How are your lungs?

sounds like quite an ordeal cake! It really makes me cringe seeing people smoking when you really know the damage it can cause. I spent the whole of last summer in a hospital (not as a patient but sleeping over many nights) you get to learn how lucky you are to have functioning organs and just how fucked things can get.

Also being involved in training of myself and others, it is quite infuriating to see people wasting their excellent genetics while other people (like myself!) have to work so hard to even get the abilities of a sedentary 70 year old.

I was in a house fire when I was a toddler which damaged my lungs bad enough that you can still see a lot of scarring today on an x-ray. In addition I have moderate asthma but severe rhinitis. Really makes keeping up with even totally sedentary people swimming/running/riding really hard. Even though do heaps of exercise/training.

I was given a exhaled nitric oxide test and had lung volume measured. Apparently my lung capacity is only 80% of what it should be (at rest), and this doesn't take into accounts inefficiencies caused by the scarring and the fact less air gets in due to rhinitis and asthma related inflammation.

The rhinitis also means I have either a blocked or extremely runny nose permanently. Which leads to recurring frequent sinus infections which usually lead into bad colds/flu.

I also realise that my "condition" is nothing compared to many, and I should not be such a whining pussy about it.

I had something similar when young and had my sinuses bored out (was in overnight and was out the next day). pretty grim operation and about as much fun as it sounds, but cleared my sinuses loads and have been less prone to colds/ chest infections since getting it done (mid-teens).