It's been 7+ months since surgery... I've had lots of ups and downs. Mostly ups! Some the downs however, revolve around me physically getting back into exercise. It's been a significant challenge ... my body just needs that slow and steady until I get back into the hardcore-ness, but it's so hard.
I signed up for a half marathon in November - running is about one of the only things that doesn't absolutely kill me or leave me in absolute pain for days.
I'm trying to get back into lifting as well - since I loved it so much.
My nuerosurgeon told me that it would be at least a year before I'm back to "normal" if I can ever get back to normal... I will have Chiari forever, there's no cure... just attempts at making it better!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
09.17.2010
17 days post-operation; WOW. Ok, so honestly, when I posted that "hopefully Danny will be getting on to update everyone one me"... I didn't really BELIEVE IT. Danny, while amazingly good at certain things in life, is not tech-savvy. Honestly, I still have to show him around on Facebook. So - the thought of him logging onto my Blogger, creating a post and then submitting - actually makes me laugh right about now.
Since the surgery - there have been NO symptoms that I had before. I've had good days and bad days, but they all stem around my night of sleeping. Half the time, I just can't go to sleep: house is hot, can't get comfortable, mind is racing. The other half, I go right to sleep, but wake up feeling groggy or sore. But just about EVERY NIGHT, I have these absolutely vivid dreams - that I have actually created a LIFE within my dream. It's a continuous stream of dreams... and no, I'm not on pain medication any longer, so it cannot be the cause of that. Those dreams were trippy and I wish to never go back to them.
Other than my outta-control dreams, I'd say I'm back to ME.
Follow-up nuero appointment is scheduled for next week sometime. But I have already gotten into the car and trained a few sessions. I'm taking it easy for right now.
I have so many things to do with my business... I don't even know where to start.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
08.31.2010
Surgery tomorrow... all sorts of emotions are running through my head. It's been a long, but short journey. So thankful to all my clients for their understanding and of course for all my family and friends for their support.
I'm nervous, but I know that I will be fine ♥
Details:
9:30am Admitting
12:00pm Surgery Begins
12:00-4:00pm ish Surgery
4:00pm until Sept 2nd Intensive Care
Sept 2nd/3rd-Sept 5th Regular Hospital Room
Sept 6th-Sept 12th Bed Rest @ Home
Sept 12th-Sept 15th Up and moving a bit more
Danny will be updating the page hopefully to let everyone know how everything is going...
I'm nervous, but I know that I will be fine ♥
Details:
9:30am Admitting
12:00pm Surgery Begins
12:00-4:00pm ish Surgery
4:00pm until Sept 2nd Intensive Care
Sept 2nd/3rd-Sept 5th Regular Hospital Room
Sept 6th-Sept 12th Bed Rest @ Home
Sept 12th-Sept 15th Up and moving a bit more
Danny will be updating the page hopefully to let everyone know how everything is going...
Friday, August 13, 2010
08.13.2010
So I should totally be in bed right now... I actually fell asleep laying sideways on the bed with my jeans + shirt on, then my dog barked and I jumped up... took a shower, and then now I'm up... go figure! LOL
Tomorrow is the Bobcat Adventure Race that I have 8-10 clients participating in. I'm so thrilled for them to be representing Fit For Fashion! It's gonna be a great day. I'm worried though. My body reacts weird to the sunlight and hotness. Plus my "worst" times are from 10-3ish, and the race STARTS at 9am! Eeek.. remaining optimistic.
It's going to kill me not to be running with them... but I don't have much longer to go. Sept 1 is the day of change! I HOPE!
All in all, hanging in there... I feel more "frumpy" than ever with this excess weight and no way of being able to SWEAT. I need to go sit in a steam bath or sauna and just sweat my ickies out. Eating habits are good -- I just have a very little appetite, so I'm trying to get in some good meals here and there. I'm still 3-5 lbs down just from watching nutrition. I just can only imagine how great my body would be if I was able to workout!
Tomorrow is the Bobcat Adventure Race that I have 8-10 clients participating in. I'm so thrilled for them to be representing Fit For Fashion! It's gonna be a great day. I'm worried though. My body reacts weird to the sunlight and hotness. Plus my "worst" times are from 10-3ish, and the race STARTS at 9am! Eeek.. remaining optimistic.
It's going to kill me not to be running with them... but I don't have much longer to go. Sept 1 is the day of change! I HOPE!
All in all, hanging in there... I feel more "frumpy" than ever with this excess weight and no way of being able to SWEAT. I need to go sit in a steam bath or sauna and just sweat my ickies out. Eating habits are good -- I just have a very little appetite, so I'm trying to get in some good meals here and there. I'm still 3-5 lbs down just from watching nutrition. I just can only imagine how great my body would be if I was able to workout!
Monday, August 9, 2010
08.09.2010
Feeling like crap today. Plain & simple. No appetite at all and I'm having a horrible time swallowing. I can't wait to get rid of all of this for good! I know it's a bad day and I just need to get through it, but I get so frustrated!!
Other than that- just keeping my spirits up.
I'm nervous about having brain surgery... it's a wake up call to see how life is so precious and it makes me think, "have I done all that I can?"... no, probably not. Surgery is at a "5" on the chart of risks, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest risk. So smack dab in the center!
Even though I'm overwhelmed tonight, I'm looking forward to a new day ♥
Other than that- just keeping my spirits up.
I'm nervous about having brain surgery... it's a wake up call to see how life is so precious and it makes me think, "have I done all that I can?"... no, probably not. Surgery is at a "5" on the chart of risks, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest risk. So smack dab in the center!
Even though I'm overwhelmed tonight, I'm looking forward to a new day ♥
Friday, August 6, 2010
08.06.2010
Had my second opinion today, and the decompression surgery date is SET. Technical term is: posterior fossa decompression. The date is September 1st. I'm still in shock to tell you the truth. I feel confident in the ability of my nuerosurgeon. He has trained under a Chiari specialist so that definitely is admirable. His reasoning for the surgery was that all of my symptoms fall directly in line with the Chiari. In addition, he did a reflex test with my legs -- and it was VERY interesting. He did the patellar reflex [the knee-jerk] and my legs barely moved. Then he asked me to put my chin down to my chest and did it again and my leg went flying!! This just shows how much pressure I have and how it's considerably affecting me.
The details on the surgery from what I've been told:
3 hour surgery
1-2 night(s) in ICU
2-3 additional nights in hospital
1 week bed rest
Driving by the third week
He is 70-90% certain that symptoms will be non-existant after surgery. There are of course a few complications.
I know that this may not be the ANSWER to my problems, but it sure is a step in the RIGHT direction!
The details on the surgery from what I've been told:
3 hour surgery
1-2 night(s) in ICU
2-3 additional nights in hospital
1 week bed rest
Driving by the third week
He is 70-90% certain that symptoms will be non-existant after surgery. There are of course a few complications.
I know that this may not be the ANSWER to my problems, but it sure is a step in the RIGHT direction!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
07.31.2010
It was a busy morning. I slept through most of the night, only waking up once or twice. I knew I was going to have a busy morning because I had two classes (Boot Camp & Body Sculpting) followed by a mock obstacle course race for my clients. My boyfriend, Danny, set it up for me and it consisted of everything from army crawls to hurdles. The girls loved it! ♥
We had: Crab walks, army crawls under a mesh net, quickfeet tire runs, flipping the 300lb tire twice, weaving through cones, cinderblock hop (laid out cinderblocks and they had to jump from one to the next), rope jumps, hurdles, and an agility (shuffle, backwards run, shuffle) drill with about roughly 2 miles of running.
The moment it was done, stress was released, but then I got a horrible headache. I came back home, and laid down and slept for another 2 hours or so. I'm beginning to feel my stamina build back up, but I just get so sleepy so quickly.
Having some difficulty figuring out my class schedule for next semester. I had to take a medical leave during the Summer, but I need to take at least 9 credit hours to remain on my parent's insurance plan, especially with the chances of having to get surgery in the near future being so high. I would typically be totally fine to take classes but I started to see my grades dropping because of the memory loss, the blanking out, the horrible headaches throughout classes, etc. My parents told me to take only 1 "harder" class and then 2 "fillers" just to get through the semester. So I started looking at what they offer. I do WANT to learn and it kills me that I can't be a normal student and take my required courses.
Danny's aunt has some connections up in Pennsylvania for a Chiari specialist, so I'm going to be sending her over my records/reports and see what he thinks. The fact that I'm so symptomatic and they aren't really budging is starting to make me nervous. I am trying SO hard to remain optimistic. At the studio, I try to act like I'm feeling 150% good. I smile, laugh, and... then go home and let it all out, either with tears, or emotion. It's a horrible cycle. I don't feel as though I'm being FAKE, but I'm trying so hard to push through the fatigue. When I find myself jumbling words and slurring, it's embarrasing. I hate looking at my client who has been coming for 1-2 months, and not even being able to call her by name because I "forgot". And the more my clients improve, I'm soooo proud of them, but then I take a step back, and I wonder... "will I be able to do that ever again?"... going from the 'best shape of your life' to not even being able to curl 5lbs more than 5 times is devastating. But you know what... I will beat this...F' U' Chiari.
We had: Crab walks, army crawls under a mesh net, quickfeet tire runs, flipping the 300lb tire twice, weaving through cones, cinderblock hop (laid out cinderblocks and they had to jump from one to the next), rope jumps, hurdles, and an agility (shuffle, backwards run, shuffle) drill with about roughly 2 miles of running.
The moment it was done, stress was released, but then I got a horrible headache. I came back home, and laid down and slept for another 2 hours or so. I'm beginning to feel my stamina build back up, but I just get so sleepy so quickly.
Having some difficulty figuring out my class schedule for next semester. I had to take a medical leave during the Summer, but I need to take at least 9 credit hours to remain on my parent's insurance plan, especially with the chances of having to get surgery in the near future being so high. I would typically be totally fine to take classes but I started to see my grades dropping because of the memory loss, the blanking out, the horrible headaches throughout classes, etc. My parents told me to take only 1 "harder" class and then 2 "fillers" just to get through the semester. So I started looking at what they offer. I do WANT to learn and it kills me that I can't be a normal student and take my required courses.
Danny's aunt has some connections up in Pennsylvania for a Chiari specialist, so I'm going to be sending her over my records/reports and see what he thinks. The fact that I'm so symptomatic and they aren't really budging is starting to make me nervous. I am trying SO hard to remain optimistic. At the studio, I try to act like I'm feeling 150% good. I smile, laugh, and... then go home and let it all out, either with tears, or emotion. It's a horrible cycle. I don't feel as though I'm being FAKE, but I'm trying so hard to push through the fatigue. When I find myself jumbling words and slurring, it's embarrasing. I hate looking at my client who has been coming for 1-2 months, and not even being able to call her by name because I "forgot". And the more my clients improve, I'm soooo proud of them, but then I take a step back, and I wonder... "will I be able to do that ever again?"... going from the 'best shape of your life' to not even being able to curl 5lbs more than 5 times is devastating. But you know what... I will beat this...F' U' Chiari.
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