Reflection

So here we are arriving at the end. I must say that I am sad to see the end of this blog and this English class. I enjoyed researching and sharing my ideas and life with people. This blog definitely led to many discoveries. I learn more about myself and other people. When I presented the information in this blog to different people, they had different reactions. It was a educational lesson.

I preferred this researched blog to a typical research paper. It was easier for me to do for a variety of reasons. One, while I had a specific amount to do each week, there was still no underlying pressure to make sure one big project was handed in on time. Two, it was easier to express what I was trying to say in short blogs than it would have been in one large paper.

I learned a lot from doing blog posts. I learned how to post my blogs. I also learned how to look for images on a database and how to insert pictures on my blog posts.

The visual rhetorical was very educational. While I typically look at a picture and understand the message, this assignment inspired me to think about the picture. I had to actually think about what message the picture was sending, who was sending it, and to what audience it was focused. Once I did this, I had to put it into words. It actually came to me quite easily.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this class, this blog, and everything we did in it. I believed I learned a great deal. Writing is an art and a skill, whether it is writing a long research paper or a short blog post. As there are many different types of painting in art such as abstract or watercolor, there are different types of writing in art.

Sunshine is warm and bright. Even in the winter although we tend to think of winter as being cold and dark. Unlike my dad who loves the cold and hates summer, I love the sun and warm. And until recently, I didn’t know how much my body needs the sun. Most of us learn about Vitamin D in elementary school and how it is the sunshine vitamin. We usually get enough of vitamin D in our diet and by soaking up sunshine. I recently discovered that as a person with a thyroid condition I need more vitamin D. Unfortunately, I learned this because I had a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for everyone. But it is especially important in young children, women, and people with certain diseases and disorders. As I fall under two of these categories, vitamin D is very important. Vitamin D and calcium go hand in hand. Vitamin D’s main purpose is to allow the body to absorb calcium; therefore if you have a vitamin D deficiency you probably have a calcium deficiency as well. Without vitamin D the body is unable to get the calcium it needs. The body is forced to get the calcium it needs from the bones. The thyroid is triggered to produce hormones which break down bones resulting in weaker, more brittle bones.

As I did more research, I learned many things. Because vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, excess of it is stored in the liver. Your body does not require you to get vitamin D in your diet everyday because of these stores. I must have had a deficiency in my diet for a long time, because my stores of the vitamin were all used up. Another thing I learned is that deficiency of vitamin D is linked to severe asthma in children. This is yet another reason why need more vitamin D.

There are signs to a vitamin D deficiency though, that appear before the bones breakdown too much but most are subtle. You are at a higher risk of a vitamin D deficiency if you are obese, have dark skin, or your exposure to sunlight is limited. Bone pain and muscle weakness are the main signs of vitamin D deficiency.

I had just taken a regular visit to the endocrinologist for my routine blood test to check that my thyroid was working properly when my doctor told me that I needed to start taking vitamin D supplements. I was surprised. I thought the sun gave me what I needed! I had a serving of milk a day and sometimes two.

The first thing I did when I learned this, I looked up what vitamin D did for your body. Simply, it allows you to absorb calcium. But when I looked closer I learned about it breaking down my bones. At first I drank milk several times a day and ate other servings of milk such as yogurt. After a couple weeks, I simply started taking a vitamin supplement and had two to three servings of milk.

I drink coffee everyday. It is sort of a “home-remedy” to asthma. The heat and caffeine help to dilate the lungs making it easier to breathe. Unfortunately, coffee increases the amount of calcium and vitamin D expelled from the body. Perhaps this led to my deficiency? I have a dilemma and still have not found the answer. Maybe you think I should simply use medications available to help dilate my lungs instead of coffee? Maybe I should. As mentioned before, I hate to use medicine for what I feel I should be able to do on my own. This may be hard for you to understand.

For now I have chosen to drink coffee and take the chance at losing vitamin D. Because of the increase amount of vitamin D and calcium available in my diet, I believe I can still get what I need despite the increased amount being expelled. Mostly I just try to be healthy and trust God to take care of me the rest of the way.

Liebman, B. (1997, October). The silent epidemic. Vitamin D deficiency. Retrieved March 26, 2010 from the Ebscohost database.

Asthma inhlers. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2010 from Google Images database: http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster.

This is a picture of a villain using an inhaler from a well-known movie Star Wars. In the movie the villain does not have asthma, but he makes a loud breathing sound, which sounds as if he is having trouble breathing or having an asthma attack.

This picture is obviously coming from a comedian and is focused at fans of the series of movies, Star Wars. It is making fun of Darth Vader, the villain’s name, while also making light of asthma. I have also joked about how Darth Vader sounds like me when I am having trouble breathing.

Pathos is a main strategy in this picture. It is amusing, therefore making the viewer happy or amused. It is funny because it brings to light to what Darth Vader’s breathing sounds like. Most likely they will think of Darth Vader as having asthma whenever watching the movie from now on.

This picture makes me smile because of how amusingly true it is. People having trouble breathing due to asthma, do sound like this villain and vice versa.

(August, 2009). Asthma. Topnews health. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from the Google images database.

This is a picture of a child who obviously has asthma, using an inhaler. For some of us this shows the harsh reality of asthma. Many young children need inhalant medicine to live a normal life. The people who would put this picture out would most likely be people who have children with asthma. Their intent would be to show, just by this picture, how scary asthma can be. For the general public, who is the audience, this picture is frightening because it can be pictured all to easily with our own children in that same position, needing an inhaler.

This picture seems to address both pathos and ethos. By pathos, it addresses our emotions. It is often easily thought that elderly people need medicine and it is easily accepted. But this picture makes the viewer think of children needing medicine. Children are supposed to be young and healthy! Their lives are just starting out, they shouldn’t be needing to stop experiencing life because they cannot breath! The realization of this through this picture can make the audience surprised, upset, or simply sympathetic.

But this picture also applies to ethos in some ways. Ethos is our sense of trust. Most people in the United States have great faith in medicine. Ethos applies to this picture in two ways. First, that the medicine will work. Trust that there are medicines available to help so that this boy can live a normal, active life. Second is that because of advances of medicine and miraculous discoveries in medicine, our child will never be in the same position this one is. It gives an appreciation for medicine.

As a person having grown up with asthma, this picture brings back memories. It was because of medicines, such as the inhaler shown in the picture, that I could live a normal life. I never worried about suddenly not being able to breathe. Asthma causes more worries for parents than children in a lot of ways. I am convinced that this picture will show that asthma is a very real disease in children, and while the children are reliable on medicines, the medicines do work and children live a normal life.

Always Beating the Odds

Always Beating the Odds

Everyone loves to go out to eat, especially going out to eat with friends. Whether it’s fast food or dining in, food is a big part of social life. While food is necessary for life, some types can kill you. Imagine your surprise if you are eating a food you love and find you are having a hard time swallowing. This is what happened to me. I am allergic to soybeans, or more importantly soybean oil. Above is a picuter of what soybeans look like. I have an anaphylaxis reaction to soybean, which is a swelling of the throat making it hard to breathe or swallow and in extreme cases causing death.

As said in the article, anaphylaxis is the most severe and least common reaction to soybeans, occurring in only ten Americans for every one hundred thousand. When anaphylaxis occurs it is most often treated by a shot of epinephrine administered by either emergency personnel or the victim. After the epinephrine has been given, which brings immediate relief; it is usually followed by an antihistamine which brings longer lasting relief. Even after both of these medicines have been given, the victim should still go to the hospital to make sure everything is under control.

In my reading I found out that most allergic reactions to soybean proteins are non-aggressive and non-life-threatening. In fact it is not that uncommon in young children and infants but they usually outgrow it by usually outgrow it before 3 years of age. The number of adults having an allergy to soy proteins is increasing as more and more products are being made containing soybean. Of the number of people allergic to soybean proteins though, approximately 90% can eat up to 400mg of soy protein. So while they still have to watch what they eat and be careful, they can often still eat foods with soy oil and soy lecithin.

I first became allergic to soybeans around thirteen. It wasn’t that severe, just felt as if I had a rock stick in my throat that would go away in time and only occurred when I ate certain things. My parents figured out that it must be soy that I was allergic to and tried to cut certain things out of my diet. Little did we know, soybean oils were in a lot more than we thought such as peanut butter, crackers, bread, and most prepared food. This is good in some ways because it makes me eat healthier foods.

My friends and I joke about my food allergies and how they could just “slip” a bit of soy in my food if they get tired of me. In time it has gotten easier to eat things without soybeans. I usually know without looking at the label as to whether food has soy in it or not. My family and friends are almost as good as I am at this! The only time its really hard and I hate having a food allergy is when I go to someone house to eat. Usually they will serve at least one food that I will have to politely and regretfully refuse and explain why I cannot eat.

As found out in the research noted above, I found out the odds at my having this soybean allergy and the odds of having such a severe reaction to it. On telling my parents though they laughed. There I go…beating the odds again.


Wilson, S. (2005, February). Processing and reduction of P34 allergenicity. Allergenic Proteins in Soybean. Retrieved, March 26, 2010, from the Ebscohost database.

Just Living Everyday

Just Lving Everyday

Our body is made up of many different systems. We use all these systems everyday to live normally and effortlessly. Our hearts beat, our eyes blink, our lungs breath, our muscles move, all with very little thought. But there is one small organ that plays a huge role in our everyday life that is often over looked: the thyroid. This miraculous organ plays a large role in our normal cycle of life, yet it goes unnoticed. Almost six years ago, I got a loud wake-up call to how important the thyroid is when mine stopped working normally. I had been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder called “hypothyroidism”.

Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid does not produce enough hormones. The thyroid is a relatively small organ located near the base of the neck. It is mostly cartilage and part of the body’s endocrine system. For such a small organ, it plays a large roll in the body. The thyroid emits hormones needed to help regulate many different systems in the body. Hypothyroidism often comes with an enlarged thyroid, but not always.

Because the thyroid has some many roles in the body, it can have serious affects when it is not working properly. Fortunately, hypothyroidism is easily diagnosed. Blood tests can be done to measure the levels of thyroid hormones, such as thyroid hormone thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone, in the bloodstream. If there are unusually high or low levels of these hormones, doctors may prescribe medicine to be taking everyday or just regular visits to have blood tests done to monitor the levels.

The most common medication for treating hypothyroidism is levothyroxine, a synthetic thyroid hormone. As shown in the picture, it is a very small pill. Levothyroxine helps stabilize the levels of thyroid hormones in the blood. There are other medications available which do the same thing, but are not as common.

Because the thyroid affects so many systems there are a wide variety of symptoms of hypothyroidism. Chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to cold, headache, muscle and joint aches, weight gain (despite diminished appetite), constipation, and dry skin are just some of various symptoms. Even once the thyroid hormone levels are be regulated by medications some symptoms can still persist.

When I was first told I had hypothyroidism, I was about twelve years old. I didn’t know what a thyroid was and definitely didn’t know what its use was. I quickly learned. I have hypothyroidism, but it is not extreme. I take a small purple pill everyday and visit the doctor once a year for blood tests.

One bad thing about hypothyroidism is you never really know what it can affect. As mentioned above, the thyroid helps regulate so many systems. I could wake up with a headache and while it is most likely just the weather, there’s always a small chance its related to my thyroid. It seems to me every ache or pain could be blamed on the thyroid, because it does so much.

I’m entirely sure if hypothyroidism is hereditary or not. Neither of my parents have hypothyroidism. My cousin had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder. How thankful I am to not have that!

I am nineteen now and still learning a great deal about the thyroid and what it does. It even affects the heart! A friend of mine, when faced with the news she might have a thyroid problem, told me some of her fears about it. I hope I came to some comfort when I told her, “I just live everyday…”


Simon, H. (2009, May 21). What is hyperthyroidism.Hyperthyrodism.. Retrieved, March 26, 2010. From the Ebscohost database.

Just Breathe

Just Breathe

Have you ever thought about breathing? Everyone breathes every single day. It’s something our body does involuntarily so we don’t have to think about it. I can be controlled to some extent, we can hold our breath. But if we hold it long enough, we’ll just pass out and start breathing again. So we don’t have as much control as we’d like to think. A lot of people take breathing for granted.
When I was less than two years old, I was diagnosed with asthma. Asthma can be hereditary and is in my family. It runs through my family on my dad’s side. My dad has now outgrown his asthma, but my grandmother still has problems dealing with her asthma daily. My doctor assures me that there is still hope that I can outgrow my asthma still.


Asthma is a disease of the lungs. As said in the article, asthma can affect different people differently. It is represented by a range of symptoms including coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. The cause of these symptoms is from inflammation and/or constriction of the bronchial tubules.
A wide variety of things can cause an asthmatic reaction. Some of them are: allergens, emotional stress, physical activity, or infection. An asthma attack can be unpredictable at times. Although asthma is much twice as common in males as females, it is often more severe in adult women than adult men.
Fortunately, there are many drugs available to help fight the symptoms of asthma. These medications are very comforting and work very well in controlling asthma. The advances made in medicine concerning asthma have been amazing, but there is still no cure for asthma.


I read this article and it started me thinking. While everything is true, to me it makes asthma sound worse than it is. With all the medications available, my asthma never even bothers me until I get sick.
I found the greatest way to defeat something, is to learn all you can about it. This is what I did with asthma. In English 111, I wrote an entire paper on asthma and learned a lot. But I’m still learning more. When I read this article I learned that the ratio of boys to girls having asthma is 2.5:1. When I told my parents this, they were amused. I always manage to beat the odds. If anyone could get pneumonia in the middle of summer, I could. I suppose that’s why it was no surprise to them that I beat the odds in asthma.

I have always had a hard time thinking of asthma as a disease though. And I still do. Isn’t a “disease” supposed to be something the weak, sickly people have? I’m not weak or sickly! Even while I was trying to write this blog, I had to ask my mom if “diagnosed” was the right word. It seems you are only “diagnosed” with things like “cancer”.


Having a parent who had asthma has a lot of advantages. I learned a lot of “home-remedies” to treating asthma. As the article said, there are a lot of medications available for treating asthma, but I don’t like using them unless absolutely necessary. I do take a pill for long term relief, but when it comes to when immediate relief is needed…I would rather not. I guess it’s partially pride. I don’t want help breathing, even if help comes in the form of a drug.


Although I may be a bit prideful when it comes to admitting I need help breathing, I am not angry about the fact that I have asthma. I can honestly say it almost never crosses my mind to be angry. I have more often than not, seen my asthma as a blessing. I think God gave me asthma, not as a curse, but as a gift. That may be hard to believe. I have seen how scary it can be when for parents when their child was diagnosed with asthma and I would like to believe it brings them some comfort to see me: a young woman who grew up with asthma, but lives a normal life with asthma an afterthought, not a constant fear.


In conclusion, I have said it before. This is me. This is normal. I’m not afraid of doing whatever I want because of my asthma. I am in control of my asthma, not my asthma in control of me. I don’t let asthma hold me back and I never will.


Selgrade, M. (2006, April). What we know and need to know. Asthma and the Environment. Retrieved, March 26, 2010. from the Ebscohost database.