Today I woke at 4:17 AM with my head spinning..wondering..thinking. This time of the day is, to me, the middle of the night. So, this is quite unusual. This also happens to be my 48th birthday. When you are a 4x cancer survivor of nearly 14 years, every birthday is a miracle! So, no I do not mind at all sharing my age.
What had me up at 4:17 am? I woke up thinking about my birth. I don't actually know what time I was born ( maybe 4:17 am), or who, if anyone was with Barbara, my birth mother on that day.
I thought about my kids when they were babies, and Liam, my grandson. So much happens in those first three months of life. But who was I with? Who held me, fed me, rocked me? Was I held or rocked or loved? Did I even have a name, what did they call me?
Somewhere out there someone took care of me from this first day of my life in July. I have always wondered who and would love to meet them someday if ever possible.
On October 26th, my parents took me home for good. They have been my mom and dad since then. As we celebrated my birthday this past Sunday with my parents I could see how much they love and enjoy Liam, my kids and my husband.
But...one thing really stood out to me. Seems simple in conversation but it meant a lot to me. We were planning a pool party outdoors that day. The heat and humidity were awful reaching temperatures of about 109.
We talked about how we were glad we moved it indoors, especially with the baby and both my parents who have had some health issues lately.
My dad said they were not going to have been able to get in the water anyways.Yet, they were willing to come sit outside in that heat...just to be there on my birthday!
I still wonder about my BIRTH day and the following months. I am so very thankful for Barbara who was there on that day and made the choices she did, and for my mom and dad who have been there for every Birthday since.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Summer Highlights and Whats Next
It has been two months since my last post, I have definitely been neglecting my blog updates. Summer time is my busiest time of the year as my days are filled with teaching swimming lessons.
I am currently getting ready to begin Session 5, which also happens to be my grandsons first swim class! What a wonderful place in life to be able to teach not only my grandson but second generations of kids I taught when they were young! Along with a whole new generation...I am quite fortunate to be able to say " I love what I do for a job"!
Otherwise our summer has been filled with jet-skiing,spending time with our kids and grandson Liam, working on our yard and a very happy veggie/herb garden this year!
The decompression therapy ended in May. This treatment worked wonders for the pain I had in my neck & back as well as the tingling and weakness in my arms and hands. I do however feel it starting to increase again and plan to go for maintenance therapy as long as I need to. I begin that today.
At the end of August I return to my PC doc to have labs done. These will check my B12 levels, Vitamin D, Magnesium, thyroid and cholesterol. I have not added the oral vitamin D because I am in the sun for about 3 hours a day which SHOULD be giving me my daily needed amounts. I continue to take medication for the hypothyroidism and B12, both seem to be fine. No side effects that I can notice.
Unfortunately, many of these problems develop from cancer treatments. Most likely the hypothyroidism was caused from radiation to my neck. Also, our bodies can not always absorb the nutrients as well from certain medications which may explain some of the deficiency's.
I continue to work with my dietitian following the LEAP program. Now in my 3rd month and feeling better than ever! No migraines at all since my last post in May and the headaches are reduced by a good 95 %! Have them now and then but I can usually pin point a questionable food that was consumed. For the first 6 weeks the immune system is able to calm down and the body to detox.
At 3 months I am allowed to start adding certain foods back into my diet, one at a time to see how I react. I am actually a bit nervous to start this for fear of feeling bad again. But...for my birthday here in July I am looking forward to watermelon!!
It is not an easy program, but it is manageable...and well worth it! As mentioned before along with the improvements with migraines/HA I continue to improve in the areas of energy, less fatigue & anxiety, sleep, clearer thinking. An added bonus, I have lost 15 pounds and am at my goal weight!
Now to just get back to the gym to keep my body strong and stretched. I get a few yoga classes in but distance swimming and cycle are on hold till my swim lessons end. I don't have that much energy :)
Next up- August 3rd are my next scans, labs and oncologist visit to go over the results.I am trying hard not to focus on this and worry, but it is hard. Chris and I would love for you to join us in prayer for these upcoming tests and results.
Will try to update more often so these posts are not this long....Thanks for stopping by....
I am currently getting ready to begin Session 5, which also happens to be my grandsons first swim class! What a wonderful place in life to be able to teach not only my grandson but second generations of kids I taught when they were young! Along with a whole new generation...I am quite fortunate to be able to say " I love what I do for a job"!
Otherwise our summer has been filled with jet-skiing,spending time with our kids and grandson Liam, working on our yard and a very happy veggie/herb garden this year!
The decompression therapy ended in May. This treatment worked wonders for the pain I had in my neck & back as well as the tingling and weakness in my arms and hands. I do however feel it starting to increase again and plan to go for maintenance therapy as long as I need to. I begin that today.
At the end of August I return to my PC doc to have labs done. These will check my B12 levels, Vitamin D, Magnesium, thyroid and cholesterol. I have not added the oral vitamin D because I am in the sun for about 3 hours a day which SHOULD be giving me my daily needed amounts. I continue to take medication for the hypothyroidism and B12, both seem to be fine. No side effects that I can notice.
Unfortunately, many of these problems develop from cancer treatments. Most likely the hypothyroidism was caused from radiation to my neck. Also, our bodies can not always absorb the nutrients as well from certain medications which may explain some of the deficiency's.
I continue to work with my dietitian following the LEAP program. Now in my 3rd month and feeling better than ever! No migraines at all since my last post in May and the headaches are reduced by a good 95 %! Have them now and then but I can usually pin point a questionable food that was consumed. For the first 6 weeks the immune system is able to calm down and the body to detox.
At 3 months I am allowed to start adding certain foods back into my diet, one at a time to see how I react. I am actually a bit nervous to start this for fear of feeling bad again. But...for my birthday here in July I am looking forward to watermelon!!
It is not an easy program, but it is manageable...and well worth it! As mentioned before along with the improvements with migraines/HA I continue to improve in the areas of energy, less fatigue & anxiety, sleep, clearer thinking. An added bonus, I have lost 15 pounds and am at my goal weight!
Now to just get back to the gym to keep my body strong and stretched. I get a few yoga classes in but distance swimming and cycle are on hold till my swim lessons end. I don't have that much energy :)
Next up- August 3rd are my next scans, labs and oncologist visit to go over the results.I am trying hard not to focus on this and worry, but it is hard. Chris and I would love for you to join us in prayer for these upcoming tests and results.
Will try to update more often so these posts are not this long....Thanks for stopping by....
 |
| Liam's first tube ride!! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
