This is not so much a blog as it is me looking for motivation.  There are 195 days left until the Fight For Air Climb and I have worked out ONCE. My goal is to do the 30 floor stair climb in 15 minutes or less, but I am incredibly out of shape. So what I need from you guys (aside from donations!) is the motivation to get in shape so that I don't make a total fool of myself on February 23rd.

More than37 million Americans have chronic lung diseases.

http://action.lung.org/site/TR/Climb/ALAUM_Upper_Midwest?px=2499749&pg=personal&fr_id=6020

660 stairs in 15 minutes

            They say it takes the average person 15 minutes to do this 30 floor stair climb. FIFTEEN MINUTES!! So that has become my goal. Of course I am in horrible shape. It’s a good thing I have a few months to make this goal a reality.

            Step one of meeting this goal: I went for a run today! Outside! Those of you who really know me will know that I don’t like to do things in front of people. Especially things I don’t enjoy doing. Running is one of those things. But I did it, down the road, with people mowing their lawns and driving by, and I am proud of myself. Now I just need the ambition to continue this daily so that I can meet my goal of climbing 660 stairs in 15 minutes or less.

Lung disease is the number three killer (following heart disease and cancer) in the United States, responsible for one in six deaths.

http://action.lung.org/site/TR/Climb/ALAUM_Upper_Midwest?px=2499749&pg=personal&fr_id=6020

Why I Fight For Air

            So many of us struggle with breathing problems, whether it is asthma, shortness of breath, or any of the many other illnesses out there. Growing up it was common to see my mom sucking on her inhaler or nebulizer. We were never allowed to wear perfume or even have scented soaps or hand lotions as they would make her sick. This just became a way of life for us and we grew accustomed to it.

            As I became older it has been difficult adding scented items into my collection of everyday household things; I am never sure if they really do smell okay! To this day I don’t wear perfume; I just don’t want to be the cause of someone becoming ill.

            Little things like scented dish soaps and lotions seem so trivial though when you think about the bigger picture, millions of people are struggling to breathe every day. My children and I participate in the lung walk to raise money and awareness for these diseases every year. We have been doing this for my mom and her brothers who have spent large portions of their lives in hospitals because of asthma. Mom lost her brother Scott at a very young age to this disease. We walk for them.

            I think the scariest moment in my life was when I found out my baby girl had RSV. We spent a week in the hospital with her hooked up to oxygen. She cried for a week struggling to breathe, I fought back tears praying she would be okay. Thankfully Kyla is fine and no longer needs to use her nebulizer. We walk for her too.

            I now want to do this stair climb not only to prove to myself that I CAN climb 660 stairs, but because my family has struggled with these lung diseases for a long time and I want to do my part to end that struggle, for them and everyone else fighting the same fight.