I’ve had the good fortune throughout my 80 decades of life to have avoided any life threatening illnesses or incapacities; so I’m not sure that my lot in life deserves to be written anywhere except in a personal journal. 

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I was born with Thalassemia Minor, though I went undiagnosed until I needed a blood transfusion after surgery when I was 27 years old. Children with the major form of this hereditary disease will die before their teenage years if they do not have access to daily Chelation Therapy that was developed in the 1960’s. They require blood transfusions every month when their hemoglobin level goes down to 10 because that number is considered to be debilitating when trying to live a normal lifestyle. With daily Chelation treatments, Thalassemia Major patients can live into their 50’s and 60’s. 

 

As a patient with the minor form of the disease, my hemoglobin level is a constant 10, which is the debilitating level; however it’s rarely less than 10 which makes Thalassemia Minor patients ineligible for blood transfusions in order to alleviate the fatigue and chronic pain from lack of adequate oxygen. Perhaps I could compare my symptoms to those of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. The symptoms are 24/7 and never go away. I’ve been through a variety of diets, exercise programs, and antidepressant drugs throughout my life; none of them were effective. 

 

Thankfully, ever since I retired 24 years ago, I have been able to pace myself and get adequate rest almost anytime I need to; although I still struggle daily with painful muscles and headaches due to not enough oxygen. 

 

One of my favorite authors, Joe Hutto, has written, “Mother Nature is not always a nice lady” and it’s necessary for us to take care of ourselves in whatever ways we can, given our own set of personal circumstances. If we can accept “what is,” no matter what life has dealt us, then we can live in peace, which might be the most important aspect of our existence.