Starting the year with a vision of wellness and a plan to follow through
This year, I’m focusing on progress — no matter how small
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On New Year’s Day, my daughters and I created vision boards for 2026. If you haven’t made one before, a vision board is a collage of images, quotes, and art that captures your goals and intentions for the year.
We spent about an hour cutting pictures from old magazines and arranging them on our poster boards. We filled in the gaps with inspiring words and personal aspirations, then added doodles and splashes of color to make them vibrant and unique. Once finished, we hung our boards on the wall, ensuring we’d see them every morning and night.
While I envision a variety of goals for 2026, many are related to health and wellness, and most are goals that my husband, Donnie, and I have set together.
Good goals
One goal I highlighted was for our family to eat more whole foods and less processed foods. When Donnie was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, his initial treatment was prednisone. The high steroid doses, combined with a limited ability to exercise, led to significant weight gain.
As Donnie’s lungs strengthened and he weaned off prednisone, the weight began to come off. It wasn’t easy, but now he feels better, breathes more easily, and requires less supplemental oxygen.
Donnie hopes continued weight loss will further improve his breathing. To support our goals, we’ve stocked the refrigerator with our favorite fruits and vegetables and swapped out snacks for healthier, less processed options.
Physical fitness is another area we’re working on together. Before Donnie’s diagnosis, we were very active, spending evenings at the park playing catch or shooting hoops. Shortness of breath now makes many of those activities difficult, but some, like bowling, golf, and swimming, are still within reach.
For indoor workouts, we plan to set up our treadmill near his in-home oxygen concentrator. This way, he can avoid carrying the portable unit and have a continuous oxygen supply. He’s been medically cleared for exercise, and his pulmonologist encourages him to rebuild stamina, believing some symptoms stem from deconditioning.
Lastly, we’re making it a priority to relax and decompress. The mental strain of managing pulmonary fibrosis is draining; juggling appointments, oxygen, medications, and symptoms requires constant effort. This year, we’re committed to unwinding, refocusing, and hopefully taking a relaxing trip somewhere new.
In the past, I’ve felt discouraged when I didn’t meet my wellness goals perfectly. This year, I’m focusing on progress — no matter how small. Every marathon begins with a single step, and if our family enters 2027 even a little better, I’ll consider that a win.
Note: Pulmonary Fibrosis News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Pulmonary Fibrosis News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to pulmonary fibrosis.
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