It has been a couple weeks since I posted about my health. It has been a stressful time, but I am here to say, "I am on the mend!" After two tests, a liquid diet, and mounds of pain, we have a diagnosis and a plan. My Crohn's Disease is in the clear, where it had been active for so many years. it moved to another part of my small intestine, where it has taken up residence. I will continue receiving my Remicade infusions every 8 weeks with the addition of the dreaded, doubled edged sword of Prednisone. The Pred will help get the inflammation under control, so the Remicade can do its job.
I hate, yes H-A-T-E taking Pred. I know it is helping me get back on track belly-bone wise, but the side affects are inconvenient to downright evil. I am shaky, agitated, suseptable to violent mood swings (road rage while vacuuming to crying in the fetal position for no reason), feeling invincible or invisible, hot, blurred vision, monster headaches, sleep deprivation and these are some of the minor ones. I was on it for 5 years, causing 30% bone loss and my teeth to start falling out of my head. I may be putting my dentist's kids through graduate school with all the work that needs to be done in my maw. But, hey! I am on the mend! And that is what counts.
I have been so down, because I have not been training for the half marathon. I trained for all of 7 miles over 2 months. The heat is a real killer and this year has been worse. The other killer was living on primarily Ensure. I have been intaking 1000 calories a day of liquid and that is barely enough to get me though the work day. Eating solid food has been painful. I would try and then suffer the consequences of having a little bowl of noodles. So, I had to give it up. I would need to take my other meds to keep the pain, spasms and vomiting under control. Those pills make me stupid and fall asleep. It has been depressing.
Yesterday was my first really good day in weeks, maybe months. I felt good after my morning Tylenol (headaches from Pred every morning). Paul and I headed to the gym for my first workout in forever. I spent 45 minutes on the recumbent bike and 20 minutes on the eliptical (my first time on that thing). And I lived! Here I am a day later and still alive! I ate real food for lunch and had no pain. I had my infusion in the afternoon, no reaction. I had a real dinner, but a minor bit of pain. It wasn't enough pain to need my other pills. A good day all around. I feel like I am on the road back.
I have a lot of catching up to do in my training, but I can and will do it. I think the best training I could have ever had for doing a half marathon is working retail for 15+ years. All those years on concrete in flats to 4 inch heels to sturdy sneakers for 8-10-12 hour days was to my advantage, when training for a 13.1 mile walk through one of America's most beautiful cities. That "walk" was only 3 and some hours long. I could have kept going... Oh, wait~ I did. We walked everywhere after the big event. I even climbed up and down Alcatraz. So, yeah~ I can do it!
But, this year I want to put some speed in my stride. I still plan to run a good portion of that sucker. No, I don't want to tone it back and do what I can. I want to beat my time last year and kick some blood cancer booty. This event and fundraising are far to important to have my "tummy ache" get in the way. Patients don't die from Crohn's, we might feel death marmed over at times, but we are lucky. Patients with leukemia, lymphoma and all blood cancers are at enormous risk of death. While this body of mine can shake it, make it and break it: I will do this half marathon for the patients, for the families for the doctors, for the researchers until my services are no longer needed.
