Becoming a Mermaid

     We were living in the condo for a couple of months and realized it was the best move we could have made. It was a great building with great people, a great community life and I found out that a good friend of mine was only 3 KM away. 

     There is a group of women who get together three times a week for aqua fitness and they wanted me to join. This group refer to themselves as the Mermaids, so I became the Littlest Mermaid.  We meet three times a week for a half hour class, I always feel good after this and then we go to the sauna for a few minutes.  The Mermaids did not know I had a condition and certainly not MSA.  One day, I was swallowing just my salvia and my throat started to spasm. The pool is loud and we have music going so no one realized there was a problem but I could not breathe. I got out of the pool and started going to the dressing room still unable to breathe. It is weird when something like this happens, it is as if everything slows down, and everyone is moving in slow motion. I thought it probably was not a good idea to go to the dressing room because if I did pass out no one would know I was there, as the Mermaids still did not know I was having breathing issues. I turned and came back that is when they saw something was wrong and I was still not breathing.  

    When this happens there is nothing that can be done but try to get the throat to relax. I had already changed my diet and eat no or little crumbling things like crackers. It is rare that I have peanut butter and I have to be careful with pasta and lettuce. These slide down the throat easy but sometimes get stuck going down.

     A couple of the women got out of the pool and tried to 

calm me down, then they took me back to my condo and I called my sister who came to stay with me. I am very lucky to have a sister near by. She is one of my older sisters and a sweetheart. I see the hurt in her eyes whenever MSA comes up, she feels so helpless but just knowing that I have this kind of support is wonderful for me, especially now. She and few others call to check on me each day. Truly, I do not know what I would do if I did not have this support. The thing is you have to talk about it because things are changing quickly but you do not want that to be all you talk about. I am lucky in that I do have a big family so I can talk to different people so as I do not have to talk about my problems to the same person. MSA is already consuming my body and I do not want it to consume my conversations as well.

       

     I was very embarrassed to be causing all this commotion and attention and did not know if I would go back, but that day I was sent an email by the mermaids saying how they did not want this incident to keep me away.  The next class I told them what was going on, I told them to please discuss it and if they did not want me to attend I fully understood. Who wants to go to class with the pretense that you may have to administer First Aid?  I did not want anyone to feel this way. I received another email telling me that they wanted me to return and that they did not feel they would have to perform First Aid. I feel like I have a bunch or mothers who genuinely care about me. I still attend and the group has become quite fond of me and I, them. We have regular pot lucks and lots of laughs!

      

 I also have a friend near by. We were posted together in Alaska so we have known each other a long time, about 17 years.  She comes frequently and takes me for walks, and shopping and is helping me with my daughter's up coming Bridal Shower.  So that is what I am focusing on, my little girl is getting married!