A little while ago I was walking up and down some of the most challenging hills I have been on.

In the past, I walked these hills and thought I was doing something impractical.  Is this the way a man is supposed to die?  That is a question I asked myself in the past, as my lungs were seemingly betraying me and feeling as if they were going to cave in while my legs burned.

Today as I walked these hills, I was singing along with Justin Hayward singing I Know You’re Out There Somewhere as I climbed the last incline.  I looked around and wondered: is that it?

Look, my dear wife, Carrie, and I are in The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts for a few days.  I have been looking forward to walking up these hills.  I wanted to know if what I have been thinking about the last few months was going to be accurate.  I was convinced I would walk these hills for the first time with relative ease.  Check that box.

I have a trio of doctors and their staffs to thank for helping me heal.  Breathing issues that plagued me all of my life have been mitigated.  An anemia problem has been addressed and that is working out too.  Translation:  I can breathe and oxygen is moving to places in my body where it is supposed to.  Yes, I have lost a great deal of weight along the way also.  That is nice too.  But being able to breathe freely in and out is a blessing.

I wrote about this at the end of May here.  That post was called Running Scared.  I was feeling so good I was convinced I was living on borrowed time.  That the breathing problem was bound to find me again and soon.  So far I have been able to hide.

Exercise has always been a large part of my day to day.  The difference now is that I am finally reaping some larger benefits from it.  I don’t know how else to explain it.

Don’t give up.  If you think you are on a road that seems it will never lead you out of a weary wilderness, don’t give up.  As long as we are here there is hope.  I truly believe that. I didn’t see this good health turn coming.  I couldn’t even imagine it.  But I am very thankful and I know.  I knew something had to be wrong.  Fortunately we found it. Don’t give up.

Speaking the Rights.

Danny Johnson