Teamwork and fortitude needed for winning at football, living with CAD

I started an hour late this Sunday and missed the kickoff of the Auburn University Tigers’ football game. Ordinarily I’d have made the sacrifice, but this weekend I planned to avoid the stress of the game.

I’ve recently been having trouble breathing, which can be brought on by even mild stress or exertion. A side effect of my cold agglutinin disease (CAD), it also caused me a lot of worry before I was diagnosed. Now, it is a signal for me to seclude myself and avoid doing things.

CAD is an autoimmune hemolytic anemia that’s caused by red blood cells being exposed to cold temperatures. The cells start to clump together and are perceived as invaders by the immune system, which destroys them in a process called hemolysis.

I’ve been a fan of the Tigers — known to longtime supporters as the “Cardiac Tigers,” due to their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory — long before I developed CAD, even as far back as the third grade, when I lived across the street from the campus and only two blocks from the stadium. Saturday always revolved around the games and all the festivities.

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Teamwork and resilience

Mary Lott, flanked by her sister-in-law, Connie, and her husband, Mike, enjoy Auburn football festivities. The “A” on Connie’s visor is the special logo of the Auburn University Marching Band. (Photo by Mary Lott)

One thing I learned growing up is that football offers lessons beyond just what happens on the gridiron. I see this now that I’m dealing with a chronic disease.

As with football, managing a chronic illness like CAD involves teamwork and collaboration. I saw this recently at my recent biopsy, where each person had their own area of responsibility, which was handled with expertise. As the procedure began, the members told each other what was happening and worked together to ensure a smooth process.

Winning at football always requires resilience and dealing with adversity, and CAD requires both from me. I employ resilience when I seek out alternate methods of reaching a goal, such as shopping or house cleaning. For shopping, I rely on online stores and, never one to enjoy pushing a vacuum, I’ve splurged on a robot vacuum cleaner.

The adversity I deal with is bound up in the fatigue I experience, which is far more relentless than the exhaustion of sitting through a weekly football game.

Managing my time

Fatigue has shown me the need to manage my time well. The Tigers know this, too, I’m sure. They only have 60 minutes to use their skills to accomplish their goals, so they must put in the practice time during the week.

I practice time management by dividing my workload; I do some in the morning and then rest before doing more when I have the strength. If I meet my deadlines, it doesn’t matter when I start or how I divide my work.

My goal is to relax and avoid stress so I can begin attending meetings and doing activities. Right now, I manage to do this by not reading or watching things that cause me stress. I remain in bed and don’t do things that get me involved or excited.

This takes discipline and perseverance, but I hope that by following this regimen, I will reach my goal next week. If not, I’ll continue working at it. As my Auburn team has learned, you don’t get trophies for practice, but you don’t win any if you don’t.

Note: Cold Agglutinin Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cold Agglutinin Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to cold agglutinin disease.