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Karen and Husband Tim |
I was given this CHANCE AT LIFE and I want to do it right." Excerpt from a poem Chance of Life by Karen Kerrigan Karen Kerrigan has a very unusual story. She was born with medical problems and has had over 50 medical procedures during her 35 years on this earth. She gives us just a few brief words but they ring out loud and clear the theme of this web site - we are "Living With COPD". |
I really don't know where to start because my story is a long and complicated one. I was born in 1963 with many other complications. One of the complications is my having a Trachea-eshophageal fistulal-in short my esophagus was connected to my lung. After the surgeries and everything was put back together, I still had many years of aspirating into my lungs. Because of this aspirations, when I was 22 I was diagnosed with COPD. When I diagnosed I was shocked and confused because I always assumed that COPD-emphysema was a "smokers disease" and I never smoked. I've always lived my life trying to take things as they come and not to dwell on them. I've always tried to be strong, but when I was diagnosed I became very angry.
I was angry for awhile but eventually I accepted another thing that I was dealt. After I ended up in I.C.U. in 1993, I realized that there were dreams that I hadn't made come true yet and one of them was to write a book about my medical history, since it was so complicated and unbelievable to my doctors. I made my dream come true by writing, publishing and copy writing my own book. It was more out of self -satisfaction and resources were very limited. I was unable to get it into bookstores because to have it published by a "publisher" would have cost $1,500. So, I printed it as it was ordered and sold them that way. It was then the local newspapers printed articles on me. The title is: A CHANCE AT LIFE: A True Inspiration, named after the poem I had written.
Through the years I've learned that no matter how bad I get, there
is always someone worse than I am. I don't give up easily and I have
dreams that I've made over the years that I need to make come true.
Having those goals gives me something to fight for along with my
family, friends and just life in general. The poem I wrote: A CHANCE
AT LIFE is how I feel. I was given this chance at life and no matter
what I want to live it the best I can, so I can make my doctors, my parents,
my friends, my husband, myself and God proud by not giving up. I am very
blessed and try everyday to show people around me that I know I'm blessed.
I have my family, my husband, my friends, my doctors, nurses and all the
hospital staff who care so how could I not be happy.
I'd look at my body of scars,
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Karen and Dr. Molesky |
July 1999
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