Life As It’s Been

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

What’s been going on with me? Well I’ve been a busy bee, so it’s a good thing I have gotten my energy back since having my surgery.

Work is something I’m focusing on and putting more time into. I’ll be working on getting that back to where it needs to be.

I’m also working on procuring items, for the nonprofit I volunteer with silent auction. And, well that’s a nightmare for me as this is not something I enjoy at all. But, every penny that we raise goes towards building hope for children battling cancer and that’s more important than my dislike of going out and seeking donations.

I’ve also started back at OTF keeping it to every other day and trying to stay out of the orange as I’m not supposed to get my heart rate or blood pressure up to high. I’m failing miserably at this. I try not to get the splat points but it somehow happens. I do keep an eye on it and make sure to back off if I see myself in the orange for more than a minute or 2. But, I’m happy that starting back up after a month off wasn’t as painful as I had anticipated. I’m glad I kept up with the workouts right up to my surgery date I’m sure it helped a lot in my overall recovery and also with starting back up.

I need to start my meal planning again. I haven’t been eating completely awful but it’s more or less “raccoon meals”. I get home and just throw stuff together to make a meal which isn’t necessarily bad but I’m definitely not eating the best I can. Plus I have lots of new recipes I want to try.

So that’s what’s been going on with me anything fun and exciting going on in your lives?

I’m Back!!!!

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

Today I not only stepped foot in the Orange Theory Fitness studio I workout in I worked out.

I can’t tell you how excited and also nervous I was and am about this. I was stoked to go back I truly missed it. But, the butterflies were a fluttering this morning. I think I was a bit nervous as to being able to do it and also not overdoing it. I really had no reason to worry as the coaches and staff are amazing.

The staff and coaches at my location had been checking up on me the entire time. Checking on me leading up to, through, and after surgery. Today wasn’t any different. The staff were excited to see me back and checked in with me after the class to see how it went. The coach, who happens to be the head coach, and one of the other coaches and I talked before the class began and came up with a game plan for me.

I’m back but I also have limitations in place, not by me, but those pesky doctors. I’m allowed to walk on the treadmill, no lifting more than 25# no bending over and keeping my heart rate and blood pressure from going to high. I walked on the treadmill, took it slow and easy on the rower, but I did the rower, and then had a modified workout on the floor. I stuck to upper body work while seated to help keep the heart rate down.

The entire time I worked out the coach was checking in with me making sure everything was still going well. It was awesome being back. And I can’t wait for Sunday to do it all again.

I’m slowly easing myself in this month. My plan is to go 3x a week for this month and then after April 4th depending on how my follow up with my team of doctors goes I’ll go back to my 5-6x a week.

But hey I’m Back and I’m not going to let anything hold me back.

I tried to stay in the green but some orange did happen. Hey I got the goal of 12 splat points and then some even though I was shooting for none. But, hey I made it through the workout, felt pretty good, and can’t wait to do it again. Feel the burn.

Close Enough To One Month Post Op

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

Tomorrow or maybe Thursday, since February is a short month not that matters, it will be one month post op.

I’m feeling pretty good. I never got the “crash feeling” they said I would. Although, every day until I had the surgery I was feeling/experiencing the “crash feeling” and well I don’t like doing anything the conventional way so who knows maybe I was just doing everything backwards.

I’ve had energy and actually wanting to be around people again. I mean let’s not get crazy and think I want to be around them all of the time but I have been going out with friends, going out to events, and just going out for the heck of it. This is all a big change from prior to surgery as I wanted nothing to do with people yet alone had the energy to do anything.

Another big change that’s occurred is my skin. I always had the oily T-Zone but never had acne except the occasional pimples that would show up around that time of the month, it was nothing substantial. The last 2 years or so I’ve had terrible acne that would pop up all over my face. Along with this acne my skin went from combination to a complete oil pit.

Now, I’m at the other extreme my face is dry that oily T-Zone is a thing of the past. The T-Zone is actually drier than the rest of my face. Needless to say I’m using major moisturizer.

The oily skin has cleared up and so has the acne. I still have some but it’s much better than it was.

Finally the last thing happening with my face is I’m starting to lose the moon face. My face is starting to lose the inflammation and thin back at. I don’t see it but every time my husband comes home from work, he’s gone for 5 days at a time, he notices a difference. I guess I see my face everyday so I’m not going to really notice the subtle changes. Here’s hoping that I’ll have cheekbones and a jawline once again soon.

I can’t complain as all of these changes have happened all within a month. So yeah I’ll take it excited to see what changes month two brings along.

The dry skin isn’t just happening on the face my entire body is definitely sporting drier skin than I had. But, hey every day I grab a different tube of body butter/moisturizer/lotion and enjoy whatever the scent du jour is.

Stay tuned to see what other changes occur.

Well 2018 Hasn’t Gone As Exactly Planned

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

I’ve been absent for the first two months of 2018 because well 2018 came in throwing my life into a bit of a spin.

January third brought the news that yes I definitely have Cushings Disease, and I would need the tumor on my pituitary gland removed ASAP. I mean we pretty much knew that this was the case, but actually hearing this and yes you are essentially going to have brain surgery. Well that news is a bit daunting and creates a bit of anxiety/panic.

January fifth as I was enjoying my gym session I got the news that my older brother died in a tragic freak accident. Talk about a shock to the system this was not the news I thought I’d hear. It was a long week and a half of putting the pieces together.

I came home to get ready for surgery which could go one of two ways either it would be successful and I’d be on the mend or it wasn’t successful and I’d be embarking on a 13 month long journey of gamma knife radiation treatment in hopes that I’d start to heal.

February eighth was Eviction Day, as I called it. I named my tumor Fred and well the little bastard needed to go and February eighth was his day to be removed forcefully, hence Eviction Day. The surgery took place bright and early and it was a wait and see if the surgery was a success.

I woke up February ninth and all of my levels came back with the numbers we wanted. The surgery was a success.

February tenth by noon I was on my way home from the hospital and feeling pretty good except for the slight headache.

I’ve been following doctor’s orders and taking my meds, doing nasal rinses, and not working out.

My recovery from this surgery isn’t quite what they were expecting as in I’ve had a really easy time with my recovery. They said I’d feel tired, achy, basically like I had the flu. That isn’t the case with me. I’ve been feeling great like I felt before I noticed something was wrong with me. This of course is awesome but also sucks because I have energy and want to go do things and am supposed to take it easy. I did however get the ok to go to the gym in a limited capacity.

I’m allowed to walk no faster than 3.5mph lifting nothing more than 25 pounds, and no bending over. I’ll work with it and take it easy and modify when need to for the next 3 weeks and then after that it’s back to the real deal. So I was out of the gym for a month that’s not too bad of course I didn’t want to be out at all but I also couldn’t live with the way things were going.

Over the next few days I will tel you a little about the surgery, recovery, and the changes I’ve already seen/experienced.

Hope 2018 has been treating you all well.

I Don’t Even Have Words

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

Today my world shattered, a piece of me is gone forever. My first friend, my protector, my big brother is gone.

We didn’t always see eye to eye, what siblings do? But, push comes to shove and we always had each others backs.

I don’t even know where to begin. We didn’t talk every day or every week for that matter. I’m thinking back on the last conversation we had, I was telling him about my health condition and that I’d keep updated as I learned more. I didn’t call him Wednesday after my meeting with the doctors at UVA because I was waiting to tell him all about it when I had a surgery date scheduled, now it doesn’t matter.

I’m thinking back on all the fights and non-stop teasing that we inflicted on each other and all the laughs we shared. Your smile and laugh were infectious and it’s crushing me right now because I’ll never get to hear that sound again.

You’ll always be my big brother and I’m hoping you’re finally getting time to catch up with mom, grandma, and the grandpas. Don’t go all crazy hunting and fishing wherever you are make sure to save some of that for everyone else.

Rest In Peace and I’ll never forget you.

Uhmmmm So Haven’t Written Too Much For Today’s Page

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

Today, there isn’t a whole lot being written for my story of my life. Here in my neck of the woods we got hit by Winter Storm Grayson. At my house we didn’t get nearly the amount of snow they were calling for, but we did get ice and wind.

The wind was pretty insane last night and into this morning. The transformer by my house blew last night well early this morning causing the power to go out. I saw and heard the transformer blow. There was quite the blue/green flash of color when the transformer blew.

So, no electric meant not a whole lot going on when your power goes out you realize how much you do that requires the power to be on. Luckily, for me the husband is home, we have a generator, and a fireplace. My husband got up set up the generator so that we could warm up the house a bit and also make some breakfast, and started a fire. He also shoveled the walkway and cleaned off our cars. Of course he had to do it again since the wind blew everything back onto the cars and walkway. He got his workout in today, me I’ve spent the day curled up under a blanket with my book.

Soooo, yeah my page isn’t really filled today. It’s more like the last 2-3 sentences that end a chapter that just wouldn’t fit on the previous page. But, hey that’s okay not everyday are we going to something extraordinary, but every day is extraordinary.

I did thumb through Diane Sanfilippo’s new book 21-Day Sugar Detox. And, just quickly glancing at it I’ve found several recipes that I can’t wait to try. I love her Practical Paleo Cookbook so I’m excited for these recipes. Back to serious meal planning for the next couple of weeks. I need to get back into the groove, and stock up the freezer with meals for when I’m recovering.

Okay, so once the power came back on this is what I’ve really been doing with my day. So maybe I’m writing my story today walking down memory lane by watching a show I loved growing up.

Don’t be to quick to put down what you do in a day it’s all relative and shaping you into the person who you’ll be.

A New Day A New Page And It’s Looking Pretty Positive.

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

Today I met with my new team of doctors that will be treating my Cushings Disease. It went really well.

Both the endocrinologist and neurosurgeon were in complete agreement that not only do I have Cushings but I am textbook case of it.

They are both very confident that with surgery I will go into remission. They let me know that it would be an awful recovery time but eventually I will feel better and start getting back to my old self.

I’m optimistic about the prognosis they gave me and also the timeline that was given for surgery, hospital stay, and recovery at home. They assured me that I’d be fine on my own after leaving the hospital, would be able to drive within a week, but not expect to go back to the gym for 6-8 weeks. Which, that of course sucks but if it means that I’m feeling better and will get more out of my workouts in the long run it’s all worth it.

2018 is going to be a good year for me.

There’s going to be lots of posts all about Cushings and my recovery coming your way over the next couple of months. A bit nerve wracking to thing in a few short weeks I could be having a surgery to remove a tumor from my pituitary gland and this changing my life. Now to keep myself from being a neurotic, anxious, nutcase until my surgery date.

Happy Hump Day and for all of you on the East Coast getting hit with Winter Storm Grayson stay safe and warm. Here we are ready for the snow got the essentials, fireplace ready to go, generator ready to go, salt and snow shovels ready to clean up the mess. Of course the entire city is already shut down and will remain that way tomorrow. Downside to this snow OTF cancelled my class tomorrow 😦 Yeah that’s my main concern no OTF 2 days in a row. They have the 3 evening classes still scheduled so I may try to go to one if they don’t cancel them as well. We will see I’m even tempted to do a 3G since it’s one of my favorite coaches coaching the 3G class. Plus I have a feeling it won’t really be 3G as I’m sure tons of people won’t come due to the snow, roads, and not wanting to be on the roads. Driving in the snow doesn’t phase this upstate NY girl.

Okay, enough from me I have a cup of hot cocoa, my book, blanket, and comfy chair waiting for me.

Make the best out of this page of your life.

Page 2 Of The Newest Chapter

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

I woke up today with a purpose. It was to get my workout in, spend some time with my husband, and get some stuff done around the house.

I’m happy to say I did it all. My morning started off with a workout that included more rowing than I like, in fact it was the second day in a row of run/rows. WHAT!!!! Can someone please explain to me what that’s about. I will say that today was a lot less brutal than yesterday’s. And, I made it through. I even grabbed heavier weights without being told too. I’m learning and growing. My stats not as great as I’d like but I wasn’t sitting my butt on the couch.

I spent time with the husband today I mean most of it was running errands and doing boring adult type stuff but we were together, so yeah. He’s only home for a couple of more days before he heads out again to start his new job.

As for the stuff around the house it’s done. Laundry is done, folded, and put away. Dishwasher is emptied, refilled, and ready to go. Dinner was cooked and consumed. It was good. It’s Tuesday so it was a Taco kinda night.

Tomorrow is going to be a long overwhelming day, but I’m both excited and nervous for it. I hopefully will have a lot more answers by tomorrow evening as to my diagnosis, treatment, and what to be expected for the next coming weeks and months. I’ll be posting updates about this once I’ve had time to digest all the information I’m sure I’ll be sitting through after tomorrow.

Hope if today was your first day back to work after the holiday that it went smoothly and just think only 3 days left of the work week.

Talk to you all soon.

Today’s Day One of A Whole New Chapter

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

Happy New Year. Welcome 2018.

Today’s the first page in a whole new chapter of your life, you get to choose the story you write for the next 365 days.

This year I’m going to write the best story I can for my life. Last year was filled with lots of ups and downs. Physically, mentally, emotionally, professionally, and personally.

I changed jobs and haven’t quite picked up the momentum I want with the new job but I know it will come.

I had/have some major health issues going on. Fortunately, we have found the cause of all of these issues and I am on my way to fixing/curing the issue. I’ll still be dealing with this over the year, but I’ve ended 2017 with a diagnosis and a start of a plan to get back to my old self health wise.

I started working out at Orange Theory Fitness where I push myself beyond my comfort level more times than I can count. I’ve met some amazing people from the staff, coaches, and other members. It’s been truly an amazing experience and I can’t wait to see what I accomplish alongside all these amazing people in 2018.

I stepped up with the non-profit I’ve been working with. Taking on more responsibilities and learning more and more about the foundation and all that goes into what is done in order to make things happen. I’m excited about working on our biggest fundraiser committee over the next couple of months and also working on setting up some vendors to help cut costs and streamline things.

Over this past year I’ve said goodbye to loved ones, friends fell by the wayside and others just weren’t meant to be. But, for every person that has left my life there has been at least one new person added to my life that has inspired, encouraged, and meant the world to me.

I’m looking forward to 2018 and all that it will bring me. I know I have a long road to recovery coming up and will be dealing with some challenges but I’m also excited to see the type of person this shapes me to be.

And, as it’s a New Year and one of my goals is to be as healthy as I can, I started the day off with a OTF workout that was brutal. But, hey I did it and I survived and next year at this time hopefully I won’t think it’s as brutal as I felt it was today.

This is the first of many OTF summary reports for the year 2018.

So, as I look forward to 2018 and all it may throw at me I’m getting my sh*t together to make it the best year I possibly can.

Hope that you have had a great year and that 2018 delivers all that you hope for.

A Little Late But…361/365

Posted on by A Girl On A Journey

For the last several years my husband has gotten me Hanukkah gifts from Modern Tribe. It’s a website with all things Jewish. And, well this year was quite entertaining.

Nail decals, Mazel Tov cards, a koozie, socks, dreidel tongs, dreidel silicon mold, drinking games, and drinking dreidels. Uhmmm yeah I loved them all.

I’m particularly thrilled with my tongs. They go great with my menorah spatula and challah bread pan from previous years.

Now to convince the husband I need an Instapot and Vitamix Blender and my life will be grand.

Happy next to last night of 2017.