connecting with your spirit 147
of interesting jobs — landscaping, photography and graphic
design. I moved from Greenville to Chapel Hill, to Atlanta,
where I resided when my health downturn began.
I was thirty - fi ve. I ’ d always been extremely healthy and
taken good care of myself by eating right and exercising. Out
of the blue, I came down with a sinus infection, and before
long, I had full - blown asthma. Within a few months I was
having severe attacks, and within a year I had my fi rst “ near
death ” experience. I had a battery of doctors behind me, all
scratching their heads. But they were also reading, research-
ing, trying to get to the bottom of why it was such a severe
case. I saw pulmonologists, allergists, ENTs, endocrinolo-
gists, and even an oncologist who did a bone marrow biopsy.
There were hospitalizations for tests and numerous ones for
respiratory failure.
I was off and on at my job for about fi ve years before
I went on disability, which I did not want to do. I really loved
my job and the people I worked with — a large architectural
fi rm, the corporate offi ce. At the same time, I ’ d taken a week-
end trip to Asheville, North Carolina, which happened to
coincide with a Studio Stroll in the River Arts District. I went
into studio after studio and thought, Maybe I can paint again
one day. A seed had been planted. Afterward, my marketing
materials, presentations, everything , began to take on a new
look — lots of layers, very complex. Everyone loved them. All
I could dream about was painting again.
Meanwhile, I was having extremely severe attacks. They
came on very quickly — within minutes of the onset of an
attack, I would need to be intubated. I had one doctor tell
me when I woke up in the ICU, “ Wendy, we caught you by
your heels on your way out the door. ” This scenario happened
multiple times over seven years. By then, I was living on ste-
roids and about fi fteen other medications, was on disability
full time, so just stayed at home, doing breathing treatments.
My husband at the time wondered if I would live through the
day — every day.