 sat above 95% is okay and anything below that pushes you on the grey side. The words bronchospasm, DOB, SOB, wheezing and chesty are written at the back of your hand together with the numerous asthma triggers that you have. You learn to appreciate the symptom-free periods and make the best out of them. You also learn to plan your activities depending on the weather and the pollen levels. Being experienced and all, you become an expert patient who knows the ins and outs of the condition which makes you an excellent resource person for other asthmatic patients and their families. Asthma keeps you away from smoking and snorting drugs (though some sufferers try their luck on these). You can easily disprove claims of complete healing or instant cure from hoax adverts and quack doctors. Why? Because you are the most competent person in this "field" and you are sure that there has no cure for asthma yet. It is manageable but not yet curable. Your doctors may know more medical/techie stuff about your lungs and how they work but at the end of a consultation, they will always gear towards the treatment which suits you best with your consent of course.

Asthmatic. Meteorologist. Pharmacist. Diagnostician. Manager. Expert Patient. 

Are you one of us?