I am currently working on rehoming a dog through my volunteer organization. The potential adopter looks awesome on paper and should be a good fit. The problem is that he lives about 300 km away from Metro Vancouver and since he is elderly trying to get him set up so I can do a virtual ‘home visit’ is proving challenging. But you know what, I will find a way to make this adoption work while still checking off all the boxes that I need to. I believe you can always find a work around that meets the needs of both parties. Here’s hoping I am successful.
So Tuesday night my sister had a bad fall. Unfortunately we couldn’t get her up but she didn’t want us to call 911. Instead we all agreed that I would make up a bed on the floor for her but if we still couldn’t get her up the next morning then emergency assistance would be required. Sure enough, we ended up calling for help as her right knee had become too painful for her to even bend it.
The ambulance was manned by 2 young female paramedics. They were extremely kind and helpful and treated my sister with dignity and respect. They realized that she did indeed need to go to the emergency room but that they would need assistance to get her into the stair chair to get her to the front door from our second floor hence they called the fire department. It turned out the stair chair was not going to work because someone would have to hold my sister’s foot up to avoid her being in agonizing pain. The next attempt was a clam shell back board which worked perfectly. So off into the ambulance she went to figure out what was wrong.
Turns out she has broken her knee cap. They were able to get her semi-mobile by putting her in a knee immobilizer and arranging for a 4 wheeled walker. They were also able to discharge her because you can get into our basement through our garage. We knew the basement would work because it is still set up from when my brother was living with us. And so we brough her home to await an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Monday and then to have surgery on Tuesday.
But with this happened along comes some challenges. First of all we are scheduled to fly to Mexico on April 2nd. Right now they are 75% sure she can come with me but if not I will go and enjoy 3 weeks on my own before my husband arrives. Secondly, even if we do go to Mexico all of our plans may have changed as she won’t be able to do much walking but we can figure it out. Thirdly, we likely are going to have to pay someone to look after her when my husband arrives in Mexico as it is unlikely she will be navigating stairs when she gets back home. And finally, I am back to being a caregiver which means my time is once again not my own.
Previously if through no fault of my own I was having to do things like cancel walks or fitness classes I would be horribly upset. However now, I’m like ok, I’ll make up for it later. Besides, I am doing a lot of climbing up and down our stairs in order to take care of her so burning at least some calories. Yes, taking her to a 7:30am doctor appointment Monday morning is going to stop me from walking (and of course no real time in the rest of the day to do so) but I am not freaking out about it. I think a lot of it has to do with losing my brother last year and realizing that there are priorities in life.
And so, I am just going to go with the flow. If I make it to fitness class awesome, if I can get at least an hour walk in then that will be good enough. If I have to do this for several weeks that is ok too. The world is not about to crumble because my fitness schedule is off. Even better, my head is ok with all of this too.
It was an interesting class at the fitness centre this morning. I was actually quite organized this morning and since it was frosty decided to remote start my vehicle and give it time to warm up. That was a good plan except yesterday when using my vehicle my husband turned off the heat. I was still seething when I got to class but doing a challenging workout using step platforms took the edge off. I did enjoy the class because it was something different.
Yesterday was St Patrick’s day and we decided to go to a local craft beer place to celebrate. My sister and I got there first and the place was packed but we were fortunate to find a table. My husband was helping me with one of my foster dogs so he got there about a 1/2 hour after we did and by that point the place was at capacity so he had to get in line to be let in. It would be another 45 minutes before he would actually make it inside for a beer.
Now we had taken a small table that sat 4 as we expected a friend to arrive so we had 2 empty chairs. This woman comes up to us and demands to know if we were saving these chairs and we responded that we were. She started making snarky comments about how we weren’t allowed to do that. My sister advised her that my husband was outside waiting to get in to which the woman responded that that shouldn’t matter. She was extremely rude and aggressive and I wondered why she felt that kind of attitude was necessary in a place where everyone else was just out to have some fun. I should note, one of the staff came by asking if we needed both the empty chairs (we explained about my husband being outside) but realizing our friend was not going to show up offer we immediately offered up the chair.
Now that woman could have made our experience disappointing but there were others there that made up for it. As a matter of fact, a friend of the woman came up to us later and apologized for her behaviour saying she does that all the time and it is quite uncomfortable. Even nicer though was the reaction to the picture of our brother in that same brewery on the same date last year they we had brought with us. When people would ask who it was we explained how we lost him last year. Word got around the room and people came over to hug us, shake our hands and raise a toast to our little brother. That kindness is what I will remember most about yesterday, complete strangers just being decent people.
And so remember to be kind. The world is a better place when we are nice to each other and quite frankly you will feel better for it.
I went to coffee with a bunch of co-workers yesterday. As I was leaving I stopped to say hi to a long time friend at the opposite end of the table. She grabbed my arm and said we haven’t seen each other in a while (almost a year) and she told me she was so devastated at the loss of my brother. We spent a few minutes discussing what had happened and how I am doing (still not exactly well) and then hugged and just commiserated. Grief doesn’t end quickly no matter how much you want it to.
So, Circuit Saturday today with Max. It was a great workout but as I was doing it I thought this is a bit easy. Ok, checked the Fitbit and it said no, you did an awesome workout. It was then I realized that I continue to push it. Gone are the days when I would pick up the light weight set up at each station during the circuit. While I admit don’t pick up the heaviest all the time, I also don’t shirk in grabbing something significant. I continue to weight up the barbells as I committed to and I refuse to let my head tell me I can’t do something.
I am on such a roll and am pretty proud of it. I really am pushing myself as much as possible and far out of my comfort zone. Having said that, I am realistic in the fact that with the cranky knee and screwed up ankle I am sometimes limited. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t work hard and I know that is exactly what I do.
So I plan to keep pushing it. As a matter of fact I plan on a whole new ritual when I get to Mexico in 2 1/2 weeks. Right now I am so enjoying what I am doing and want to keep that mojo going.
Can’t wait to see what next week brings!
Wahoo, no rain today so didn’t have to do the dreaded treadmill. Instead after my workout I bundled up and headed to the beach. Really glad I did bundle up because when I started out there was a nasty wind. It got even worse down at the beach and especially along the pier. Fortunately it improved when I was heading back home but all in all a good walk.
Today at the fitness centre it is supposed to be HIIT Cardio with Phaedra. I have never felt her classes were cardio, they were more about strength with some HITT cardio slipped in. Don’t get me wrong, I love her classes because she is one of those instructors who is always about form and making sure you do the movements properly. Please don’t take that as the other instructors don’t do the same, it is just Phaedra is super focused on how you do things
When I got there this morning the whiteboard listed what we were doing. I told her from that list I couldn’t determine what weights I needed. She explained we would be doing ‘stations’ so I didn’t need to set up weights or my mat. When we got started (after a unique band warm up) she ran us through the stations and I thought hmm, not really much of a challenge. Boy was I wrong.
Pretty much every exercise today was unique, ok maybe not the stabilizing ball ones, but certainly the other 6. I kept to my commitment of never using an unweighted barbell and by the 4th round I was really feeling it. As a matter of fact, by the 4th round I was sweating away and my heart rate was really up. I thought, how did I underestimate this but apparently I did.
At the end of the class I thought, wow that was a really good workout. This was proven when I got home and looked at the calories I had burned. I realized it was a surprisingly good workout and that at times pushed me to my limits but I got through it. The end result was I have felt so awesome all day.
You know what, I like working out. Not sure how I got here but I did. Here’s hoping I get some more surprisingly good workouts.
This week is pretty crazy for me. Not only has tax season begun meaning I am doing taxes through the volunteer clinic as well my paying clients are starting to come forward (which is good because I am off to Mexico in 3 weeks) but I also have a workshop I am presenting this afternoon, financial statements to present at an AGM tomorrow and an executive meeting to attend tomorrow night. You add on to that the fact that one of my volunteer organizations just got extremely busy and I am starting the usual panic regarding not getting everything done before I leave.
If you recall I took last week off from the gym. I did so because my husband had shared the plague with me. Mornings were particularly challenging as that is when I felt the worst. While I had signed up for classes each morning by time we hit Thursday I realized I might as well just cancel the rest of the week. It was the right decision to give myself time to get better. I still did a walk everyday and I admit I always felt better after doing so.
Having given myself the week off, it was time to get back at it yesterday. And so up at the usual 4:00am to head off to class. Despite having taken a week off I felt pretty good when that workout was done. I then got another 2 1/2 hours of walking done and by the end of the day I was proud of the day’s accomplishment.
I was back at the fitness centre for the early class this morning. When we were about 1/2 way through the class I thought to myself, you know I am really enjoying this. I think after taking last week off I’m appreciating how good I feel when I get in a good workout like I did yesterday and today. Even though I am tight on time today I still managed to do an hour walk after my workout this morning and while that is less than what I like to do trust me, there is no more time to squeeze out of today.
There is even better news. The last trip to Mexico in particular I slacked off a bit. Yes, I still walked every day but I missed doing my online classes several days. But now I have learned a new gym has opened within a 10 minute walk from our Mexican condo. I am quite excited by this because it means I can check it out and even if they don’t offer fitness classes I still might be able to go there a few times a week to do workouts with weights (remember the heaviest weights I have found for the condo are only 10 lbs and I am way beyond that).
Right now I feel pretty good both mentally and physically. Yes, I am pushing myself to the limits in terms of time management but it is always that way when I am gearing up to head self. I just hope I can keep feeling this good while I am away on my extended trip.
I have just decided the gym is not happening this week. Mornings with this cold are hard and I just don’t have the energy. I do still go for my walk and today it was really great because it was cold meaning deep breathing helped with my cough. While I had hoped maybe Saturday would work since it is a later morning fitness class I learned yesterday that I have an all day meeting Saturday so my goal is going to be at least a 1/2 hour walk. Still I’ve managed to get in some exercise every day.
It is that time of year for me when I get a whole bunch of medical tests done. Trust me, this is not a bad thing. It started on Tuesday with a trip to the dentist which was just a cleaning an examine. Fortunately my teeth are in great shape which is good because I don’t really have a dental plan. Today I got a call from my optometrist’s office advising I was due for my annual exam (note, if you have diabetes you need an eye exam every year to watch for both retinopathy and glaucoma) which I have now booked for March 18th. March 20th is the gamut of blood tests that I have once a year which include blood glucose checks, cholesterol, calcium, thyroid, red and white blood cell count, and numerous others. March 24th is my annual diabetic exam which I do despite being in remission. Finally sometime in June (not sure of the date but it is in my calendar) I have my annual mammogram which as the daughter of a breast cancer victim is absolutely necessary.
For 40 years I have gone to my doctor every year for a check up. I have been lucky because every doctor I have had has agreed to at least do annual blood work because of the diabetes in my family. I often wonder if my brother had done the same if he could have been diagnosed earlier and maybe prevented some of the devastation the disease caused him but you know, hind sight is always 20/20. Still, I know many people who think that they feel good means they shouldn’t see a doctor at least once a year. I so disagree (with the recognition that here in BC there are so many people that don’t have a doctor to go see). I think it is imperative to at minimum have standard testing done to look for asymptomatic illnesses that can easily be identified via a simple blood test. Diabetes is a prime example. I had zero symptoms when I was diagnosed and it was only because a doctor ordered the annual gamut of testing that it was discoverer. Oh, and that same doctor had me have an ECK despite my age and the fact my family (other than my brother) had no real history of heart disease. Fortunately that test turned out fine.
Now to be clear, I obsess over all of my test results. When they are finally posted online I freak if any of them show they are abnormal even if it is just ever so slightly off the normal range. I then research everything so that I can ask my doctor questions. I swear every time I do my annual physical after the blood work when I question things she slap her hand to her forehead and decrees me healthy. But hey, I have already admitted that I am neurotic and paranoid and analyzing test results just feeds in to that.
So I ask all of you, even if you feel good, please check in with some sort of doctor once a year. Moreover, press them to do a complete blood workup. Remember, early diagnosis of many diseased gives you a fighting chance.
I haven’t made it to the gym for the past few days. I’m finding this cold is really challenging first thing in the morning and I just don’t have the energy. Having said that, I got at least 2 hours walking in both days. I think I am just going to concede that tomorrow I must as well just sleep in a little and focus on doing a walk.
Today was my day for the caregivers’ support group and there was a great article in our daily paper. It was about 15 science based ways to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s. I thought I would review them all and see how well I might be doing so here it goes;
- Try a plant based diet – ok, not sure this is ever actually going to happen .
- Exercise regularly – I so nail that one.
- Get vaccinated – (apparently the vaccines may tamp down the immune system’s response to amyloid plaque) this one is also a no brainer for me.
- Take a daily multivitamin – this one is easy and I do this pretty much every day.
- Avoid air pollution – since I live in a fairly urban area I am not really sure how to do this one. I’m hoping all my walks down by the ocean help with this.
- Protect against traumatic brain injury – I kind of wondered about this one when I first read it but then found they were talking about taking precautions such wearing a seatbelt when in a vehicle and wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, scooter and when skiing. Ok, I’m good with that one as well.
- Save your hearing – this refers to protecting your hearing from loud noises with earplugs, sound-blocking headphones or earmuffs which I pretty much do but I don’t think my cute, fluffy earmuffs are really that effective.
- Maintain social connections – this one was interesting as research suggests that feeling lonely makes you more likely to develop dementia. I am pretty sure I am ok with that one as I have a pretty strong social network and well, I have pets.
- Try to reduce feelings of loneliness – I guess this goes with the above but I can honestly say at this point in my life between family, work and volunteering I couldn’t tell you the last time I felt lonely.
- Monitor blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol – check, check and check. While I monitor my BP regularly, my BG is checked every 6 months and my cholesterol is done annually.
- Sleep well – oh, oh, this one might be a complete failure. Apparently insomnia and daytime sleepiness can be associated with a greater risk of Alzheimer’s.
- Reduce alcohol intake – I am definitely working on this one but admit it is a work in progress. The real test is going to be how many dry days I can pull off during my upcoming 10 week trip to Mexico.
- Stop smoking – yep, that’s been covered for quite a while.
- Avoid sleep medications – I did try some for a while but they didn’t do much in terms of increasing my sleep, they only gave me super, vivid dreams that scared me.
- Do crossword puzzles – I used to do the one in the paper pretty much every day but I have switched to doing 7 Little Words and Sudoku so I will say this box is checked as well.
I know that even if you did everything on this list it would be no way be a guarantee that you did not develop any form of dementia. It does how ever give me some hope that based on my current lifestyle I may have reduced the risk.
I woke up this morning at the normal 4am time and realized my husband had shared his cold with me. I didn’t feel really bad except I was exhausted. I decided going back to sleep for a while would be the best thing for me so I did. That of course meant I had to rearrange my day. I cancelled my fitness class but it was really more to not infect anyone else than thinking I wouldn’t be able to do the workout but I knew I could likely make it up by doing some extra walking.
Now don’t get me wrong, if despite my best efforts this cold escalates I know I will have to take a bit of a break, I’m just hoping it doesn’t come to that. Right now it is a bit of a sore throat (my colds always start in my throat) and an annoying dry cough for which I am just relieving with some cough drops. Of course I am once again adding zinc to my vitamin routine to hopefully ward off getting really sick like my husband and sister have been.
When I did get up for the day I decided a good walk might help my energy level especially since it was gearing up to be a beautiful day. It was a bit chilly when I first headed out but that is actually a good thing because colder air can really help inflamed lungs. I know I didn’t really cough during that 2 hour walk. But I actually think the beauty I saw this morning just uplifted me mentally. Because I started this walk later than I normally would the sun was fully out. Moreover, I got to the promenade on the beach and it was just gorgeous out. There were tons of people out walking and many of them with their dogs (several of whom came over to say hi to me). There were all sorts of birds out on the ocean because the water was so gloriously calm (though thankfully no Canada Geese). The best part was seeing two bald eagles sitting atop a tree just watching all the humans walking by. I swear, this type of scenery will make anyone feel better. I’m really hoping that I will be able to do the same tomorrow.
And so keeping hydrated, taking my vitamins, and walking in the great outdoors is my current plan to deal with this cold. Maybe if I keep feeling good mentally then this will be the worst of the cold. We’ll see how it ultimately goes.
I am very excited. For 2 days in a row I have been able to do my beloved beach walk. Better yet it looks like I’ll get to do that walk for several more days. It just makes me feel good to be walking down by the water. Except the Canada Geese which are back and soon it will be gosling season. Fortunately by time that happens I will be back in Mexico and won’t have to deal with it.
I came to realize today that I need to find my confidence. I have been going to my fitness centre for nearly 2 years now and despite slacking off a bit during my last trip to Mexico (and having to take some time off because of that cold I had in December that clung on forever) I’ve still worked pretty hard. Yet I still doubt myself when it comes to using weights and the barbells. I know I am pretty strong but for some reason those weights really intimidate me.
Today we had to do squat lifts. This is where you place the barbell at the meaty part of your back between you shoulders, you push your butt out and sit on a bench and then you stand straight up (no leaning forward) using the strength of you legs. Trust me these squats are hard. We had to do 5 rounds of these and I as always was just using the barbell without weights which is about 35 lbs. On the 3rd round the only station available had 2 15 lb weights meaning the total weight would be 65 lbs. The trainer said to me, I think you can do this and I replied, you know what, I think I can as well. And so the last 3 rounds I was squat lifting 65 lbs and it didn’t kill me nor did I fail.
I’m not sure why I find it so easy to convince myself that I can’t lift those heavier weights. Every time I have tried it I have been able to do it. I just don’t understand why I don’t have the confidence to just load up the barbell with some reasonable weights and get it done.
And so my new commitment to my self is that from now on I will not lift a barbell without weights on it. I’m not even going to think about it, I am just going to do it. I’m am going to strive to prove to myself that I can get out of my comfort zone and still be successful.
I have to say I have come to the conclusion that many people have lost the concept of common courtesy. Today I did my walk to the Caregivers’ Support Group as I do every Tuesday. I went to cross a street at a 4 way stop intersection and the cars heading north and south stopped for me. Unfortunately the e-bike rider seemed to feel he didn’t need to stop so I could cross and he almost ran into me. Then further on I was walking on a sidewalk and group of high school students came towards me. There were 4 of them and instead of dropping to single or even double file they stayed in their group across the sidewalk. There was literally nowhere for me to go except pinned up against a tree as they passed me. Please remember, it really isn’t that hard to be polite and courteous.
When I cam back from the last trip to Mexico I was determined to get myself back on track and I think I am doing that. Last week the least amount of exercise I did was on Sunday when I only did a 2 hour walk. All of the other days it was an hour of fitness class with at least 2 hours of walking (some days it was even more than 2 hours). I’m proud that I am building myself back up and it is going reasonably well.
However, I have started noticing that in my fitness classes I am burning more calories that I used to do. I get that I committed to pushing myself as much as I can but I didn’t realize how much I am doing so. Something must be working because my resting heart rate has significantly dropped and my blood pressure is awesome. I think I just got it into my head that now is the time to work hard so that I feel better about myself. And you know what, I am feeling better. I’ve got my head back in the space it needs to be which allows me to focus on being better. That’s pretty impressive since this is the busiest time of the year for my business and I have even picked up a new client.
So yeah, I am working harder and feeling really good about it. As a matter of fact, 5 weeks until I head back to Mexico and I have already worked out in my head what my workout routine will look like. I truly think that I feel better right now than I have since losing my brother and I kind of like it. Here’s to trying to keep it going.
gwennefarrell 