They say that everything happens for a reason. How many times have we

heard this expression throughout our lives? Though used to explain the

unexplainable, an explanation is rarely given to back up the

statement. I do not have the fatalist mind set, so I never gave much

credence to this expression until recently.

Returning to school as a single 37-yr old mother was a difficult

task requiring sacrifice. After seven years, I finally completed a BA in psychology, one year of toward a masters in Family Life Education, and a masters in counseling psychology. As fate would have it, I was not on the road to success.

I was living on a miniscule income on the verge of bankruptcy. The irony of the situation was that I could not declare bankruptcy because I did not have the funds to apply for it.  In addition, the major debt I owed was my student loan. In Canada, student loans can??™t be included in a bankruptcy claim.

I did not have the luxury to wait on the perfect dream job to appear. I had to get a job fast to be able to put food on my table. I started to work in the telemarketing business in Montreal.

Four months after I landed my first telemarketing job, I contracted

bronchitis and subsequently lost my job over it. Though I did not think

much of it at the time (in 2000), each year it comes back between the months of January and March. Last year, I contracted both laryngitis and bronchitis and of course lost a job over it again.

My mother and friends continually tried to reassure me by telling me the dreaded "everything happens for a reason. You will find a better job."

I did find a better job last May. I still take calls on the phones all day long as a customer service representative. Depending upon the program that I am working on, I take anywhere from 10 to 110 calls a day.

This year I thought that I had finally escaped the dreaded nuisance that had been interfering with my ability to work as I did not have

bronchitis in the winter. But I had other things happening to me. I have always had bad knees.  It runs in the family. The pain in my knees flares up with the changes in the weather and is most prominent in the winter. It has always been manageable until this year, when our winter was extremely harsh.  I suffered terribly with what I thought was arthritis in every joint in my body. It got to the point that I could hardly walk. I missed some work because of the pain.

Bronchitis was causing throat pain making it difficult to speak on the phone all day, so I took a two week leave of absence. I was hopeful that when I got back, my throat would be healed. But it was not so. I worked for one week and realized that I could not continue working under these conditions.  I did not want to take another leave of absence because even with the company insurance plan I would only be paid for 23 hours out of a 70 hour pay period.

I was desperate. I asked for my two week vacation for at least I would

be paid full salary though I would be wasting my vacation.

After having a month off of work, I returned last week. I suffered through last week of working coughing all the time. I was very uncomfortable working on the phones with this incessant cough, and I??™d been suffering with numerous other medical maladies.  So Last Friday I went back to the doctor.  Tests had been run earlier and the results were back.  I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes!

The doctor told me to go on a diet and to especially cut out all sugar.

He told me that in the past, people who had the combination I have were told to go on a diet.  But studies showed that many of these people suffered heart attacks and strokes before they ever lost the excess weight. Now they treat the disease aggressively with medication. He said I am a heart attack waiting to happen.

As a result of the medication, I??™ve been ill at work this week with pounding headaches, or feelings of lightheadedness or nausea coupled with a feeling of wanting to cry.

But there is some good news. I began to feel a little better on Friday afternoon, though I was still coughing. I also notice that the swelling is going down in my ankles. I walk better and can walk for longer periods of time. I feel much lighter on my feet. My stomach which is as big as that of a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy is also going down. My clothes are looser around the stomach. It has only been a week since I have been on medication, but the difference in the way I feel is substantial.

I have been sick now for over a year without being diagnosed and I really did not know how sick I was. It took the recurring bronchitis

to diagnose something which has far greater impact upon my life. If I

continue on this route I will surely die.

The diabetes diagnosis is truly is a wake up call. I now believe that the expression, "everything happens for a reason" is true. All the difficulties with bronchitis may very well have saved my life.

Everything happens for a reason

?© 2003 by Carol Roach