It’s my 1 year Cannulaversary!!!!

“Cannulaversary” just doesn’t roll off the tongue easily. However, if you know anything at all about me, then you know I LOVE to create some new sh*t!!!!! LOL Yes, I am notorious for creating some type of new word or an acronym.  It’s a talent, what can I say?! [Taking a bow, taking a bow, please, hold your applause.]  So, I’ve decided I would celebrate the day that I was finally approved for supplemental oxygen and thus, required to wear the often dreaded; and at the same time beloved, cannula. Does this sound crazy to you? Not so much to me… If you’ve been rocking with me for a minute, you’ve realized by now that I’m a lil’ ‘crazy.’  Not certifiable, and not quite 7:30, [urban colloquialism that defines the severity of one’s ‘craziness;’ as if it can be measured in actual time] like I need a strait jacket/ I should start hanging out with “Crazy Eyes” from Orange is the New Black type of crazy; but crazy, like an odd sense of humor type of crazy. It’s probably in my best interest to stop (over) explaining my ‘craziness’ at this very minute.  It’s like common knowledge if you over explain something for far too long, you tend to dig yourself into a deeper hole than you initially intended. So I’m going to digress, at this exact moment.  As I was saying earlier on within this post, I decided that this “Cannulaversary” should be commemorated.  This special day marked a new start within my world.  I had been struggling to breathe for a few years and it was challenging to not only watch my decline; but to literally feel the restriction within my lungs and the inability to breathe normal deep full breaths.  Essentially, I was a front row participant in the rapid decline of my lungs.  It pained me to really think about how my body was betraying me. I could no longer walk short distances and breathing was just… laborious. It wasn’t until I received my supplemental oxygen concentrator, the portable tanks, the reserve tanks; as well as, all the extra tubing and cannulas, that I would be given the gift of breathing a little easier.  These supplies were initially met with extreme opposition in combination with quite a bit of trepidation. My pride felt that it was more of a stigma to be ‘saddled down’ with this new ‘burden.’ Like WTF?!? I was only 33 (at the time), and I had been living with Scleroderma since I was 19, Polymyositis and all my other ‘treats’ of MCTD (Mixed Connective Tissue Disease: Raynaud’s, dry eye, mouth and nose, etc.)  As if all of that wasn’t enough to deal with? Now, I’d be REQUIRED to use this “eyesore” both in public & at home?!?! Vanity is a real thing people; however, if you let it consume you, you’re as deep as a cheap a$$ deflated kiddie pool.   One year post of my cannulaization, (yes, this is yet another word I created). I’ve finally transcended above the vanity. I am no longer ashamed of the cannula. How can I be ashamed of something that is helping me to survive?  I now own my confidence and proudly wear my cannula. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a love/hate relationship with the cannula/supplemental oxygen. I obviously love the cannula, because it provides my lungs with the much needed oxygen supply they cannot produce on their own. I’m able to talk for longer spans of time, my overall color is better, as I’m getting more oxygen to flow throughout my entire body. The hate part comes about when I have to worry about breaking my neck when I trip on this crazy 25-foot long cannula cord & tubing.  I know it’s long so that I can easily navigate from room to room; however, why in the hell does it have to get caught on everything?! People with supplemental oxygen know exactly what I’m talking about!  How many times have you been walking swiftly, like you’re on a serious mission trying to go from one room to the next, only to be propelled backwards in an awkward yanking motion with one arm flailing in the air and the other arm instinctively grabbing to protect your neck. Now you may be afflicted with a case of whiplash, your ears are killing you because the damn cord nearly ripped them off; and your eyes are bugged out of your head at the sheer force of the abrupt stop due to the damn jamming of the cannula cord?!?! But I digress.  Whew, I typed much more than I actually anticipated; I’m just so thankful that I’m finally able to breathe the good air!  Happy 1 year Cannulaversary!!!