by Grateful One

Created on: July 22, 2008   Last Updated: November 26, 2008

Gasping for air and in obvious discomfort, I was unwilling to abort the arduous task at hand. I held my breath and launched my body forward once again- struggling to finish it- to lace and tie both of my sneakers.

In my sudden jubilation over gravity I stood up too quickly and felt dizzy, requiring me to lean at my bathroom sink to rest. Gazing up at the overweight, out-of-shape man with the tomato red face staring back at me in the mirror, it became abundantly clear to me this was not a mirage or a bad dream- it was a frightening reality. My health and well-being were now under attack. Should I be laughing or crying?

Tim McGraw's "My Next 30 Years" has sensible enough lyrics, but so many of us don't like to accept our youthful health being challenged. How did I just find my resilient youth slipping away? This obviously didn't happen overnight. It was sneaky quiet like a decent jewel thief. There is no way to receive this news gracefully whether you are alone or in the company of others. Now in my early 40's, I regularly have bouts with curious, new plagues that I never even considered enemies to my body- enemies that were once my friends like pizza, caffeine, and normal body features/functions like hair and good plumbing.

I now find myself in a fight for my very life to stave off hair and vision loss, acid reflux, bladder control, sleep apnea, weight gain and disturbing unannounced anxiety attacks. There are probably many more enemies that I am totally unaware of, but fortunately for me, my television notifies me regularly about many new threats that are out there and soon will attack. Penile erection commercials daily bombard me and even haunt me in my dreams. I never even noticed the hair loss industry until it was too late. The age of information builds our own gallows.

The great hope for me and many others is that there is a tiny blue pill for every ill. In the past I tried to travel with little or no medication other than a generic household aspirin. Today my travel bag contains a mixed variety of meds that would please the eye of any well-respected pharmacist. Planning an evening battle with spicy Mexican cuisine? Don't fight alone my friend. Just going to sleep on my own can't be chanced any more. What has happened to America and her healthy citizens? Is it all in our minds or all in the pill-pushers pockets?

Life in the fast line will surely make you lose your mind, body, and soul. My lifestyle is not one that is lived out in a trendy, metropolitan city with all the shakers and movers tilting martinis and chain smoking. I live a quiet, unassuming country life, and I still feel quite unsafe and find my health to be an easy target. If I am my own health's body guard; health is in seriously deep trouble. My health goes largely unprotected because of my unwillingness to accept and adapt to the inevitable changes I knew were coming and now they are here. No more laughing at people who gulp Metamucil.

Warning signals could be heard from the relatives and friends further down the path before me, yet I felt so far away from their whining in distress calls. Now I find myself regularly warning others like my children and younger friends. Beware the booby traps and snares that await you! How can I expect them to see what I refused to believe? Your health deserves better Intelligence in order to survive your greatest enemy- you.

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