Ken Krasow
TrachKid Profile
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My name is Ken, I’m 48 years old and I’ve been trached since I was 9 due to complications with a fibroma that wraps around my esophagus and into my throat preventing me from breathing fully through my mouth and nose. Having the trach at such an early age I can’t remember being any different. My parents, siblings and friends were the key to my positive development and outlook in life. They were and are still very supportive. I was by no means a shy or introverted child as the doctors had warned my parents I would be. I was the opposite; living life to its fullest and never acknowledging there was any problem at all. I played Little League, experimented with downhill skiing, stuck to cross country and even went to overnight camp for many years. Camp was one of the best experiences of my life. I even became an expert glass blower. My adolescent years were trouble and worry free. My most troubling times were Jr. High and High School: I had many friends so the teasing and comments were not all that bad. My trach and fibromas have caused me to speak with a deep raspy voice. I was told I sounded like a frog, turtle, robot etc… the teasing was dealt with accordingly. I was lucky enough to have friends on the high school football team who would not put up with any one teasing me. My parents dealt with the teasing in their own way. Instead of the normal calling the school or the culprit’s parents they helped me deal with it on my own. Although difficult, it gave me the ability to fend for myself. My trach limited me to many after school activities. My siblings excelled in sports which made me jealous at times and more so when they would come home with trophies, ribbons and awards. I found that very difficult. Dating was a very difficult time for me as well. “Ken you’re a good friend” was the phrase that I all too often heard from the teenage girls. I didn’t go to my prom and went to dances with friends. I partied quite a bit to show my peers I was no different than they were. After high school I took 6 months off before college and worked in retail as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. College was fun and rewarding…two years was enough though. After graduating I took a mini vacation and then went to work full time. I became very successful in my retail career and moved quickly to become a Store Manager at a very young age. Dating became more frequent, I even had a girl ask me to marry her. Although tempting, I said no because I didn’t feel as though she was the right person for me. I guess my confidence level was high. After breaking off the 1 and a half year relationship I moved out of my parents house ( I was 21) and began the life of a bachelor. Went dateless for awhile and that was all right with me. Then all of a sudden I began to date frequently. Not to go into detail but I was doing pretty well and taking full advantage of it. I then met the women who would later become my wife of 12 years. We have since divorced on good terms and both are very active in raising our 3 beautiful children. To this day we still remain friends and speak frequently. UPDATE: Hello ! It has been awhile since I have updated my page and much has changed in my life. I have since re-married, Feb 11 2011 to a wonderful woman who has brought such joy into my life. I am happier and healthier than I have ever been. She sees me "as me" not as "a guy with a trach". She has made me realize that I should never feel insecure about my trach and be confident with who I am. I've been told this my entire life but it wasn't until I met her that I could feel totally free of my insecurities. Her 2 teenage daughters are the same way, when asked if they forewarn their friends prior to meeting me, they respond; "Mom, I don't even think of that”!!! I am so blessed to have a new found addition to an already wonderful family nucleus. I’ve learned much about myself over these years and the most important of life’s lesson is that: you alone need to define yourself as to “who you are” rather than defining yourself based on illness or handicap. Settle for no less than your goals. With the support of my wife, children, parents, friends, brother and sister I became a person with confidence and the ability to face all the life’s challenges. The best advice I can give is to be yourself, ignore the superficial people in life and learn from your disappointments and grow stronger from them. I would welcome the opportunity to answer questions, provide support or just talk about the everyday experiences of Life with a Trach E-mail me at trached1@hotmail.com , IM me as Trached1 on aol instant messenger or view my photo page @ http://www.pbase.com/trached1
History
- Blog
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- Member for
- 3 years 43 weeks
Location
- Country
- United States
