Swampy slump.

 I have had a lot running through my mind the past few months. Wondering If It was time to stop blogging. I write for me and hope that I can help you as I write about how I am feeling and doing. On a recent trip I had an interesting experience. I was traveling through an airport and heard an excited voice exclaim! " Is that Mrs. Dodge?  Yes it is!  I am so excited to meet you Mrs. Dodge!" "You are a huge inspiration to my wife and I!"  As we visited more he explained that he and his wife read my blog and it helps them! This was not something I expected to hear at 6:00 AM in the airport.  This is not something I expect to hear at any time so it was quite precious to me.  Let me explain.

I lost my weight to regain my health. I never in my wildest dream thought I would be able to help others to become the best they could be. It just happened. I reclaimed my life and began to share it. You all began sharing with me your success and your frustrations but you also gave me your encouragement and support.  You give me hope and drive to continue on. I think of the things you post on my blog and I am so thankful to be able to hear that I am helping in some small way.

So.........
I have been in a slump as far as exercise and eating well.  I know that it will always be a struggle to keep my health and weight in line. I have fought and struggled with my self for quite some time but the past few weeks I've been starting to slowly crawl out of the slump.  It feels good to take control again and start to move.  I have to move or my fibro begins screaming in my ears that I hurt. I began by walking slowly and have been able to pick that back up pretty easily. (our bodies are so forgiving of being neglected!)  It feels good to be out and moving along. I then signed myself up for a program at our local hospital that I am really enjoying.  It is in the Live Well center.  I went in for an evaluation and spend about 3 hours going over my eating habits, sleeping habits, and especially my mobility.  They even put me in a bod pod and measured my "fat."  During one part of the evaluation I was required to do a lot of balance and strength tests.  The physical therapist doing the assessment shook his head and said he didn't know what to do with me as far as the type of exercises I needed to be doing.   I tested in all of the levels as a much younger person. He said there were two usual sets of exercises, one for younger people and one for older.  He decided to do my exercises as a "younger" person staring with strength training so I go and lift weights and work on resistance machines twice a week.  They are starting me low on all areas because they do not want to cause injury to my already blown wrists. I wear weight training gloves that are shocking pink and that gives all the trainers a chuckle. There are 2-3 trainers in working with a group of 10 of us. I have been sore but it is a good sore.  It is a sore that says I am working to strengthen my back, hips, and shoulders. My frozen shoulder is loving that it has free movement again. It feels good to be taking care of me.

I hope that if you are in a slump that you try to get yourself going. Its hard. I know but once you have done some form of exercises for a few days the slump begins to lift.  I think of so many of you when I walk and wonder how you are doing. Or what I can say to get you to begin your healthy journey. It is really hard at times but it is really worth it.  Let's end this year on a "high" instead of sinking into the swampy slump.  Thanks for picking me up and carrying me when I have needed your help

My Grands youtube channel

My grand likes to put videos onto youtube.  They are pretty funny. Here is a link if you want to see his videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjaURNZOsuqB1PZEpMJHFdA

A Tale of Two Babies

This post is a tribute to my daughter and the two little baby boys who have impacted our families lives in the last two years. My daughter has struggled for a few years with the health issues that plague a lot of people who have excess weight. I say this with great love as a mother. She had forgotten how to take care of her own health as she helped take care of her family and work a full time job.  She found out that she was expecting a baby and we were cautiously  excited as we knew the risk of her carrying a healthy baby to term with diabetes and high blood pressure.  She was really struggling with her diabetes and had to begin insulin injections very early on. She never felt good and seemed to catch a lot of infections.  Because she was over 40 she was encouraged by her Dr. to have genetic testing and she agreed.  At that time she was told that there were two genetic conditions that would make the baby unable to survive. That they were very rare and the Dr. had only had two babies with either condition  in his many years as a high risk Dr. One day she got a call from the Dr's office that she needed to come in right away. She asked me to go with her as we knew there must be a problem  As we sat in the Dr's personal office we talked about what we thought it could be and the challenges of raising a special needs baby but she felt she would be a great mom to such a baby.  The Dr. came in very solemnly and said I am very saddened to tell you that your baby boy has Trisomy 18 one of the  genetic conditions that a baby will not survive.  We sat there stunned. This had to be a mistake. He said before we repeat the test we will do an ultrasound to confirm.  She was immediately taken into the ultrasound room and there we saw that this little baby would not survive. The tears flowed and my heart broke as I watch my little girl tremble and sob as she looked at the images up on the screen. We have talked a few times about that day and the images of that special baby will be forever in both our hearts.  Several days later he was delivered and all we have of him are the prints from his tiny feet.

After this my daughter functioned and did what she needed to do but seemed to just survive. Any mother who has lost a baby and dreams of the future know this terrible time of mourning.  She began to feel better and started taking some interest in her health. Going through this had made her realize that her health needed to improve greatly . I am so grateful for this little boy and the motivation he gave to his mama to fight for her health and her life.

I now want to share with you about the second little boy.  My daughter was once again expecting and of course the concern was high. The pregnancy was going well and as perfect as could be.  She was  following all the guideline for healthy eating. I can not imagine how many finger pokes she endured while pregnant to keep a close tab on her diabetes.  It has to be in the hundreds if not thousands. She kept in close contact with her doctors, visited with diabetes specialists, and followed their guidelines. Each month as she went into her OBGYN her doctor would say everything was "gorgeous!" Her diabetes, blood pressure, and weight were in good control.  In mid December she woke up one morning to a gush of blood.  After contacting the Dr. and being evaluated by an ultrasound it was confirmed that the baby was fine. She was sent home to bed rest. She had 4 more months to go.  I can't imagine the fear that was in her heart. Put on bedrest during the holidays, having to step down from her teaching job and the impact that would cause to the family finances. But she did as she was told and settled in for the long haul.  She began having contractions frequently and that added to her concern.  She had two genetic tests to see if all was well with the baby and those came up "No Results." Apparently if a baby and mother are close in DNA markers it will not show if there is a genetic change.  Also heavier mothers often get "No Results." The high risk specialist did several diagnostic ultra sounds to try to determine if there would be any genetic conditions that would affect the baby at delivery.  Every ultrasound came back that the baby fine. About 3 weeks ago she began having symptoms of early birth and pre eclampsia. Her blood pressure was going up and she was retaining water. She spent a weekend in the hospital while the tests were all completed and she was given through an IV the medication that would help the baby's lungs develop and function if he was born so early.  She went home on continued bed rest and at that time had to start doing frequent finger sticks and give herself injections of insulin to keep her blood sugars in line. She was seen every other day by a high risk Dr.  At one of those visits it was determined that she needed to deliver as her blood pressure was going to high for her safety. That she had fought the fight to hold onto this little boy for as long as was medically possible. Her baby boy was born and rushed away to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.  He needed assistance with his breathing.  He had many of the issues that premature babies have. She went home and left him in the care of the specialists. She has healed rapidly and been able to go in and spend time with her little "miracle." One of the things she has been most proud of herself for accomplishing is that she is almost 15 pounds less than she was when she got pregnant. That is very impressive as most mom's gain 25-40 pounds with a pregnancy. That shows how determined she was to be healthy and give this little boy the best start possible.  Her little boy continues to grow stronger and will soon be leaving the hospital to go home and join his brothers.  He just has to work a little more on learning how to eat. I want to say how proud I am of my daughter. She was given a second chance and she did everything in her power to have this great outcome. Her 3 sons and husband worked together and did all they could to make sure this little brother had the best chance possible.  Miracles do happen!