My name is Chris Draft, NFL football player, and I have asthma. I didn’t feel the effects of my asthma until I was in college at Stanford University. It didn’t take long for me to understand that asthma was a very serious addition to my life. After experiencing asthma attacks each year in college, I was greeted with a two year hiatus my first two years in the NFL, but then the attacks continued until my ninth year in the league. It is hard to quantify how much asthma has affected me, because initially in college my trouble breathing was a combination of asthma and enlarged adenoids and tonsils, whereas in the NFL it was more the combination of asthma and allergies. Either way it was hard for me to breathe.

Last year I did not have an asthma attack, yet I don’t feel like I’ve completely found the answer. In finding my answer, I remind myself when I wake up to take a shower, brush my teeth, put on deodorant, take my medication. When I leave for the day I grab my cell phone, my wallet, my keys, and my inhaler, then I hope and pray that what I’m doing is going to be enough.

In my fight against asthma, I remind myself that everyone has difficulties in life, some small and some big. I believe that it’s important that we all recognize our difficulty, create a game plan for overcoming the difficulty, execute the plan, and then pray for the best.