My goodness. I barely know where to start. The world is in chaos. I can openly admit I am exhausted. I am an extremely high risk person living in this pandemic. We are all experiencing COVID-19 fatigue, meaning we are so tired of it we are becoming a bit more reckless. This is understandable! Many are using the excuse that we cannot live in fear. The thing is, I am not living in fear. I am living in caution. I personally am not scared of dogs; however I would not walk into a group of dogs I am unfamiliar with because that would put me in danger of getting attacked. I do not live in fear, but I do protect myself from danger. This means as long as people are treating this virus as if it were as simple as the common cold, I cannot leave my house. I can wear a mask and wash my hands, but if those around me are not it takes away that crucial layer of protection for all who are high risk. I do go to the doctor or hospital if necessary, but those environments are the safest during this time. Even the physical therapy facility is taking serious protocols and following all CDC guidelines. I just would enjoy being able to rejoin the world beyond maintaining personal health.
That being said, I did go to the doctor twice this week. I will start with the fun part. I had a follow-up with my podiatrist Tuesday. I have been doing physical therapy since September 15th, but I have still been in a boot. I really only worked on range of motion. At Tuesday's appointment I was cleared to graduate out of the boot. Funny thing is I had bought new shoes just days before I broke my foot. After five plus months in a boot and using crutches, most of my right foot shoes are really worn down. It was really helpful to have new shoes waiting for me in the box. I have to wear special orthotics. I will continue physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion. I am fine with that.
I am ecstatic to have the ability to sleep and walk without the boot. My foot does get tired easily. We take for granted all the work our feet do. There are muscles in places I never imagined. Again, I don't mind. I know with some work it will get easier. It is funny to watch it not move when I am concentrating so hard trying to move a muscle. If you know me, you know I like a challenge. I like to tackle and conquer challenges. That makes the rehab process for my foot rewarding. My physical therapist told me, "I'm so glad you are OCD. You are really trying to make sure you get it done right." It was part taunting and part complimenting. He is not the first to mention how rigid I can get so I took it with a laugh. He said many people go through the motions without making that mind to muscle connection so they end up hurt again. I cannot promise I will not hurt myself, but I can promise I will work to prevent it at all costs. That sort of connects to my earlier thoughts on COVID. Do not live in fear, but do what you can to prevent the worst. That baby step forward of graduating out of my boot was not the only excitement for the day.
I was able to make it home for a quick lunch and some stretching exercises. Then my husband and I headed north to my general surgeon's office for a surgery follow-up for my gastric stimulator. She is about two hours away so it is a good time to blast some old music and enjoy the ride. This appointment was not nearly as eventful, but still productive. I am healing very nicely. I have not lost weight. She simply bumped up the voltage and cycles. This will make my stomach move just a little more. To put it into perspective, I was at a ten for voltage for the past 4 years. When she replaced the battery she had to start slow and low, at a six, to allow my body to adjust again. Now, I am at a seven but with a higher cycling time as well. The next best thing is that her office is near nutrition I love.
Whenever we go out of town food is the main excitement. It sounds ironic because food is such an enemy to me. Her office is near a Smoothie King. Smoothie King is a smoothie joint that was started by a gentleman whose brother had similar digestive issues. He wanted his brother to have a place to go so he came up with this amazing business. They have smoothies of all sorts, but more importantly they make dairy-free, gluten-free smoothies. They also generally have snack food. We first came across this place in Dallas/Ft. Worth, but was surprised to find it had expanded to New Mexico. Then there is a burger joint my husband loves so he got his treat too. We drove home with the sun setting on the beautiful scenery of northern New Mexico. Since we drove south we enjoyed the sunset.
All in all, things are looking up. I enjoy periods of time when I am showing improvement as opposed to frequent tough news. I will ride this high for a while. No one can take that away from me. I hold these feelings close to my heart. I still have the reality of being chronically ill. But I am a fighter.
Let me tell you a little about me beyond "the sick". I enjoy most genres of music. Music is in my blood. Radio has been a huge part of my life thanks to my family working in radio for years. My grandparents met while my grandma was making money singing on radio commercials. My parents met while my dad was a DJ at my grandfather's station. I enjoy being active. Again, it runs in my blood. My dad loved surfing. My mom is a marathon runner. And my step-dad (hate that word) was a football player and coach. I have played and participated in sports all of my life. I love to read. I am that oddball that loves non-fiction, but I can soak up a fiction novel often as well. I really enjoy science, especially nature and human anatomy/physiology. I am known to break out in random acts of dance. I am a very faithful person. The Lord is my savior. I drive a truck because that's just who I am. I enjoy volunteering when I can, although in the past couple years I have not been able to maintain anything on a regular basis. In turn, I frequently find things to donate in any way I can. I mentioned earlier I like a challenge. I love the feeling of accomplishment thereafter. I am also stubborn. I can get passionate and the stubborn seeps in possibly causing a mushroom cloud. That's kind of a joke, but not really. I am very honest with my feelings. I could go on and on, but I will spare you.
I just thought it was important to take notice of the fact that underneath all of this unbelievable medical issues is a bright human being. We all face challenges. We have all been given a hard deck of cards. The good thing is we have all been blessed as well. That is the joy of life. The up's and down's and what you learn throughout. It makes the high's even better. We are also all multi-layered creatures. We have gifts to offer. Celebrate your gifts. Highlight your blessings. Appreciate the challenges that teach you such valuable lessons. Be self compassionate. Focus on the good and the good gets better.
