I had planned to start blogging again at the beginning of the month, but things got in the way. The last couple of weeks have been crazy for me.
Showing posts with label my health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my health. Show all posts
14 February 2014
Time Slips By
Tuesday I went to see my surgeon for my three year follow up. Today though is actually the anniversary date of my hip replacement. For those of you who follow me on Twitter you know that I had to stop at Walmart on the way to the ortho center to get chocolates for the team because when you have a surgical anniversary like mine, you make it as cheesy as you can.
Fun little story: Jack, the surgeon's assistant, drew a heart on my right hip when I was in pre-op. With a Sharpie. IJess hooked up to iv drugs thought it was a fun and neat idea since it was Valentine's day, however we found out later that week when Sharpie and the iodine they put on your skin before an incision is made does not come off easily or quickly. It took weeks of scrubbing before the heart completely disappeared. Thanks, Jack, for making extremely medicated me frustrated for many days because of that heart. I know he got a good laugh out of it.
For the last three years I haven't cared about being alone on Valentine's day. I mean, I get to celebrate the fact that I am no longer disabled and that I can live my life normally now with a fully functioning hip. Who cares about not having a man today? Not me. I actually take pride in the fact I can say I had a Valentine's date just the once, even if it was with my surgeon and his team. He gave me a great gift, a new hip that improved the quality of my life ten fold. Beat that gentlemen!
I've done a lot of neatand crazy things in the last three years. From going to New Orleans and walking around the city for a week during a convention to hiking for the first time to weight training, I've accomplished quite a bit that I never would have been able to before surgery.
I feel like while you're growing up time slips by and then BAM! You're a grown up expected to take responsibilities seriously and have your life put together. It's weird though that compared to the time before surgery, these last three years have flown by at 50 times the speed, all because I can live my life. Before surgery I feel like I was so anchored down and couldn't do anything because of the limitations I faced.
Three years is crazy. What's even crazier is that in two more years it'll be five years since my life changed for the better. In two years I can accomplish a lot to add to my "improved quality of life" list that I've been keeping for my surgeon. All week I've been imagining the things I can/want to do like continuing my weight training, travel to places to see friends and family and make new adventures for the memory book.
The amount of potential I have for life now because of my surgery is astounding. Don't get me wrong, I believe that anyone can do amazing things if they set their mind on it but in my case it was a blessing to have found a surgeon who not only cared about fixing the problem but is also very interested in my life and what I'm doing. Because of this hip replacement I feel like I am becoming the person I was meant to be in life and for that I'm so very thankful.
*raises glass* So here's to the next two years and many more after that. The years that I get to make memories, learn and live life. I just hope I take the time to slow down every now and then and remember how lucky I am and to really enjoy everything as it happens.
Fun little story: Jack, the surgeon's assistant, drew a heart on my right hip when I was in pre-op. With a Sharpie. I
For the last three years I haven't cared about being alone on Valentine's day. I mean, I get to celebrate the fact that I am no longer disabled and that I can live my life normally now with a fully functioning hip. Who cares about not having a man today? Not me. I actually take pride in the fact I can say I had a Valentine's date just the once, even if it was with my surgeon and his team. He gave me a great gift, a new hip that improved the quality of my life ten fold. Beat that gentlemen!
I've done a lot of neat
I feel like while you're growing up time slips by and then BAM! You're a grown up expected to take responsibilities seriously and have your life put together. It's weird though that compared to the time before surgery, these last three years have flown by at 50 times the speed, all because I can live my life. Before surgery I feel like I was so anchored down and couldn't do anything because of the limitations I faced.
Three years is crazy. What's even crazier is that in two more years it'll be five years since my life changed for the better. In two years I can accomplish a lot to add to my "improved quality of life" list that I've been keeping for my surgeon. All week I've been imagining the things I can/want to do like continuing my weight training, travel to places to see friends and family and make new adventures for the memory book.
The amount of potential I have for life now because of my surgery is astounding. Don't get me wrong, I believe that anyone can do amazing things if they set their mind on it but in my case it was a blessing to have found a surgeon who not only cared about fixing the problem but is also very interested in my life and what I'm doing. Because of this hip replacement I feel like I am becoming the person I was meant to be in life and for that I'm so very thankful.
*raises glass* So here's to the next two years and many more after that. The years that I get to make memories, learn and live life. I just hope I take the time to slow down every now and then and remember how lucky I am and to really enjoy everything as it happens.
06 February 2014
Back to the. Basics
If you're following me on Twitter you've probably realized that I tweet a lot while I watch tv. *cough* Torchwood *cough cough* The most recent Netflix marathon I've become attached to has been Grey's Anatomy. I just started season three yesterday, and if weren't for our internet being slow because of the pile of snow on our roof affecting our antenna, I would probably be close to the end of the season by this evening.
Off topic.
In one episode, don't ask me which one because I've watched so much Grey's in the last week I can't remember specific episodes/seasons since it all kind of blurs together, the chief put's Dr. Yang in her place after teaching her a lesson. The moral of the story basically was that sometimes you overlook things and make them more complicated than what they need to be by letting things cloud your mind. It's all about going back to the basics and doing what you know.
Since I'm back in school this semester my bank account is pretty empty and I can't afford to pay for my gym membership like I did last year. Last year I was pretty good about going in three to five times a week and working out for at least 25 to 30 minutes. The goal was simple: to get moving. Clearly, in the last month I haven't been able to do that and I've started to see how much it's affecting me.
I spend a lot of time at my desk sitting in this office chair that should really have been pitched and replaced a few years ago, doing homework. I lose track of time pretty quickly, especially if I'm doing research. I mean, come one, one website leads to another and then another and before you know it you've got a bunch of new resources saved to your favorites and a hour and a half have passed! It's been difficult for me to get used to this way since my two classes are on Monday and Tuesday and then my third one is online (the one that has yet to start...) so I spend the remainder of my week at my desk. This ends up causing back flares (from the terrible desk chair I was talking about), hip flares and overall just really sore and weak muscles.
Determined to find some sort of solution I did what I thought was the easiest way to ask for help with something like this. I went to one of my Facebook groups of fellow spoonies and asked for any and all suggestions for at home stretching. I got a lot of feedback and decided to join fitocracy.
I've been on fitocracy before but my mindset wasn't right when I had joined. I think I'll have to explain why I stopped using it some other time because this post is already long enough. I seriously wasn't for sure if I wanted to go this route again, mostly because I didn't know how to make what I used to do at the gym work for me at home without any of the equipment and very limited space.
Back to the basics.
My goal is to get moving more so I'm not sitting at my desk for hours and hours at a time during the week. That's simple when you really think about it! I was trying to make everything 10 times as difficult as it was needed.
Like I said, I'm on fitocracy now and if you'd like to follow me my username is JessieJohn .
A good lesson to remember, just to take it back to the basics.
Off topic.
In one episode, don't ask me which one because I've watched so much Grey's in the last week I can't remember specific episodes/seasons since it all kind of blurs together, the chief put's Dr. Yang in her place after teaching her a lesson. The moral of the story basically was that sometimes you overlook things and make them more complicated than what they need to be by letting things cloud your mind. It's all about going back to the basics and doing what you know.
Since I'm back in school this semester my bank account is pretty empty and I can't afford to pay for my gym membership like I did last year. Last year I was pretty good about going in three to five times a week and working out for at least 25 to 30 minutes. The goal was simple: to get moving. Clearly, in the last month I haven't been able to do that and I've started to see how much it's affecting me.
I spend a lot of time at my desk sitting in this office chair that should really have been pitched and replaced a few years ago, doing homework. I lose track of time pretty quickly, especially if I'm doing research. I mean, come one, one website leads to another and then another and before you know it you've got a bunch of new resources saved to your favorites and a hour and a half have passed! It's been difficult for me to get used to this way since my two classes are on Monday and Tuesday and then my third one is online (the one that has yet to start...) so I spend the remainder of my week at my desk. This ends up causing back flares (from the terrible desk chair I was talking about), hip flares and overall just really sore and weak muscles.
Determined to find some sort of solution I did what I thought was the easiest way to ask for help with something like this. I went to one of my Facebook groups of fellow spoonies and asked for any and all suggestions for at home stretching. I got a lot of feedback and decided to join fitocracy.
I've been on fitocracy before but my mindset wasn't right when I had joined. I think I'll have to explain why I stopped using it some other time because this post is already long enough. I seriously wasn't for sure if I wanted to go this route again, mostly because I didn't know how to make what I used to do at the gym work for me at home without any of the equipment and very limited space.
Back to the basics.
My goal is to get moving more so I'm not sitting at my desk for hours and hours at a time during the week. That's simple when you really think about it! I was trying to make everything 10 times as difficult as it was needed.
Like I said, I'm on fitocracy now and if you'd like to follow me my username is JessieJohn .
A good lesson to remember, just to take it back to the basics.
13 December 2013
#SpoonieChat
This past weekend I went to Kansas City with a couple of ladies from church to go shopping. It was a spur of the moment decision to go with them on this trip. I had thrown together some clothes and packed the necessities including my medicine. Off we go, a couple hours in the van to get there before we hit our first store.
Normally I get very anxious about traveling. I love traveling. Don't get me wrong, but when you've had hip problems since you were eight, sitting for a long period of time is a difficult task, let alone in a cramped space. I do have to say that it has been loads easier to travel for more than an hour in a vehicle since I had my hip replaced, but that doesn't mean it's easy peasy, lemon squeasy. Because this trip was spur of the moment I didn't have the TIME to over think and get all antsy about the traveling portion of the trip.
I was wiped out when I got home on Sunday. I thought it would just take all day Monday to regain my energy back from doing so much in the three day span that I was gone. I was oh so wrong. I forgot about Thy, my thyroid. I forgot how much she makes me feel sluggish when I use my energy reserves. I also forgot that I'm working on finding that happy medium of using my energy for things that I need to do and not just pointless things. It completely threw me off.
Wednesday was the first day that I actually felt like I could do something. It was probably because I didn't do much but sleep since I had gotten home on Sunday and that I was two days in taking my medicine (last week I kind of got off with my meds, and then it threw me off completely; I'm pretty good at getting back on track after I travel though) and I felt like I could actually accomplish some things.
I did! But then I think I might have overdone it because I sat there on the couch Wednesday night watching Survivor with my parents and brother. By the time the Duck Dynasty (the show is very popular in our house!) Christmas special came on, I was so low on energy I didn't even pay attention to the show. So, I did what I do when I get bored during commercials, I hopped on Twitter via my cell phone where I found #SpoonieChat
I'm not quite for sure exactly what the chat is aimed towards, but I think the general idea is to unite spoonies (people with chronic illness) together. It was a fantastic time, though I only jumped in about halfway through the chat. I found some questions that kind of framed the chat, and I wanted to take the time to answer them.
1. Do you find that your possessions weigh you down or suck away time that might be better used elsewhere? Possessions as in "stuff" that I've collected over the years? Yes. I'm constantly feeling the need to get rid of things, or wonder why I still have something when I can't remember the last time I used it. I spend so much time thinking about it, or attempting to do something about it that I often get side tracked during my day and waste a lot of energy in the process, thus bringing my day down with me.
2. Are predetermined time commitments dictating what you do and how you do it? Sometimes commitments made years ago no longer make sense, but momentum keeps them going? I don't really think I have much of a problem with this. Much the opposite I believe. I can't commit to something and if I do and I break it, it's twice as much trouble for me to get back to it. For example, last year I made a pact with my roommate to do homework every day together in the library. Once I didn't go once because I was feeling ill, I just didn't go again for several days.
3. Do you are too many goals pulling you in opposite directions? I do feel that some of them are. It's difficult to explain because that majority of my goals have changed in the last two to three weeks, so now I'm more in a mind frame of focusing on how to get to those new goals. On a simplified level, my day to day goals of what I want to get accomplished sometimes pull me apart at the seems just because I feel the need to list everything and get it all done; talk about one way to drain energy quickly!
4. Are negative thoughts hampering your progress? Sometimes, we take these ideas as actual “facts”. What could you rethink? I'm struggling with this one I think. When I think about my goals and my progress, I think of how I said above that I want to get it all done, or in my post from Wednesday that I have this picture perfect plan, when I can't get it all done, or something falls out of this picture perfect plan my mind immediately begins to think of all the negatives. That I should have done "this" instead of "that" and so on. It's something I'm working on (I've said that a lot this week, should keep me busy before school starts!), that instead of thinking about the negative things when I can't get all of my to do list completed, or when my picture perfect plan goes out the window that I think about the positive things. For example, I had a long cleaning list the other day. I wanted to clean my bedroom, but all I got done was my closet. The positive? My closet was an absolute disaster and it took ALL day. But it got done.
I've rambled enough for today, but at least that rambling was kind of therapeutic for me.
Normally I get very anxious about traveling. I love traveling. Don't get me wrong, but when you've had hip problems since you were eight, sitting for a long period of time is a difficult task, let alone in a cramped space. I do have to say that it has been loads easier to travel for more than an hour in a vehicle since I had my hip replaced, but that doesn't mean it's easy peasy, lemon squeasy. Because this trip was spur of the moment I didn't have the TIME to over think and get all antsy about the traveling portion of the trip.
I was wiped out when I got home on Sunday. I thought it would just take all day Monday to regain my energy back from doing so much in the three day span that I was gone. I was oh so wrong. I forgot about Thy, my thyroid. I forgot how much she makes me feel sluggish when I use my energy reserves. I also forgot that I'm working on finding that happy medium of using my energy for things that I need to do and not just pointless things. It completely threw me off.
Wednesday was the first day that I actually felt like I could do something. It was probably because I didn't do much but sleep since I had gotten home on Sunday and that I was two days in taking my medicine (last week I kind of got off with my meds, and then it threw me off completely; I'm pretty good at getting back on track after I travel though) and I felt like I could actually accomplish some things.
I did! But then I think I might have overdone it because I sat there on the couch Wednesday night watching Survivor with my parents and brother. By the time the Duck Dynasty (the show is very popular in our house!) Christmas special came on, I was so low on energy I didn't even pay attention to the show. So, I did what I do when I get bored during commercials, I hopped on Twitter via my cell phone where I found #SpoonieChat
I'm not quite for sure exactly what the chat is aimed towards, but I think the general idea is to unite spoonies (people with chronic illness) together. It was a fantastic time, though I only jumped in about halfway through the chat. I found some questions that kind of framed the chat, and I wanted to take the time to answer them.
1. Do you find that your possessions weigh you down or suck away time that might be better used elsewhere? Possessions as in "stuff" that I've collected over the years? Yes. I'm constantly feeling the need to get rid of things, or wonder why I still have something when I can't remember the last time I used it. I spend so much time thinking about it, or attempting to do something about it that I often get side tracked during my day and waste a lot of energy in the process, thus bringing my day down with me.
2. Are predetermined time commitments dictating what you do and how you do it? Sometimes commitments made years ago no longer make sense, but momentum keeps them going? I don't really think I have much of a problem with this. Much the opposite I believe. I can't commit to something and if I do and I break it, it's twice as much trouble for me to get back to it. For example, last year I made a pact with my roommate to do homework every day together in the library. Once I didn't go once because I was feeling ill, I just didn't go again for several days.
3. Do you are too many goals pulling you in opposite directions? I do feel that some of them are. It's difficult to explain because that majority of my goals have changed in the last two to three weeks, so now I'm more in a mind frame of focusing on how to get to those new goals. On a simplified level, my day to day goals of what I want to get accomplished sometimes pull me apart at the seems just because I feel the need to list everything and get it all done; talk about one way to drain energy quickly!
4. Are negative thoughts hampering your progress? Sometimes, we take these ideas as actual “facts”. What could you rethink? I'm struggling with this one I think. When I think about my goals and my progress, I think of how I said above that I want to get it all done, or in my post from Wednesday that I have this picture perfect plan, when I can't get it all done, or something falls out of this picture perfect plan my mind immediately begins to think of all the negatives. That I should have done "this" instead of "that" and so on. It's something I'm working on (I've said that a lot this week, should keep me busy before school starts!), that instead of thinking about the negative things when I can't get all of my to do list completed, or when my picture perfect plan goes out the window that I think about the positive things. For example, I had a long cleaning list the other day. I wanted to clean my bedroom, but all I got done was my closet. The positive? My closet was an absolute disaster and it took ALL day. But it got done.
I've rambled enough for today, but at least that rambling was kind of therapeutic for me.
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