Today was a beautiful sunny day! I took the pups for a walk, and I heard from two old friends which brightened my day!
But..Im tired. I have a weird swelling along the left side of my spine. No Doctor knows what it is. All I have been told is that its a permanent muscle spasm. Hmmm. Its like sleeping on a rock. So what do they do? Prescribe a painkiller.
If any Doctors are out there reading my blog--help please.
I would like to get rid of the swelling. I would like to enjoy all the beautiful days coherently and unencumbered by painkillers.
Time to get a massage from my daughter whose a massage therapist--I guess it really is a beautiful day!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Avatar
I recently went and saw the movie, "Avatar". It is a great film and I just loved it.For those of you that don't know what an Avatar is, it is basically another vessel for your brain and soul while you sleep. You feel what the Avatar's body is doing. I have decided that if I could have an Avatar, it would be my sister's body. She is a year and a half older than me and her body is a thing of beauty! Not that I am not beautiful, but her body is STRONG. She worked hard to get it that way and works hard to maintain it.
My sister has run Marathons, Triathons, played in Tennis Tournaments, takes Boxing, (I have seen her in a boxing class and she can throw a mean punch! But seeing her muscles work was beautiful.)She also can hike probably farther than anyone that I know. I would always tease her and call her an Amazon woman. Of course, a pretty, petite Amazon woman. So if I could be in her body when she is running or downhill skiing, which I do, but much slower, or snowshoeing......I would be able to do it and feel what she feels- exhilaration. Maybe a few aches after, but she would recover. I, on the other hand, just couldn't do it. That's why I would need her to be my Avatar.
She was recently in an accident in Hawaii. A Crane toppled over and if not for the roll-bar on the jeep- she would have been crushed. I hope that my sister knows just how grateful I am that roll-bar was there. She got out very, very shaken but with no bad injuries.
Yep. She would be my Avatar. But in the meantime, I think that I will try and do more light hand-weight workouts until there is such a thing. Oh...and walk.
My sister has run Marathons, Triathons, played in Tennis Tournaments, takes Boxing, (I have seen her in a boxing class and she can throw a mean punch! But seeing her muscles work was beautiful.)She also can hike probably farther than anyone that I know. I would always tease her and call her an Amazon woman. Of course, a pretty, petite Amazon woman. So if I could be in her body when she is running or downhill skiing, which I do, but much slower, or snowshoeing......I would be able to do it and feel what she feels- exhilaration. Maybe a few aches after, but she would recover. I, on the other hand, just couldn't do it. That's why I would need her to be my Avatar.
She was recently in an accident in Hawaii. A Crane toppled over and if not for the roll-bar on the jeep- she would have been crushed. I hope that my sister knows just how grateful I am that roll-bar was there. She got out very, very shaken but with no bad injuries.
Yep. She would be my Avatar. But in the meantime, I think that I will try and do more light hand-weight workouts until there is such a thing. Oh...and walk.
Update on the Walking Man
This afternoon my husband and I decided to walk the dogs together. While we were on the walking path, guess who was coming right toward us? The Walking Man! I told my husband, this is it, I have to speak to him. When he reached us, I kind of had to stand in front of him and wave my arms to get him to stop. He had earphones in and took one out and so I said," Can I ask you something?" He replied, "of course." So I said, "Why do you walk so much?" " You have become my inspiration, and I am walking more and more because of you in spite of my chronic pain."
Then he told us his story. He said, "you see, I am Blind. I have no central vision, so I just put my headphones on and listen to the Bible and I walk. I have to keep my head down and stay focused so that I keep on the path. I have found over my long life that one needs to humble one's self enough to be 'teachable'. I have been taught to keep going forth even though I might have this obstacle, after all, I can still 'hear' and I can still WALK." I promised him that I would always remain teachable and try to be humble and we said our good-bye's.
So the Walking Man remains my inspiration, just like the non-juggler in the Bagel shop and I plan on walking and walking until the Lord decides I can't.
Then he told us his story. He said, "you see, I am Blind. I have no central vision, so I just put my headphones on and listen to the Bible and I walk. I have to keep my head down and stay focused so that I keep on the path. I have found over my long life that one needs to humble one's self enough to be 'teachable'. I have been taught to keep going forth even though I might have this obstacle, after all, I can still 'hear' and I can still WALK." I promised him that I would always remain teachable and try to be humble and we said our good-bye's.
So the Walking Man remains my inspiration, just like the non-juggler in the Bagel shop and I plan on walking and walking until the Lord decides I can't.
It's raining again
I don't want to get out of bed. My ears are ringing, my hands don't want to open and my body feels like lead embedded in cement only that when I move the cement comes with me.
Today is particularly bad because it feels like a hot poker is being stabbed in my left butt cheek and it runs up my back along the left of my spine all the way up to my neck into my head. My ribs feel like they are broken and my shoulders are screaming.
I touch the one place, my oasis, the one place where I have absolutely No pain. My right cheek- well the spot between my cheek and nose on my face. Awwww. I am going to do what I always do. Put my feet on the ground and start my day .
Today is particularly bad because it feels like a hot poker is being stabbed in my left butt cheek and it runs up my back along the left of my spine all the way up to my neck into my head. My ribs feel like they are broken and my shoulders are screaming.
I touch the one place, my oasis, the one place where I have absolutely No pain. My right cheek- well the spot between my cheek and nose on my face. Awwww. I am going to do what I always do. Put my feet on the ground and start my day .
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Movement
My husband and I often attend plays at the local Shakespeare Theatre. It is a beautiful outdoor amphitheatre and it is so relaxing. We went to a play and I don't even recall the name of it, I think it was the "Tempest". One of the characters was this lovely young woman and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her because of her MOVEMENT. She was lithe yet strong and almost floated- and when she danced, oh when she danced I would have given my life to be in her body just to feel what that felt like. It brought tears to my eyes. We were sitting with our friend whose husband was in the play and I looked over and saw tears in her eyes too. She has MS.
Movement. I wonder if people are GRATEFUL for their day to day movement. It's raining again today and it took Herculean effort on my part just to walk across Albertson's and carry the kitty litter. But I am grateful for it. I did it. I didn't have to ask for help.
Movement. When someone cleans their house with no effort, or rakes their leaves, or takes a jog, or throws a frisbee, or rides a bike, are they aware of the movement of it. Are they grateful for it?
I have two older daughters, one 26 and one 21. They are grateful for movement. One is a Massage Therapist and Gymnastics Coach, the other in Nursing. They both were gymnasts. They can rock climb- oh my- I don't know how they do it. And they both can still flip around, not as easily, but they can. And they are grateful for it. I am glad about that. Movement should not be taken for granted. It is a gift and it should be cherished.
Today I am going to stretch in spite of my LACK of movement. And be grateful for it.
Movement. I wonder if people are GRATEFUL for their day to day movement. It's raining again today and it took Herculean effort on my part just to walk across Albertson's and carry the kitty litter. But I am grateful for it. I did it. I didn't have to ask for help.
Movement. When someone cleans their house with no effort, or rakes their leaves, or takes a jog, or throws a frisbee, or rides a bike, are they aware of the movement of it. Are they grateful for it?
I have two older daughters, one 26 and one 21. They are grateful for movement. One is a Massage Therapist and Gymnastics Coach, the other in Nursing. They both were gymnasts. They can rock climb- oh my- I don't know how they do it. And they both can still flip around, not as easily, but they can. And they are grateful for it. I am glad about that. Movement should not be taken for granted. It is a gift and it should be cherished.
Today I am going to stretch in spite of my LACK of movement. And be grateful for it.
The Point of this Blog.
Quick facts: Autoimmune Disease is the eighth leading cause of death among young and middle-aged women in the U.S.. 1 in 9 people stricken with Autoimmune disease are women. So there are a lot of sons, husbands, fathers out there with this disease too. It derails the lives of at least 23.5 million Americans. The number of people with Autoimmune disease doubles that of cancer.
Autoimmune disease affects children and shortens the lifespan of adults. These diseases include: Lupus, Scleroderma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, JRA, MS, I.B.S., Chrohn's disease, Psoriasis in it's many forms, Psoriatic Arthritis, Spondylitis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Type 1 Diabetes, Graves disease, and many, many more.
Many people stricken with one of these is also stricken with another. They often hit in pairs. I dedicate this blog to my millions of comrades out there suffering in silence but living strong with these insidious diseases.
Autoimmune disease affects children and shortens the lifespan of adults. These diseases include: Lupus, Scleroderma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, JRA, MS, I.B.S., Chrohn's disease, Psoriasis in it's many forms, Psoriatic Arthritis, Spondylitis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Type 1 Diabetes, Graves disease, and many, many more.
Many people stricken with one of these is also stricken with another. They often hit in pairs. I dedicate this blog to my millions of comrades out there suffering in silence but living strong with these insidious diseases.
Friday, January 15, 2010
my story
So now that I got the facts out - I wanted to let you know that I decided to write this blog thinking that it would not only be cathartic for me, and helpful to others who share my experience, but also educational for those who know someone, love someone who has one of these diseases or for someone who just doesn't understand why we whine all the time. Especially when it's cold or rainy.
My story begins at 13. I had a bout of Strep throat that mis-fired and went to my kidneys causing Nephritis. I was a pretty sick kid. Then I came down with Strep again and it went to my skin causing Guttate psoriasis. I was covered with very small plaques of psoriasis. They call it "teardrop" psoriasis because the plaques are so small - only problem is, it covers 90% of my body and stays for months at a time! It's like having poison oak for months!! Itchy! Sore and bloody. Ugh.
The first doctor my momma took me to said it was mites. Oh brother! I don't know how long it took until they realized it was Psoriasis, but I do remember the Coal Tar. In those days, it was all they had in the war against Psoriasis. Coal Tar. My momma would slather it on and wrap me in saran wrap. It was awful.
As I grew older, I was having awful low back pain. One day it was so bad, I even passed out from it. I almost didn't wake up, they had to use mouth to mouth resuscitation. I guess that was my first memory of the start of my pain.
My story begins at 13. I had a bout of Strep throat that mis-fired and went to my kidneys causing Nephritis. I was a pretty sick kid. Then I came down with Strep again and it went to my skin causing Guttate psoriasis. I was covered with very small plaques of psoriasis. They call it "teardrop" psoriasis because the plaques are so small - only problem is, it covers 90% of my body and stays for months at a time! It's like having poison oak for months!! Itchy! Sore and bloody. Ugh.
The first doctor my momma took me to said it was mites. Oh brother! I don't know how long it took until they realized it was Psoriasis, but I do remember the Coal Tar. In those days, it was all they had in the war against Psoriasis. Coal Tar. My momma would slather it on and wrap me in saran wrap. It was awful.
As I grew older, I was having awful low back pain. One day it was so bad, I even passed out from it. I almost didn't wake up, they had to use mouth to mouth resuscitation. I guess that was my first memory of the start of my pain.
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