My Brother and Me!
My brother was my anchor! We talked on a daily basis. We both have autoimmune diseases. His is called polymyositis. You are wondering what this disease does to a person. It is a chronic inflammatory disease that attacks the muscles which is a very rare form of rheumatoid arthritis. This disease is mean and it does a body no good. My brother had a hard time swallowing as the disease weakened his muscles in his neck. He would always choke on his food. He had a hard time picking up items, because his hands trembled all the time. His lungs were in very bad shape due to smoking most of his life and was in part had to do a lot of how the disease attached his lungs. His lunged became very weak that he was going to be put on a lung transplant list. My brother eventually had to be put on oxygen to help him get around. His name never made it to the list because he wound up having cardiomyopathy. Which is fluid on the heart. His first attack was when he and I had returned from a visit with my daughter in Tennessee. We were going to pick up my dog. When he passed away he had a heart attack. My mom found him sitting up in bed with his oxygen tubes on. My brother and I shared some commonality with our diseases. Both diseases are rare autoimmune diseases and we also took the exact kinds of medicines. We would borrow meds from each other when we were out. We always wondered if the diseases we carry are hereditary. Somehow I believe we will never know that type of information. My brother lived with his disease for four (4) years and myself twenty-one (21) years. I am sure his condition when found was already in its latter stage. I am pretty sure I am in stage 2. Anything beyond stage 2 is really not a good sign. I am in several online support chat through Facebook. I read how many people are dying from this disease and how some of them are just feeling down on themselves. Well I don’t live like that. I may have my days, just as my bother did, but we don’t let it get us down. If anything we educate and show how strong we are to beat these diseases. I often talk about support it is because it is important to have that support backing you and this is what makes life much better for you. Especially because they understand and want to know about the condition itself. My family can now tell when I am not doing well. But I try not to tell them because I want them to worry about their self. I know it sound like I am rambling. But I am writing how I am feeling and what is always at the forefront of my thinking. My brother lived the life he wanted to live even after he found out he was dying. He said he was going to buy a BMW and he did that. He looked forward to working on that vehicle as he was restoring it. The BMW he brought was a 1992 model with a built in phone in the console. He said when he drove that car they are one of each other. The last trip my brother was about three years ago on a Labor day. That was his time to travel because his birthday almost always fell on that day. He would go to Tennessee to see a younger brother and stay at brother’s lake house. That is a beautiful place to go. My younger brother lived in the hills of Tennessee and my brother said he loved going around and winding down those roads. He says it makes him feel wonderful. That is how I feel about my SUV that I drive. Her name is QueenieBee! I am going to take the trip my brother could not make. I will travel to Tennessee, then to Atlanta, then to Jessup, Ga, and maybe Jacksonville, Fl. We have relatives in each of those places. I will for the first time in my life drive that far on the highways by myself. I know I will be fine because I have my brother watching over me. Just before he died he showed me how to night drive. I love him and miss him more than anyone would or could know.
