Our Anniversary June 2011 Rocky Mountain National Park

June 2011 - Doug and I spent our anniversary in Rocky Mountain National Park. I spent most of the time, not thinking about LAM. I was warned that the elevation could impact my breathing, as altitude has done in the past, I was a bit leery, so I brought my Pulse Oximeter. We happened to be there the weekend they decided to finally open up the road over the top of the park, which is blocked most of the season due to snow. The park is home to Long's Peak, one of our state's many 14ers. As a photographer I dream of hiking to some of the most picturesque lakes there, and love shooting the ample wildlife. Estes park where we stayed was pretty high in elevation as well, I bought a shirt that says "Got Oxygen" because people without lung disease can barely breath there, so I think I did pretty good. Near the peak I got out of the car to snap some pictures. walked a short bit, got winded and returned, I decided to check my O2, I was satting in the 90's which felt fantastic, I then remembered my LAMmie I had purchased from Lamposium, so I decided, I should take a picture of him at some of the highest points in the park, to remind my Lammies that it's possible, don't limit yourself, and don't allow your disease or fear of what may happen to limit you. Here are a few pics of LAMmie from RMNP.

New Adventures with LAM

April 2011 - Hello, My name is Dawn Morrow and I have LAM, it's a well deserved acronym for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis. There are many folks who write in their blog about their illness and problems or blessings. I am a photographer, and I decided to take my disease adventures on the road with my little Lammie. I have to admit, at first I felt it was a bit childish of grown adults carrying around stuffed animals to represent their disease, I know some of you are thinking that, because that is the same thing that I said. Those stages of grief are just as important to acknowledge with anything so large as a terminal disease. I know because I lived in denial for so long, in fact I still go back and visit frequently. Feel free to google it if you don't know what it is, I don't want to dwell on it in my blog, at least not right now. I feel so blessed in my life to experience it. I feel that is a benefit of knowing how short life can be, that you do what you can to live it to it's fullest. I was so inspired by hearing other LAM women's stories, I could see every stage of LAM. Some who feel they shouldn't get active in the groups because they feel so much healthier than the other women with LAM. Some feel they want to share everything, because then they aren't suffering alone with the disease. Some feel so healthy, they don't want to be in a group with a bunch of sick people, and some come to the group in some of the lowest states in their life and grasp at any and everything they can from it. Now that I have lived with LAM for over a year, I feel that I have experienced each of these states. I am now in the stage where, Whenever my God wants to take me from this life, he will let me know, but for now, I am going to spend what time I can living it.

 It started with a conference that was created for the LAM patients called Lamposium. Women from all over the world converge on Cincinnati, Ohio to learn about lam, Physicians from all over the world come there to to learn and share what they learned through the year of research, and most importantly all of them converge to have fun and raise money to find a cure or valid treatment for the disease. The Lam Foundation has been a wonderful resource for me, but again their story is theirs, if you are interested, go to www.thelamfoundation.com , but I digress. I was awarded a grant to attend this conference from Colorado. I roomed with my buddy Jeanne, and she inspired me to start my LAMVenture. I have always wanted to be turned loose in a large city with skyscrapers, I decided I would wander town and check out the tallest looking building in town, then ask if I could go to the top and look out to take pictures. Well I decided to take a few LAMmies with me. Miss Lisa and her buddy Josh, and Jeanne and I decided if we could do it, we should. So we began our 50 story accent up Carew tower. The last few floors used a service elevator, and the last level was just stairs. I felt I had a bit of an advantage here, since I was the only LAMmie not toting O2. We all made it to the top, and for me it was one of the highlights of my trip. Jeanne had an idea that has stuck with me. She decided to pull out her stuffed lam out of her bag and put him on the edge of the building. And there is where the LAMVenture Begins! I found my little LAMmie at Lamposium. He even makes noise, and he's not too big. I can sneak him when I feel silly carrying around a stuffed toy.