Enjoy the View

Le Tour Eiffel

71O. That's how many steps I climbed not once, but twice, to view the spectacular city of Paris from the second deck of the Eiffel Tower.  Oh, how I took each one of those moments and steps for granted.  I wish I would have held on to those moments for a bit longer, and would have savored every step a bit more.

Are you one of those people who takes the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator?  I used to look at the stairs and think of them as a challenge, but now the sight of them fills me with unease.  The internal monologue that used to play in my head would go something like this:
"Show those lungs that you can conquer those stairs!"
"CF isn't going to tell you that you can't climb those stairs!"
"Make those lungs work: feel each breath!"

I would do the stairs just to prove to myself I could do them.   I still do, but not as quickly or as easily. 

View from Sacre Coeur in Paris

Today, I look at the stairs, how many there are, and how much my lungs are going to hate me while trying to scale them.  Even as few as 15 steps makes my lungs stressed and screaming for oxygen.  As CF progresses, it becomes more and more difficult for people affected by the disease to do physical activity due to decreased O2 levels and lung deterioration.

O2
Oxygen, we all need it to live.  Oxygenation happens when Oxygen molecules enter the tissues of the body: keeping them healthy, vibrant, and alive. Normal blood oxygen levels range from 95-1OO.  When I am resting my O2 level is usually a stable 94-96%, but when I go for a good walk or climb stairs it begins to drop: making me light headed and my lungs desperately searching for air.

View from the Eiffel Tower 

Will I still take the stairs? Yes. Well, maybe not 71O of them, but if the view is spectacular I will scale those stairs one step at a time.  I am so grateful for all the stairs I have been able to climb and the spectacular views I have beheld.  Here's to the beautiful new sights I have yet to see and the stairs I have yet to climb!  Love to you all.


Today, take the stairs for me, and enjoy the view.