Amy posted this in
Health, Stats on
March 31st, 2010
Sometimes God completely surprises you
Just a month ago, we found out my Aunt/Godmother had been upgraded to active on the donor registry. Because there are so many people across the country needing a liver, we expected to wait a long time (2-3 years) for her to get a cadaver liver. We wondered how far Janice’s disease might progress while she waited for a liver. When her doctors spoke of the possibility of a living donor transplant, two people stepped forward to be tested to determine if they could donate half their liver to Janice so she wouldn’t have to wait so long.
Then completely out of the blue, the Mayo Clinic called my aunt last night to tell her they had a liver that was a near perfect match for her. The surgery began this morning and was completed by early afternoon. Blood and bile began flowing immediately in the new liver as soon as it was hooked up. The surgeon was very pleased with how well the surgery went. Janice did not even need to receive any units of blood or blood products which is highly unusual. [...]
Amy posted this in
Funny, Health, exercise on
February 22nd, 2010
On Friday, I had a checkup with Dr. H. regarding my myriad of health issues. First, I talked with Nurse Debbie. I was bursting to tell her I lost almost 11 pounds. She was SOOO excited for me! She asked what I was doing and I said I was exercising and eating less. I made sure to point out that I’m not cutting anything completely from my diet, just eating smaller amounts of food. She agreed this is probably the best way for me to lose weight.
Pulse was good. Blood pressure was… (insert fanfare) 136/86. Still not great, but down from 149/92 in December! SCORE.
I also told Debbie about my plan to do a 5k in April and a half-marathon in July. I even told her about my breakthrough C25k moment last week. I also told her about something that happened during that run/walk that I didn’t share with y’all. I had a wardrobe malfunction. I was about 12 min into the intervals on the treadmill when I felt a li’l drafty. Figured it must be because I was running oh-so-fast. Then I did a “pants check.” Yep. Sure enough, my pants fell below my bootay. Luckily, I was wearing a [...]
Amy posted this in
Health, Stats on
January 27th, 2010
Not much to report on the weigh-in this week. I was -0.2, which is really nothing at all. I’m ok with it. I’m surprised that I’m so ok with it. Usually, I would be upset about something like this, but I know that I had a big loss last week and I didn’t work out as much this week, so it makes sense. I also had some food splurges (though not as bad as it could have been) so I’m really happy that I basically stayed the same this week. It is just pushing me to work harder this next week. I can do it. I will do it.
My knee isn’t bothering me as much anymore, but I’m also trying to modify my exercises to accommodate it. I’m not doing the higher impact circuits on the 30 day shred, and am focusing on ones that will still get my heart rate up, but won’t irritate the ol’ knee.
This is the knee I had surgery on almost 9 years ago. It’s always been a little beyotch. Right now it’s really more of a dull ache or feels stiff. Totally manageable. I’m going to look for some knee strengthening exercises and some other [...]
Amy posted this in
Health on
January 26th, 2010
Today, I learned something.
Something I wish I didn’t know.
But now I know, so I’m gonna share it with you, whether you like it or not.
So, remember when I shared a li’l TMI last week? In case you don’t, here’s a li’l refresher. My doctor took me off “the pill” (you know the one) because she thought it might have contributed to my recent high blood pressure readings (let’s not forget about the tons of stress I’ve been under too!)… anywho, it’s been almost a month since I stopped taking those magical cramp-stopping pills.
And I’ve been feeling different the past few mornings.
Nauseous. Achy. Nauseous.
I was getting ready for work yesterday morning and thought I’d be ok… but then 5 minutes before I was going to leave I threw up. Yup. Sure did. I thought what any other person would think, “Oh, I must have the flu.” So, I called in to work, put my pjs back on and went to bed. My sister bought me Sprite and saltines.
Late morning, I felt a lot better, but I took things easy the rest of the day. By the afternoon, I was feeling great but didn’t want to push it so I had some soup. [...]
Amy posted this in
Emotions, Health on
January 21st, 2010
Today was, well, interesting. I had a doctor’s appointment for a checkup and got to talk to her about how I’m trying to change my life. She was very proud of what I’ve done in the past two weeks and even asked, “How did you lose that much in 2 weeks?”
My answer?
“I exercised.”
We both laughed and she replied, “Yeah, well that’ll do it. You’re a step above me!”
I have a long history with my doctor. I have been going to Dr. H. since I was 12; I basically grew up with her. She is my mom and sister’s doctor too, so she totally understands my family and always asks about them when I go for an appointment. She knows I’ve struggled with my weight since my very late teens, and knows I’ve tried every diet in the book (even ones she doesn’t approve of). She’s seen my weight creep up and up and up for the past 8-9 years to where I’m at right now. She doesn’t judge. She is very compassionate and knows what a heartache this is for me. Dr. H. knows about my anxiety issues (and prescribes me Xanax as needed). Bottom line – she is amazing. I [...]
