Frank Shorter, You're My Hero!

My goal has always been to slow down as slowly as possible. - Frank Shorter

Isn't that a great way to look at it?  Frank, you're my hero!  They're gonna have to drag me off, kicking and screaming.

But sometimes, I let Them get hold of me after all.  You know, life's vagaries.  Aging body parts.  The wrong food.  Family crises.  Work crises.  Injuries.  Distractions.

My spring half marathon came and went - without me.  I stepped down to the 5K, but, by golly, I ran the whole thing.  So I had a victory.  I'm trying to ramp up my running again, but it seems I'm suffering with ITBS (illiotibial band syndrome) AND a piriformis issue, both on the right side.  That leg has been somewhat tight and apparently weak for months, and now it's showing its true colors.  I tried strengthening exercises, and they helped a little, but just not enough.

For the past few weeks I've had a terrible time with stairs, in both directions.  I finally sat down and really LISTENED to the old bod, and it said, STRETCH ME!  So I started doing Those Stretches, and they helped almost immediately.  I'll just have to be persistent.  I didn't run this morning, but I should be able to get out by Thursday.

So maybe They won't get me too soon, after all.  I'm running from Them as fast I can, and trying to slow down as slowly as possible.

I'm So TIRED of Hospitals!

I've had my fill of hospitals this year.  That Man's mother spent some time in one off and on before she passed.  That Man himself found himself undergoing open heart surgery for a birth defect (a bicuspid valve that should have been tricuspid).  My mom made a few trips to the hospital and then passed.  I went (outupatient) during the week of Thanksgiving for the infamous festive colonoscopy, and a mammogram on Black Friday.

I thought it was late enough in the year that I would finally be safe.

Uh, no.

My dad has lymphoma - a non-Hodgkins type.  He has blood tests every three to six months, and when the numbers get to a certain level, it's time for a round of chemo.

This is one of those times.  Friday, Dad went to the IU Medical Center for the first of four weekly infusions.  I got a call in the middle of the afternoon. He needed me to take him home after I got off work - he'd had a reaction to the medicine.

And what a reaction!

When I got there (after frantically calling friends to see who might be available to help me shuttle his car back to his apartment), he was pale, his speech was slurred, his blood pressure was way down, his temperature was way up, and he was so weak he couldn't sit up well.  Frightening!

Long story short, they gave him two units of blood, and suddenly he decided that lying down was uncomfortable, he wanted the Fox News channel turned on, and started ordering me around.

We left the hospital aroun 12:30 a.m., with me following him home.  HE DROVE HIMSELF HOME.  What the heck?  I didn't get home until after 2:00 a.m., and I hit the sack around 2:40 a.m.

Yes, he's mega-tired (but he's ALWAYS like that after a round of chemo!), but he's up and out and going and doing.  I was barely functional on Saturday, and there's nothing (physically!) wrong with me besides sleep deprivation.

Sunday, he drove himself to church and sang in a men's chorus Christmas concert.  I skipped church, did a miniscule amount of Christmas shopping, and watched the wretched Indianapolis Colts football game at Baltimore.  I did a little laundry, too, but that consisted of throwing some clothes in the washer or dryer, and heading back to the couch to watch the game.  Dad did better than I did!

Only three more infusions to go!

Here's a link to some information about his specific type of lymphoma:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000588.htm

It's That Time of the Year - UGH

Fall is, is many ways, my favorite time of the year.  The summer humidity is gone, the trees get those amazing colors, and there's my birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving to look forward to.

However...

This is ALSO the season when I do all those annual medical things.  UGH.  And the older I get, the more of them there are!

It used to be that I'd go to the doctor, get my checkup "down under," get my birth control prescription, and that was that.

Now it seems that every 5 or 10 years, there's something new added to the mix.

First it was steroidal nasal spray for a new dust allergy.  Then mammograms, flu shots, and the latest indignity, the festive colonoscopy.  I have to spend the entire day before making sure the system is completely clear and empty.  There is, of course, only one way to do that, and that involves, among other things, eating no solid food and staying close to the bathroom. 

I can't even go to the appointment privately.  Oh, no, that would be too dignified.  I have to have someone there with me because they'll knock me out and someone (either That Man or The Boy) has to drive me home.  Once I'm home, I'm supposed to "take it easy" the rest of the day (translation:  I won't be worth a hill of beans and will probably sleep until time for bed, at which time I will be wide awake and ready to party, so to speak).

And of course, I made the mistake of scheduling this fabulous family activity the week of Thanksgiving, the day I'm supposed to bake pies and put the turkey into a cooler to thaw.  What was I thinking???

And, to top off the week, I'll be spending Black Friday at the hospital once again, getting a mammogram.  At least that takes less than an hour and I can drive myself home.

I guess I should be thankful that we are able to monitor our health so closely.  Maybe that will be part of our grace for Thanksgiving dinner - thank God for regular health checkups!

(UGH!)

Why It's Only Temporary

Because, after all, everything IS temporary; everything changes.  And the whole point is I'm working on relearning who the real me is.

Yes, it's a blog like so many blogs - a chronicle of a midlife search to rediscover the me I've forgotten while Being a Mom for what seems like forever.

I hope my ramblings touch a familiar chord.