She dribbles…. She shoots.... She can’t breathe…? Resiliency—when I started the season, I thought that meant I would need to be tough on the court against the other team. Little did I know that it would become much more for me. It started as just a normal day; I woke up, went to school, got home, and went to basketball practice. As a 4th grader, it was my first year of travel basketball, and so far it was going great! On that particular night, I had basketball practice at Oak Ridge. My teammates and I were running up and down the court, and it was fine until I started wheezing and couldn't breathe. This was more than just running killers—something was different. Something was wrong. My coaches stopped practice and thankfully my mom was there to take me home. At home, my parents were checking my pulse, listening to my heart and lungs, and asking me questions. Eventually they decided to take me to the emergency room.
It was there that I was diagnosed with asthma and introduced to all of its challenges. Asthma makes it harder to breathe at times. Complications of asthma also include coughing, wheezing, and decreased endurance. For me, my asthma is
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Despite having this chronic illness, I am learning how to live and do all of my usual activities. Using my inhalers helps me breathe better, but I must use them each day and before sporting events. Occasionally there have been times when I have forgotten to take my inhaler, and it made a significant difference in my ability to exercise. Learning how to recognize my symptoms has been a crucial part of managing my asthma. Quickly identifying my symptoms and triggers has also been helpful so I can change them before they get out of control. Furthermore, taking precautions such as using my rescue inhaler proactively and having my inhaler available when I am active, have been important management tools as