My name is Kaija, I was diagnosed with asthma and have 

been dealing with it for years. However, I did not let that stop me

from doing something that I enjoyed doing. Sports, I love 

sports so much.

I am currently on the track, volleyball, and cheer team for my high school. It gets hard sometimes, due to my health but I never let that stop anything.

I recently have been feeling a little short winded and tight in the chest, so me and my mom decided to pay the doctors a visit. The doctors stated that they noticed wheezing when listening to my breathing. 

The doctor told me that I needed to slow down and give my body a break because my asthma was starting to flare up really bad, which was leading up to an asthma attack. 

that was something that I did not want to happen, but also was disappointing because I didn't want to take a break from sports

The doctor decided to put me back on treatments by prescribing me to take my Flovent pump twice a day (which I was supposed to do anyways but slacked off), he refilled my Albuterol and put me on an Asthma Nebulizer for twice a day. He also put me on steroids to remove the mucus and gunk in my lungs. It was a five-day treatment.

This was the discouraging part about being an asthmatic athlete, especially, when your situation is servere. 

 hearing the doctor tell you that you have to take a break from doing something that you love and enjoy doing is upsetting.

This is when I began to feel 

sad and discouraged from 

everything. I started to slack in 

school, and at home as well. 

I just wanted to stay in bed all day.

When I was in school there was no longer that spark or drive to want to be there or participate in class. I began to slack off.

This is how I would look in the classrooms, during discussion time.  

So, my teacher decided to have a meeting with me after class in regard to my mental. She asked what was going on, why was I becoming so distant and not participating in class. 

I began explaining to my teacher what was going on and began telling her how my current health issue has been draining me because taking a break from sports is something that I have to do because it's my health and it comes first.