Emphysema
Perspective of an Alveolar Cell
Ashley Davidoff MD Copyright 2015
When I was young my cell buddies and the tissues around us felt invincible
The ease and elasticity with which we opened and closed –
Allowing the breeze of
Beautiful oxygen ….in
And dirty carbon dioxide ….out
Was executed without effort
It really was a breeze – right through our strong bodies
No effort
Then one day – when the guy in charge was about 14
When his hormones started to fill his psyche
He went to a party
Lots of little talk
And “cool” this and “cool” that
And “come on … try this” and “try that”
And in his psyche I read
(though he did not consciously know it )
“I want to fit in”… “I want to look cool”
And suddenly while waiting for my beautiful blue oxygen
A wave of black and gray stink air imploded in my face
“Yech” I shouted
And that was the beginning of the end
Day after day
Smelly smoke continued to come down the pipeline
.. and it took control of him
Even though he knew better
Early morning when we woke up
After breakfast with a cup of coffee
Same after lunch and after dinner
And just before sweet repose
He blew this black-gray muck in our faces
And we had no power
Over the years
We lost our elasticity
And we lost hope
He hid his habit from his children and grandchildren who said “yech”
His breathing had a deathly rattle
He coughed green and yellow stinky mucus
His breath stank
His clothes stank
He aged before his time
His skin wrinkled
His voice was coarse
And his arteries became rigid and narrowed pipes
And our small airways were stretched and stretched
Till we looked like big black holes in a ghost town
Of rotting and stale air that could not move…
What We Were… and Now …Big Black Holes
So when we look back
And try to learn, ……
It all started when he wanted to fit in
A human weakness we need to address at a time
When
The psyche of our children
…. and many adults
Have a need to pursue superficiality to
Look cool and fit in
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