I have not been skiing since last year before I went on my 14-week stint of IVs (around this time). My lung function was hanging around 35% so I needed a little tune-up (which ended up being a big tune-up). However, when I was admitted the doctors were surprised to learn that just days earlier I had been skiing at Blue Mountain (not actually a mountain as the title suggests). I was able to do 8 runs.

Flash-forward to this year and my lung function is about the same, but I have a new addition to my ski equipment: oxygen. Luckily, I only require 3L for working out which means I can use a portable concentrator (or POC), which is NOT compressed air. I found the perfect little backpack to carry it around in and a nice little ‘disguise’ to cover the tubing (though I didn’t end up using it much, because it was not as comfortable. Comfort first!).

It weighs about 5 lbs, which is slightly challenging for a petite gal’ like myself, but I managed quite well. As I glided down my first run I had to remind myself to breath with my nose and not my mouth (so I could get the benefits of the 02). Easier than I thought. My lungs were at the top of their game: no coughing spasms, no overly fast racing heart, no white spots, no headaches, no exhaustion. In fact, my legs gave out (literally) before my lungs did.

As I finished my sixth run of the day, I felt my legs begin to collapse beneath me. So down I went—as gracefully as one could—and I sat there trying to figure out how to get up since:
1- I rarely fall
2- The added 5 lbs of the backpack made me feel like a fallen turtle
3- My legs were finished and could only respond by trembling in objection

So I struggled for a couple of minutes, desperately hoping I wouldn’t attract attention, then popped off my skis and stood up quickly before putting them back on again. There is always an easier method.

I’m so glad I decided to try skiing with oxygen, it made it so much more enjoyable and now I have a new record to beat. My legs now have to catch up with my lungs.