For the better parts of October, November, December and January, I experienced mild to severe reactions to an unidentified allergen. Having never suffered from allergies before (not pets, not pollen, not peanuts), it took me quite some time to realize what was happening to me. For a few weeks, I believed that my red swollen eyelids were a result of simply not getting adequate sleep. It took a trip with my family in late November to realize that something may have been off.
A few days into a glorious family trip to the Grand Canyon and San Francisco (thanks, mom and dad!), my eyelids had returned to their formerly unswollen selves and my voice had been completely restored (my voice had been hoarse for weeks at that point.. I don’t think any of my Detroit friends know what my “real” voice sounds like!). Seeing my allergies subside upon my travel to a different region, my mother exclaimed, somewhat self-righteously, “You’re allergic to Detroit! You need to move!”
Sure enough, my return to Detroit brought the return of my symptoms. I began trying to remedy my situation. I exhausted every fathomable option: bought a new vacuum, humidifer, air purifier, cleaned my room and bathroom from top to bottom, ripped out the carpet in my bedroom, washed my bedding, bought a new bed, etc. Still, my eyes continued to swell and my voice to rasp. Nothing was improving. It was an enigma. Finally, one evening in mid-December, I dreadfully came to the realization that I had to move out of my house.
Not only did I dread moving out because I was content with my living situation, but moreover because I doubted I’d be able to find a comparable home available within my charming neighborhood of Woodbridge. Miraculously, within 24 hours of making my decision, the stars aligned and I found a new apartment just around the corner from my old house. Said apartment was clean, newly renovated, and mine for the taking. I was ecstatic!
Fast forward two weeks and, after a wonderful holiday back home in the Great White North, I excitedly flew back to my new, clean apartment in Detroit. I was so looking forward to beginning 2015 on a healthy, allergen-free note.
You can (perhaps) imagine my horror when I awoke the next morning feeling very ill and with eyelids so swollen I could barely prop my peepers open. My allergies had followed me to my new apartment, and returned with a vengeance! I came to the sinking realization that maybe, just maybe, my mother was right – maybe I was allergic to Detroit. After everything I had tried, I couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.
Fast forward another two weeks, and (after staying home sick from work for 3 days, buying hypoallergenic bedding, getting tested, etc) my allergy situation is under control at long last. I’m not exactly sure what did it, but regardless, as I have jokingly put it, it seems I may have finally become immune!
Looking back (while recognizing my troubles may well persist in the future), I feel like my allergy situation serves as a microcosm of some of the lessons I am learning in Detroit: about resourcefulness, about resilience and about gratitude (I’m not kidding). Being allergic to Detroit (or what have you) forced me to think creatively, do my due diligence and exhaust every possible solution. My relentless desire to stay meant I would not give up but continue to find hope, even in the hardest (most swollen) of times. And, this may sound totally ridiculous, but going through this entire ordeal served as a daily reminder for me to appreciate the small things in life. Nothing like waking up with a swollen face every morning to remind myself of how lucky I am to not have a swollen face (when it’s not swollen). Nothing like fearing I may have to leave Detroit (a fleeting worry that crossed my mind when my allergies were at their worst) to remind myself of how lucky I am to be here.