My Name is Carol Kirker — and Liz Porter Dared Me to Write This
I Still Need 100 Followers To Meet the New Deadline and I Need Your Help!
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Tis the season and Christmas is just around the corner! Do you know what that means? December 31st is just around the corner, also!
With the new Medium guidelines for the Partner Program, I am running out of time to be eligible in seventeen short days. I sure could use your help!
A little about me…
Seven years ago my life took a turn. Three lung infections in a row landed me in a medically induced coma for a month and a pulmonary rehabilitation hospital for another month. I went home with the diagnosis of Stage 4 Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and twenty-four percent lung function. I would be living life on oxygen and attached to fifty feet of tubing to get around my home.
My old life slowly died and part of me went with it. Just as I mourned the death of my parents, I mourned the loss of myself. Every day is a struggle to breathe. My body’s capabilities vary from morning to afternoon.
Friendships died. Passions died. I wanted to. I didn’t.
I am now sixty-seven years old. By society’s standards, I am a senior citizen. By some age group’s standards, I am too old to bother with, let alone have anything worth contributing.
The body will agree most days, but not my mind.
Over the past few years, I have chosen to let go of my crafts. They tend to cause clutter that I no longer have patience for. The older I get, the more I embrace a degree of minimalism. Even my passion for books is now consolidated to my Kindle. The bookshelves are bare, the craft closet empty, but the need to create demands a release.
I don’t consider writing a hobby that I want to just dabble with. It is a skilled craft, with words being the artist’s tools. Words dip deep into imaginations, unleashing emotions, from delight to heartbreak, outrage to indifference.
I have spent my life reading other people’s words, waiting to put my own onto paper. Life never allowed me the time. I now have it and I look forward to sharing my articles on Medium.
Diagnosed with a chronic lung illness. I am now tethered to an oxygen machine and fifty feet of tubing that loops around my home, getting caught on everything. I don’t say that for sympathy. It is simply a fact that now gives me the time to pursue writing. I have become an advocate for patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and other lung illnesses.
I write to educate the public about living life short of breath. It is usually something taken for granted until you can’t do it. COPD does not just affect the lungs. It affects every aspect of a person’s life, from the ability to walk, simple tasks like taking a shower, eating, and mental health.
It used to be known as a smoker’s disease, but that is no longer the case. The environment, pollutants, chemicals in our homes and products have made it the third leading cause of death.
I do intend to write about other topics that interest me. I have many other ideas, particularly symbolism. For now, I will stick with the old adage, “write about what you know.”
Here’s a sample of my writing.
In closing, I want to add I just completed a major move to a different state and things are a bit topsy turvy right now.
I may not be able to write a lot more before the end of the year. That’s the other reason I am asking for your help.
I promise if you follow me now, I will read your stories, also. I am looking forward to reading and writing more in 2022.