How a cornfield taught me to claim space while living with COPD
As a child, I learned that growth takes space, patience, and breath
Written by |
When I was a little girl, my mother often sent me to the cornfield with my father. I suspect it was partly to give her a moment of quiet, because I was at the age of endless questions. Daddy didn’t mind. He handed me a hoe and gave me a row of my own to work, right above his.
“Daddy, why do we have to hoe this?”
“So it will make corn.”
“When will it be corn, Daddy?”
“Not yet.”
A few minutes later: “Is it corn yet?”
I must have asked that question a hundred times. Daddy always answered with the same calm patience. We hoed the weeds, thinned the plants, and worked the rows until the sun dipped low. I hated pulling up the little straggler plants — they looked like they needed me — but Daddy explained that thinning gave the strong ones room to grow. I didn’t like it, but I learned that growth takes space, patience, and breath.
I didn’t know then how much that lesson would matter once chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) entered my life.
What I wish others understood
These days, I find myself wanting to say something I never had words for until now:
Excuse me if I need a nap today. I’m tired. Excuse me if the soft hum of my portable oxygen concentrator interrupts your quiet. Excuse me if my steps are slower than your stride or if I pause to catch my breath.
I live with COPD, and my body asks things of me that yours may not ask of you. But I still have the same right you do — the right to live, to move through the world, and to be happy.
I don’t fault you for the tools that help you live your life. I don’t resent your hearing aids, your glasses, your glucose monitor, or the pill organizer you carry in your purse. I understand those things help you stay well.
So why, when my oxygen machine hums or I pause to rest, do some people look at me as if I’m inconveniencing them?
Maybe it’s because breath is invisible, and so is COPD — until it isn’t. Maybe my needs remind them that bodies change and life asks us to adapt.
But that little girl in the cornfield already knew: Growth takes room. Healing takes room. Living takes room.
COPD is my grown‑up version of “Is it corn yet, Daddy?” I want my lungs to hurry up and behave. I want progress without waiting. But my body needs pacing, tending, and patience — the same way that cornfield did.
So if you see me resting or hear my concentrator, understand this: I’m doing the best I can with the lungs I have. And I deserve the same grace you expect when you use the tools that help you through your day.
For the patient walking their own row
If you’re living with COPD, give yourself room and grace. Pulmonary rehab, pacing, oxygen use — these aren’t weaknesses. They’re how you grow stronger. Healing, like corn, does its growing quietly.
You’re still growing. You’re still living. And that is more than enough.
Note: COPD News Today 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 consult your physician or other qualified healthcare 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 COPD News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Leave a comment
Fill in the required fields to post. Your email address will not be published.