Mel's Resolve

I was truly amazed when Mel sent me a text today saying she had lost more weight.  Goodness me, it's Christmas week!  I had expected the kilos to be piling on and the excuses flying.  Not my Mel.  She is stubborn, creative and refuses to be defeated. 
I thought about this but only for a minute.  Why wouldn't Mel have a concrete resolve?  Her history tells the story.
At the tiny age of 19 months she  went from healthy baby to having chronic asthmatic.  She fought tooth and nail to breath.  At only 2 years she struggled when a male nurse laid her on his lap and held an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.  She struggled not only for breath but to escape her captive.  Within the following ten years she had been admitted to hospital over forty times and twice in ICU.
She struggled for every breath in ICU, she fought and never gave up.  At home she used a portable nebuliser and a range of puffers and medications.  Winter was always worse as a cold would start her wheezing and coughing.  In spring it was pollen but it was also wool, dust mite and peanuts which exacerbated her lungs to induce wheezing.
The asthma diminished at the age of twelve but at fifteen she became ill with pneumonia and stress and psychosis raised its ugly head.  Mel's 16th birthday was celebrated as the trauma began and she spent six weeks in a mental health ward thereafter. 
There were many horrendous mental health episodes which we all dealt with until she was 22 when her medication was successfully changed.  We all had to deal with it but it happened to Mel.  It was her resolve to deal with all of this trauma and do it successfully, which has given her the edge in life.
Twenty years later she has battled with her weight as her medication stimulates her appetite and she didn't have the strategies to combat it.  Now we have an exclusive good eating and exercise plan and Mel has lost over 12 kilos in sixteen weeks. 
Yes, Mel is a fighter, an achiever against adversity.  I am very proud of our Mel.