In October I caught a mild respiratory virus. Nothing big. I had a runny nose, some sniffles, a few aches. It came and went in a few days and I thought nothing of it. Two weeks later however, I developed a sinus infection. Not a big deal. I have sinus issues as do most older folks living east of the Mississippi.

I live in a rural area with lots of trees, leaves, flowers, weeds and all the dusty allergy type generating stuff common to the east. It was also a rainy fall and there was a lot of dampness when it wasn’t dusty. The sinus stuff didn’t actually go away, but progressed into the next thing I get every fall—bronchitis. I went to the doctor, got some antibiotics, and the bronchitis sort of started to clear up around Thanksgiving. But I had a persistent cough that wouldn’t go away.

Now, if you have fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), as I do, you know that life and the syndrome has dealt you a hand that includes, on average, TWO serious respiratory illnesses a year. For me that means bronchitis in the spring and fall. Just like clockwork I’m sick over the holidays with some sort of respiratory illness. After doing some research on my illness I also attribute the length and severity of it to the HUGE amounts of soda and sugar I was consuming.

One teaspoon of sugar drops your immune resistance by 15%, or so different researchers say. Drinking one soda, with an average of 15 teaspoons of sugar, must all but eliminate the immune response. Drinking 2-4 sodas a day definitely obliterates any immune response. Who knew!

Since Fibro and CFS are both inflammatory response and immune system issues, I’m not at all surprised I got and stayed sick and struggled to heal. I wasn’t letting my body heal. With all the sugar and processed food I kept pouring into it, it didn’t have a chance. So, I got pneumonia.

If you don’t know much about pneumonia then you should find out all you can, because pneumonia can kill you, and kill you fast—within 48 hours. In most parts of the world pneumonia is the leading cause of death. While most healthy people get better (meaning the coughing and hacking and fevers and more obvious signs go away, but the fatigue can remain for months) within two to three weeks, those with compromised immune systems, like those of us with Fibro and CFS, can take months.

The only “cure” for pneumonia is bed rest and antibiotics. So I’ve been resting. Things I’ve found annoying and even annoying enough to anger me are people who say:

• “It’s just a cough.”
• “You’re not really sick, you’re just depressed.”
• “It’s probably just a bad cold. You can still keep working.”
• “If you stop working just because you’re sick you’ll never get any work done.”
• “You’re sick a lot. Are you sure it’s not all psychological?”
• “My dad had pneumonia and he kept going to work. Why can’t you?”

It seemed like the more I took care of myself, the more annoyed people became. Many friends, clients and acquaintances were supportive, but many were not—feeling angry with me that my illness was inconveniencing them, although the only inconvenience was they had to find someone else to do what I do for them—and that would cost them more $$. I wasn’t asking anything of them. They were asking me for something I could not deliver.

I’ve struggled to find the words to use for those who felt inconvenienced and annoyed with me for being sick and who didn’t hesitate to express that annoyance. A few choice and unprofessional phrases came to mind, but I won’t repeat them here. Suffice it to say I realized they’re not the people I want or need in my life. Pneumonia sucks, and so do some people. While it has been a miserable month (or more) the good thing is I learned that I matter, that my health matters and so should yours.

Life is about choices and consequences, relationships and compassion, caring and understanding. If people in your life, clients, friends, family or even strangers, can’t bring those things into your life, why keep them around? If people are only around for the good times and what you can give them or do for them, do you really need them? I say not.

2012 is going to be a pruning year for me. I plan to cut the things, people, habits and events that don’t support, encourage, embrace and improve me out of my life. It’s all about setting stronger, firmer boundaries. I encourage you to look at your life before you get sick and do the same.