It was one of those moments that leaves an imprint on your brain for a lifetime.  One you will never forget.  Where every detail can be replayed over and over again.

5 years ago, almost to the day, I was sitting on the new glider in my newborn baby girl’s perfectly decorated room, feeding her before putting her down for the night (she was our first born so of course everything about her room was decorated like a magazine four months before she arrived).  Sean was out of town at an awards ceremony for AWeber receiving Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania.

As I was rocking this perfect little baby girl in my arms, out of no where I started coughing an uncontrollable cough.  Then I had this sensation that something tasted strange in my mouth.  I put my fingers up to my lips only to discover that they were covered in blood.  BLOOD!!!  I kept coughing and more blood kept coming up.  I went into pure panic mode.  I called my mother-in-law, who is a nurse.  Her advice, spit whatever I cough up into the sink.  She was on her way.

When my MIL arrived she took one look at the sink and said we needed to go to the emergency room.  If you know my MIL you know she’s one of the calmest people you will ever meet.  The look on her face told me something was terribly wrong and I was scared.

At the hospital they ran all kinds of tests.  I had to leave my crying 2-month-old with my MIL in my room in the ER as they did the tests on me.  As I was laying down getting my CT Scan, the technicians had to stop the scan on more than one occasion to pull me out so I could spit out the mouthfuls of blood I had overflowing my mouth.  Honestly, my mind was thinking the absolute worst.

After what felt like a lifetime, the doctor on call came in with the news.  I had a lung condition called Bronchiectasis.  Basically I have a damaged left lung with extra large holes  where mucus can get stuck and cause bacteria to grow and cause even more damage to that lung.  There was no cure for it.  The damage already created cannot be reversed. But the good news was that it wasn’t a death sentence.  It was something I can live with as long as I start taking better care of myself and my body.  To be quite frank, in the heat of the moment, it was a huge sense of relief to get this news!

Fast forward to today!  This morning I had my normal follow-up with my Pulmonologist.  Last time I saw him was a year ago because I was doing so well at that time.  I did have one flare up in June of this year but otherwise it’s been a very healthy year (knock on wood).  My doctor today specifically asked what I was doing to keep my condition in control.  My response “I work out 4-6 times a week and try to eat well overall.  I’ve started running on occasion and just completed a 10K which was the

first time I ran that far without stopping ever.”  He looked at me and said “Keep doing what you are doing.  It’s clearly working!”

That my friends is what this is all about.  Putting the right foods in your body and exercise isn’t just about weight loss.   It’s about being told that you don’t have to be seen again by your doctor for a full year because he’s pleased with how well you’re doing.  It’s about being able to wake up each day not coughing up blood.  It’s about being around for all of the small (but important) moments as your babies grow-up into beautiful human beings.  It’s about being the healthiest you can possibly be for yourself and your family.