1) I'm not a doctor, but I am a pneumonia survivor. I've told the story before. From mononucleosis at age 7, from which I was bedridden for 3 months, forward to age 35, my immune system was my greatest health liability. At 30, I suffered 6 months of walking pneumonia.
2) Over the weekend, I'll do a long thread walking slowly and carefully over what I understand about the pneumonia risk, and I'll put it in other contexts too, as life threatening conditions take many forms.
3) Right now, today, though, I hope you'll join me in focusing, for a moment, on our real threat. It is not some fancy named hellacious virus that destroys you. It is, rather, pneumonia. Those who survive Coronavirus tend not to get pneumonia, or are able to survive pneumonia.
4) What the world is beginning, right now, albeit still slowly to learn is that we're not ready - our species is not ready - for a pneumonia causing pandemic. Our human, global immune system is not ready, yet. So, we're attempting to dodge this bullet.
5) We're hearing now about the cure being worse than the disease, and we're looking at global economic meltdown as the attempted dodge. No real answer is in place yet. But, let's look - for today - away from the globe, or the nation, and just to you, yourself, and me myself.
6) I am ready to face pneumonia. Having been there already, I know what it means. I also accept that one day I will die. That is part of your immune system, your seriousness in facing death. The immune system is not just a physiological thing. It is a spiritual thing, also.
7) So, again just for today, I say, let's stop worrying about the precursor - Coronavirus - and focus on the killer - pneumonia. And I say, let us look it square in the face. What will you do if you contract pneumonia? Are you ready to die? Are you ready to fight and live?
8) It's absolutely not that I'm not afraid. I'm a normal human. Death scares me. But, through the years of my life I have come to know death. Maybe not well, but it is no stranger to me. I am ready, should the day come. I will fight that day, you bet. But I am ready.
9) My real fear is for those I serve and support. I confess, I am not ready for any of them to die. I remain in denial over my children, grandchildren and my wife. I have no idea how to lose any of them. I am not ready for that. So, for my part, I intend to not get infected.
10) I'm no superman. But I am a fighter. I am taking every precaution, including a better exercise regimen then ever before. So, what say you? Are you ready? Are you a fighter? Will you join me in building UP your immune system? Can you tell me, are you exercising?
