Becoming Captain America

This is Part Two of my New Years Resolution. Although it’s more about the rest of my life rather than 2018.

Much of the time spent with my group of friends in elementary school revolved around running. Pretending we were on flying broomsticks, that we were in Sonic the Hedgehog’s world, that we were spies or ninjas. To be the coolest kid in school, you had to play a mean game of tag. I was the fastest kid, I swear it. All my friends would deny it, but I swear it.

Of course, I wasn’t fast enough to outrun my disease. A wrench was thrown into my engine, or rather bacteria were breathed into my lungs. By middle school, my lungs were exhausted just a few steps into running, far before my leg muscles were strained. Have you ever tried working out with the flu or pneumonia? It was like that for most of my life. I don’t remember not having multiple major lung infections before my transplant. By high school, I was always last in the pack during gym class jogs. Walking.

In time, my small, youthful muscles wasted away along with any excess fat. I used to joke that I was a “walking twig.” If you know me well, you’ve probably noticed I use self-deprecating humor to cover my insecurities.

When I was undergoing the lung transplant evaluation, my social worker asked what my goals were post-transplant. I said I’d like to run again and mountain bike. My mom burst into tears.

I used the same self-deprecating, deflective humor with my family. I always came up with lame excuses to not go on hikes or do sports. Realistically, it wasn’t so much laziness as it was that I hated with every fiber of my being to be reminded of the limitations of my disease. Huddling over on a hike or mountain bike ride to cough my brains out, when I once climbed uphill without difficulty, was a stark reminder that I was dying. Many with cystic fibrosis push through that and defy their disease to become fit. I admittedly didn’t have the same mental endurance as they do. I gave up on my fitness.

So, my mom cried that day and said she had no idea I wanted to do those kinds of things. I tapped my legs in nervousness, flaps of skin on my legs jiggling like jello, where my muscles once were.

I got the transplant 11 months ago. And I’ve run a lot — to cafes, to grocery stores, around the neighborhood. I’m making small gains each time. My longest run so far was 1.5 miles. That might not be much in your eyes, but it’s a far cry from my slow march with oxygen tanks in tow.

When I had the surgery, my sternum was broken to fit the new lungs in. Between my sternum now being held together by wire and my bones being thinned by steroids, I’ve surrendered to the idea that mountain biking might not be the best idea. But I’ve taken up rock climbing and, man, that makes me feel alive. Pre-transplant Brad was too afraid to try things involving heights. But I’ve been through enough that I’ve been conditioned to leap into action in the face of fear. Yes Man-style. As my dad’s military buddies would say, “Hooah!”

I’ve caught the adventure bug. I need to be fit for those adventures. If Captain America went from being an asthmatic twig to a fit, fearless adventurer, I can too. Minus the supersoldier serum injections, ’cause that looked painful. I’ve been muscle training for about three weeks now without skipping any sessions. I want to be fit enough to endure my upcoming adventures without much struggle.

2017 was my year. I got the transplant, got cochlear implants, and reversed my kidney disease. I also got a new job and have been making plenty of friends. (I’ll talk about that stuff more in my next post.)

But there were also many losses. I have a belt of notches representing mostly failures and a handful of [major] successes from the past year and a half. In 2018, I’m throwing that belt out for a fresh start. I’m hoping the new belt will mostly be notched with successes.

Here are some highlights from 2017!

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I have a “De-Bucket List” that was inspired by the past year. These likely won’t all be accomplished in 2018, but I’m gonna hit as many as I can.

1. Learn to ride a horse.
2. Boulder outside of a climbing gym.
3. Run a 3k race. Then a 5k.
4. Ski or snowboard.
5. Try surfing again.
6. Ride rollercoasters.
7. Hike at least once every couple weeks.
8. Visit Hawaii and do hikes that intimidated me.
9. Go on a trip outside of California with (a) friend(s).
10. Travel out of the country.
11. Successfully set up the NorCal chapter of The Lung Transplant Foundation.
12. Get more involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
13. Mentor a transplant patient.
14. Join a ministry at church.
15. Get my driver’s license (at long last).
16. Move out of my parents’ house.
17. Perfectly cook something extremely complicated.
18. Finish my memoir.
19. Feel good about my body: reach 140 pounds via a healthy diet and muscle training.
20. Get to 100% FEV1 (lung function).

Happy 2018! Hope your holidays of choice were merry!