Category Archives: General ramblings

2 Weeks Post Hip Replacement Surgery

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This was originally posted on my Facebook page on December 29, 2015

Yesterday marked the 2-week post-surgery date.

I am using a cane 95% of the time and only the walker when I get tired. My physical therapist added some new exercises onto my regimen, including hip raises and what feels like chair squats. Yay! And I have been cleared to walk short distances unassisted. I had felt like I could walk unassisted for a few days but I also know it will make me very sore, so it’s just short jaunts for now.

I had a bruise at the top of my calf on the surgery leg. Appeared out of nowhere but it didn’t hurt. The PT lady said that type of bruising is normal on the surgical leg, and she was quite surprised that I didn’t have more bruising around my ankle or other parts of my leg. I have been concerned about blood clots so it worried me a little, but glad to hear it was normal.

I am heading to the hospital for my last blood draw to monitor my blood thinners. Hoping to be off of them in a few days.

I really miss my ibuprofen. I had a wicked headache Sunday night that I couldn’t take anything for, except Tylenol or my painkillers, but I had to make sure I took them 4 hours apart. And Tylenol does nothing for any kind of pain I have, even before the surgery.

I’m learning that the level of being positive, or feeling like my emotional health is on the upswing, is directly related to how I feel physically. That headache cause my mood to plummet, and then I slept poorly that night. I felt sick and miserable all day yesterday. I got 11 hours of sleep last night so I’m hopeful today will feel better all the way around.

I am enjoying the downtime. Haven’t had this much downtime since long before I had kids. If anyone has any good movie recommendations, please send them my way.

And I get the 21 staples in my leg removed tomorrow!! Hoping they will let me toss the white compression tights with them. Lol. I’ll be so happy to take a shower without having my hip wrapped in Saran Wrap.

I’m very thankful for all the continued prayers and well-wishes. You have no idea. It gets tough, especially when there are other emotional battles to be fought in addition to my surgery recovery. So we take it day by day. I’m grateful for all my family and friends, especially the ones with me physically everyday: Joe B, my daughters, my parents and my sister and nephew. It’s hard to let others take care of you when you’re so used to being independent and taking care of others. But I truly appreciate it. It makes me all emotional when I think about it, especially the caring and concern they show, but in a good way.

Day 10 Post Hip Replacement Surgery

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on December 23, 2015

Day 10 Post-Hip Replacement Surgery:

The good news – Physical therapy is going well. I got cleared yesterday to start using a cane! I still need my walker, it’s going to be a gradual increase of using my cane. Joe said he’s going to bead it. Awesome. And my PT exercises are getting easier every day, even though I’m surprised how tired I get afterwards. 3 more sessions of home PT and then after the New Year I start out-patient PT.

Today I start trying to cut my pain medicine dosage in half. I can stretch the current dose out to 6 hours between, now I’m back to every 4 hours, but only half the dose. We’ll see how it goes. I have to go to LMH to do a blood draw every 2-3 days to monitor my dose of the blood thinner I’m on. So I get to get out today sometime.

I get my staples out next week!! Then I can get out and about more without so much worry about infection.

I can sleep on my non-surgical side with a pillow between my knees, which is such a relief. I can also cook eggs for my breakfast and bake cookies, with plenty of rest during the process. I can hang out in the living room on the new furniture my mom and Joe B bought me. Little Sara has gotten good at moving my walker up and down the stairs. She is so careful with me. She waits at the bottom of the stairs as I head down, looking like she is ready to catch me if I fall. Lol. And Shelby is always thinking ahead of things I might need. I have very thoughtful and caring babies.

And movies….I’m getting finally watch a bunch of movies I’ve wanted to see for a long time. Finally got Joe B hooked on “House of Cards” so we are starting with Season 1. We haven’t binge-watched anything in years.

We have so appreciated all the meals provided by friends, organized by Makyla King. And Jeri Johnson for organizing the lunch at my house last week, and the early Christmas dinner she is bringing over tonight.

The not-so-good-news:  all the meds and the recovery process are giving me night sweats and occasional chills. I’ve woken up a few times with a damp shirt that needs to be changed. I don’t have a fever and I’ve talked to my home health nurse about it. All of my blood work is fine. It seems as if this is just something to deal with. It messes with my sleep though…I find myself waking up every few hours. I’ve been scrolling my Facebook and my Twitter in the middle of the night, that’s where all the recipe posts come from, in case anyone was wondering what my sudden interest in all kinds of recipes is…..

Wearing these white compression tights is getting old. Really old. And they have an opening in the top of the foot, yet my foot is supposed to stay inside. Shelby bugs me by moving the hole and making my toes stick out, then she laughs and takes off….lol. Smh….

I knew my emotions might feel like a huge roller coaster ride during the recovery process. It was a concern I expressed to Joe and to my doctors before my surgery. And I found I had good reason to be concerned. Had one really bad day where all I felt like doing was crying….for no reason. I had to read up on the night sweats and the roller-coaster emotions, and found out those are normal things in recovering from a traumatic surgery such as hip replacement. So that helped me relax a bit.

I still get tired easily and I go lay down as soon as I feel like that. I used to have a hard time resting when there was always something that needed to be done, but Joe B is doing so much, and the girls and my family are helping, where I don’t feel any kind of way about resting and getting better and stronger. And since Joe B’s area of expertise is health education, I told him that I was glad I married him….lol. He changes the dressing like a pro, monitors my meds, helps me move my pillows around so I can change positions when I sleep, and makes sure I don’t over due anything.

All in all, I’m making excellent progress. I’m glad I’m a homebody because staying at home doesn’t bother me.

Day 5 Post Hip Replacement Surgery

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on December 18, 2015

Day 5 Post Hip Replacement Surgery:

My Lawrence, KS family, headed up by Jeri Johnson, planned a little lunch for me in my home today and a white elephant gift exchange. She wanted to get me in the holiday spirit. Which is a big deal for Jeri to plan and do, because she is a total Halloween girl….I don’t think she even considers Christmas a real holiday. Hahaha. Jk. Thank you Jeri and Freda and Makyla, Joe B and my mom and dad. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the company.

I got to take a shower today finally. Joe had to wrap up my leg with Saran Wrap Press N Seal and some tape so the dressing wouldn’t get wet. He did such a good job, that bandage was still completely dry when I was done. Washing my hair and fixing it, putting my contacts in, felt so normal and good.

My mom wanted to get Sara out of the house for a bit today…so Sara went with her but she told her grandma she needed to get back to take care of me because her dad was gone taking Shelby to practice. My 9-year old is so responsible already. It’s truly heartwarming how Shelby and her are both so helpful and careful around me and my hip and my incision.

I can get in and out of bed with ease because I have good upper body strength. The only exercise and movement i have difficulty with is moving my surgical leg out to the side, but Joe said it’s because that movement uses the 2 small muscles the surgeon detached to get to my hip joint. I am getting used to laying down and sleeping whenever I start feeling tired. I’m still surprised how quickly I can fall asleep,and how quickly I can get tired even when I am feeling good.

Still taking my pain pills to stay ahead of the pain, but I can stretch out the doses to 6 hours now. Samantha keeps telling me that this is no time for me be all gangsta, that I need to take the pills as scheduled until I’m a little further out from my surgery. Lol. I’m not a fan of the pain pills like I thought I would be….hahahaha. I am looking forward to being done with them as soon as I can be.

The meals keep coming and they are all delicious! Jennifer Donnely brought over baked chicken, rosemary new potatoes and green beans last night, and tonight Andea LeBeau Spottedhorse brought chicken fajitas. Everything tastes so good and is very much appreciated. I am surrounded by awesome people. And everything is so healthy!!!! That’s just icing on the cake!!

Day 4 Post-Hip Replacement Surgery

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on December 17, 2015:

Day 4 Post Hip Replacement Surgery:

I have a good track from our bedroom to the kitchen island and around for me to do my laps with my walker. Joe B has told me to slow down twice as I went speeding down the hallway. I don’t think I’m going very fast, but I do slow down when he tells me to.

I have 21 staples in my hip, and the incision is 14 centimeters long. Joe B can change the dressing like a pro. The home health nurse was impressed with my surgeon, said the healing incision was perfect. No bruising, no redness or swelling, etc.

It feels so good to be home. I crashed out for a nap soon after arriving home yesterday. Joe B is running the household and the Swirlies are so helpful. I think we all slept good last night for the first time since the weekend.

We’ve had some wonderful meals delivered by Leona Azure, A’sha Pruitt, Melissa & Isaiah Stewart, and Shelby’s GS Troop. Fresh food and delicious recipes…everything is very much appreciated.

I am doing my sets of exercises for PT on my own. Made Joe B a little nervous when I told him I was going to practice walking stairs. 2 trips up and down and I had enough. He was pleased that I’m not pushing myself, that for now I am taking things slowly.

Some of my nutty friends (and I have several…), were saying that I would be able to tell the ethnicity of my blood donor by my food cravings after my transfusion. If I craved spicy food, curry, Italian food, etc., Lol.

I must have received blood from a health nut donor….or a vegan. Because all I’ve been craving are fresh veggies and fruits and water. Hahahaha….Joe B just said, “Oh Noooooooo….”

Joe B and Shelby picked out a grabbity-grabber tool for me. It’s awesome. No more calling someone to pick up the end of my phone charger, I can reach a remote control on the TV stand from my bed, and I can pick up one of my pill bottles.

And now Shelby is trying to over on my grabbity-grabber 3000 and demonstrating how she could wrangle snakes with it…the demo is complete with her using one of her stuffed cobras.

Springtime Heralds a New Beginning

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This week spring has arrived in our region! We have an additional hour of daylight as well, so there is more time after work to enjoy the outdoors. Spring always feels like a new beginning….trees and plants are starting to bud, people are talking about turning over the soil in their garden beds, and you see people outside enjoying walks and riding bikes. The smell of charcoal and cooking outdoors is also a welcome part of spring.

Spring also feels like a new chance to do things differently, or to try things again. A new growing season, another chance to eat locally as much as possible (our CSA application for the summer is due at the end of this month), and another try at the home garden. We built our raised beds last year but didn’t have the time or money to do the rest of the steps to start our garden. We have time and money budgeted this year, so I am excited to give it whirl.

Spring feels like hope. It feels positive. Spring always has the “goodest vibes” (as my friend Mike likes to say). It feels better than the calendar New Year’s Day. And yesterday just made me realize how much I’ve looked forward to spring and the new beginning it heralds.

My 76-yr mom is recovering from knee replacement surgery. She came home last week after her hospital stay, and then 2 weeks in a rapid recovery rehabilitation facility. She is scheduled for outpatient physical therapy 4 times per week as she continues to work on getting her knee to bend and walking without a walker. She chose outpatient PT over in-home PT because she and my dad and her doctor felt it would be best because it would make her get up and out of the house and be more mobile. We had a cookout yesterday to celebrate her being home.

I’ve always felt that my family eats pretty healthy due to my mom. She always cooked for us growing up and she always made her own potato salad and/or macaroni salad for cookouts. We rarely bought sides from the store. I had my nutrition class watch a segment of the HBO documentary “The Weight of the Nation” and a visual that has stayed with me was one of a cookout or dinner at the beginning the episode….there was fried chicken, white bread, several salads heavy with mayonnaise, greens drowned in butter, anything that had fruit was covered with a cool whip & cream cheese mixture. I always have mixed feelings when I see things like that. I feel empathy because I know people are socialized to eat those foods for celebration or for comfort (I see foods like that after a funeral). I feel a little sad because people want to be healthy and it makes it hard when families/communities default to food like that in times of celebration or sorrow. And I feel fortunate because my family has the motivation and means to do things differently.

The menu for our cookout was burgers and hotdogs (of course), but the burgers were 95% lean ground beef and the hotdogs were all-beef franks. We had whole wheat hamburger and the closest thing to whole wheat hotdog buns that I could find at the store (enriched wheat flour does not a whole grain make). I looked at the table before we started eating and it made me feel good. In addition to the meat my husband cooked on the grill, I saw a bowl of homemade potato salad that my sister made, baked beans, fresh watermelon and strawberries, and plates of cucumber slices, baby carrots and lettuce. There was some debate about whether to get a pie or potato chips, but my sister gave up potato chips for Lent and we decided we had enough without a pie. We gave in slightly and got a bag of organic tortilla chips. It was the nicest feeling to be sitting at my parents table, with the windows and door open, in warm weather with a table of fresh food. We all got full off of some good and healthy food. And the fact that we were celebrating my mom being home made it that much better.

Hopefully spring signals a new beginning for this blog as well. Lol. I am going to make an effort to blog once per week at a minimum, instead of my sporadic monthly installments. I hope the weather is warm where you are and that you enjoy the beginning of the new season.

Encourage, don’t discourage

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I am always happy to see others succeed in their quest for health, especially those who have been unhealthy for most of their adult lives. It’s gratifying and encouraging when our Native people (or any group of people who suffer from similar health disparities as American Indians) find the motivation to learn about nutrition, physical activity, and how to incorporate both into their daily lives. However, I take issue with those new to the health scene calling others down for their lack of knowledge or motivation. I am thinking of specific examples where I’ve read about people on social media sites bragging themselves up and simultaneously putting others down for not being “on their level”….whatever that means. And the same people bragging themselves up and putting others down have just recently discovered their own good health.

Those people who engage in that type of behavior don’t realize that we remember how unhealthy they were 5 minutes ago. They are not in a position to judge others and their efforts, or lack of efforts. I also take issue with those who make condescending remarks or belittle those who are trying to be health and/or active. People don’t realize how fortunate they are to have grown up with sports or active families…..or to have grown up with parents/caregivers who cooked all the time and had basic healthy eating knowledge, and access to healthy/whole foods. I see kids in my own community whose parents don’t feel that sports are important, or they don’t get out and engage in activity with their kids. Also people don’t realize how fortunate they are to have healthy, fully functioning bodies….bodies without arthritis, without chronic injuries or illness, bodies that don’t prevent them from doing anything they want to do.

I will admit to being a running snob towards one or two people that I didn’t care for back in the day….I remember thinking and making a couple of comments about someone I had seen running for a few years, that with all their running you would think they might be a little faster or look a little lighter….the epitome of a running snob. But since then I’ve seen that there is no excuse for that type of behavior and snobbishness. We don’t know by looking at someone what their story is, or what their challenges are. Maybe that person whom I saw running at a snails pace for years has managed to keep from gaining 50 pounds and prevented diabetes with that activity. Maybe that person has some health issues that keep their running from looking like what we believe to be a runner’s pace/gait/form/body. Maybe the person NOT running and just walking is a former runner who physically can’t run anymore. Maybe the person who expresses their pride in running 3 miles has just done something they never thought they were capable of.

We don’t need to put others down in order to elevate ourselves. And we are in no position to judge another’s journey towards health.

We, as Native people, need to encourage others in our quest for health. We need to model the behavior that we want others to emulate. We need to do this so the generations that follow will be healthy and ensure our continued presence on this planet. And the people most secure and sincere in their own quest for health are the ones who are most encouraging to others. Be that kind of person. We can’t have too many of those in our communities.

Learning Gratitude in 2014

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Today is January 31 and tonight people will be celebrating the coming of the New Year. In typical New Year’s fashion, I am reflecting a bit on the past year. I love the beginning of the calendar New Year. People are motivated and hopeful….I’m not into the “New Year-New Me” kind of thing because I’ve learned that you can’t wait to make positive change, but I’m always happy to see people motivated. That positive energy is contagious.

I actually renewed my health goals at the beginning of December. I didn’t want to wait until New Year’s to do it. I wanted to get a jump start on what I want for myself and my family. I went back to Weight Watchers (which helped me lose 32 pounds in 2001-2002), and continued with my personal training sessions. I’m going to begin my New Year 7 pounds lighter as a result. I’m also going to begin 2014 feeling much better mentally, spiritually, and emotionally than the last 2 years.

The biggest contributor to the improved mental/spiritual/emotional condition in 2014 was actively practicing gratitude….consistently remembering to give thanks as soon as I wake up. We tend to think we are grateful for this life, but you notice a difference when you start to consciously develop the habit of saying “Thank you” and counting your blessings upon waking. It puts me in a positive frame of mind before I get out of bed. It generates positive energy. And like I said a few paragraphs ago, positive energy is contagious.

Gratitude brings positive energy….positive energy brings peace of mind and spirit….and that peace leaves room for the good stuff, like being happy for others and enjoying their successes. It also brings the belief that you can have your own success in whatever way you define that for yourself, and motivates you to take the steps to gain that success.

I do love this life and everyone in it. It’s amazing when I hear my children say at random times, “I’m thankful for…….” As I am re-learning gratitude, they are learning it as well. My Christmas gift from my babies was  bracelet with a charm that says, “I love you to the moon and back”, and it came on a card that said: Love this life….Love is about welcoming the blind turn and the possibility that there’s no such thing as coincidence….and that empathy is incredibly sexy….and that it’s never too late to pick up a guitar or a paintbrush…or to make an amend or to make a new friend….Love this Life.

Those are my thoughts this morning in my quiet house, while everyone sleeps…..while enjoying my coffee. Feeling grateful for all the blessings in my life.

Why Culture is Important to Health

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This is the original, unedited, version of a newsletter article I wrote that was just released today. I wanted to share this on my blog after it came out in print.

One dictionary definition of “culture” is “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.” Indigenous people are rich with culture. Not only because each sovereign nation has its own definitive and unique sum total of ways of living, but because cultural knowledge is seen as valuable…priceless. And cultural knowledge is deemed necessary to our way of life as Indigenous people.

Dakota/Lakota/Nakoda people have a term for “healthy lifestyle” or a “good way of life”. Wicozani is not simply a state of physical health, but a world-view, a philosophy practically applied, that attends to a person’s physical, mental, social and spiritual wellness. Wicozani encompasses all that contributes to our wellness, our good way of life, which for Indigenous people begins with culture.

Indigenous ways of life prior to Western contact included our own food systems, healing traditions that included knowledge of medicinal plants and spiritual practices, plenty of physical activity, and strong social support amongst our tiwahe (immediate family) and our tiospaye (extended family). Our gender roles were strong and equitable and contributed to the well-being of families and society. Our adults taught children what was expected of them to become strong, healthy, productive individuals by example. All generations were considered valuable to society and were cared for accordingly. Tribal and family history was taught with stories. Our Indigenous languages offered explanations for environmental and universal phenomena that cannot be wholly translated into English, but recently have been found to be in –line with prominent scientists and theorists. We continue to transmit this knowledge to younger generations today.

We were once some of the healthiest people on the planet. We lived and practiced Wicozani. It was normal to us to pay attention to and take care of all aspects of ourselves.

Life is not easy today. Stressors abound with personal and family finances, job insecurity, limited access to affordable, healthy food and exercise outlets. There is social stress from living as an Indigenous person in a Western world. Contemporary society pressures us to believe that one aspect of our wellness is more important than others, whether it be education, job success/material success, or physical health. When life’s stressors start to pile up and make us feel overwhelmed, or when we start to notice our own mental, emotional and physical health failing, or that of our loved ones, our biggest asset in the search for Wicozani, is being able to tap the innate cultural knowledge that exists in all Indigenous people. Remember how strong your people were at one point. Know that you already possess the knowledge passed down from our ancestors. And know that you have everything you need to be strong and healthy once again.

Something is Working…..

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So far this end of summer/fall season has been extremely busy. I was asked to up my hours at work and I received a contract to be an adjunct instructor at the tribal college where I have taught a diabetes class for years. I’m also taking a nutrition course online at through K-State Distance Learning. But with the hectic schedule, I’ve been making time to do something everyday, even if it’s just a walk.

Over the summer I noticed that I was developing a forward lean in my gait. The lean was due to hip joint pain and stiffness. I would get very stiff sitting at my computer at work, and even getting up and walking around didn’t relieve the stiffness. It was painful to stand straight up and walk, so I compensated with the lean. After gaining 5 pounds during our summer travels at the end of July, I came home with determination to change things. Attending an obesity conference at the beginning of August for my work did wonders for my motivation. So, August 1, I focused on consistently taking my Omega-3 supplement and a glucosamine/condroitin supplement. I also started taking turmeric regularly again. I had always heard that the glucosamine helped arthritic joints feel better and needed to be taken for about 2 weeks before you could feel a difference, but I had never taken them long enough to notice anything.

We went to a powwow in Oklahoma the first weekend in August and then traveled there again for another powwow 2 weeks later. By the third weekend that month, I noticed that I was standing up straighter. My joints weren’t as stiff and I could walk fully upright with no joint pain. I also noticed that when my joints would get stiff sitting at my desk, that they loosened up with a short walk around my department. I danced pain-free for the first time since the beginning of June. 🙂

I have worked out with my trainer Travis for 8 sessions now. I’ve more than doubled the number of regular pushups I can do (went from 3 to 10) and yesterday I pushed a prowler (sled) with 110 pounds on it, 6 times, each time in under 2 minutes (the prowler weighs 75 lbs by itself, for a total weight pushed of 185 lbs). I find myself sitting up more straight at work, and standing taller. I am beginning to see definition in my arms and more definition in my legs. Walking around campus at my job is much easier than a couple of months ago. And my heavy white beadwork feels slightly lighter now….not as light as I would like just yet, but I am being patient and know it will continue to feel lighter as long as I continue to put in the work.

I ask my diabetes course students to keep a food journal near the middle of the semester and I am required to keep one for my nutrition course at K-State. So I began last week to journal in earnest, and I have been consistent. It helps remind me to get my veggies and fruits in and to keep an eye on my carb count. The week before school started, I began to double the amount of dinners I cooked and freezing one batch. That has helped immensely on the nights where I am too tired to cook or don’t have time to grocery shop. We just have to thaw and heat and we can eat a homemade meal.

So something is working….lol. I feel better, I am walking upright without pain and I am getting stronger. I set a beginning goal of losing 18 pounds and I have lost 6 of those. My clothes are fitting better. I feel better. I just need to stay consistent.

Motivation….that elusive “thing”

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I have osteoarthritis in both hips. I am only 46 years old and I am looking at total hip replacement surgery sometime down the line. It’s hard for me to run because of the ensuing joint pain and I’m losing range of motion in my right hip. It’s painful to tie my shoes or tape up my moccasins when I dance. I can’t dance the way I used to even 2 years ago….I have to modify several of my steps or just not do them.

I am getting a good lesson in dealing with a chronic condition….like diabetes or lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. It’s hard. It’s hard to get motivated to find what works to manage the pain. It’s hard and very emotional when I look at what may be down the line for me…it’s hard when I think about losing the things that have been such a big part of me for so long. Like running and shawl dancing. I have a lot of ups and downs and it’s hard to tell anyone about it because I don’t want to drag anyone down, and I don’t feel very many understand. I just recently went through a very difficult and emotional time, one of several that I’ve experienced in the last 20 months.

But this week I have felt awesome. Really really good. I feel like I have found and gotten a good grip on that thing that health educators talk about all the time…”motivation”.  Defined as “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.” In order to make positive change, we must be motivated to do so. I remember working a social work job and one of the social work specialists said, “They don’t train us in this job how to motivate people to change.” Which is true. While psychologists or public health workers can be trained in motivational interviewing (a technique used to evaluate the level of a person’s willingness to change and help push them forward), most people in the helping professions are at a loss as to how to motivate people.

There are 2 types of motivation: “Intrinsic” and “Extrinsic”. Extrinsic motivation is where your motivation comes from an external source….like getting good grades because your parents offer to pay you for every A on your report card, or buying you something if you make the Dean’s List. There are endless examples of extrinsic motivation….but this type of motivation is short-lived. It may last until the reward has been earned and then it’s gone. It may disappear before the reward is earned if the reward seems too far away or unattainable. Point is, It doesn’t last long. Intrinsic motivation, is the internal desire to change….it can be based on some type of perceived reward or fear that hits close to home. My best example of that is when a grandparent makes long-term changes to their health regimen in order to be able to see their grandchildren grow up. Or a person decides to lose weight or exercise more, not because they want to improve their appearance alone, but because they want to FEEL better both physically and emotionally.

My motivation has had some severe ups and downs since my diagnosis. I believe I’ve had a string of short-term motivated times because my motivation has been extrinsic…I’ve been motivated to do my PT exercises until I felt it wasn’t really helping the pain or help me get back to running. I’ve been motivated to just keep doing what I’ve been doing, kind of like rebelling against my OA, only to be struck down by debilitating joint pain. I’ve been motivated to try all different kinds of supplements until I overdid my activity and felt miserable because of the pain.

These days I feel very motivated. And I believe the positive vibe I have going is because I’m finally sorting out everything I have tried before, which includes changes in diet, supplements, hot yoga, biking, reaching out to friends and family, and changing my way of thinking of my dance career. A few weeks ago I was looking at the near-end of my shawl dance career….I thought that I could last another year or two at the most and then I would be done. And when that sunk in, I grieved….like I was losing a life-friend. Thankfully my friends, my companion, and my family pulled me out of that pit of despair. I have a sense of hope now….which feels brand new to me. And I have a deep-seated confidence, which is also new, that I will achieve my wellness goals that I have altered in a positive and realistic way. Both of those feelings, the hope and the confidence, have boosted my motivation.

My motivation comes now from knowing that I can manage my OA pain. It’s not hopeless. A good quality of life is not out of my reach.  I’ve had several weeks of pain-free joints and I’m confident that what I’m doing is working and that I can continue. I KNOW what works now. Limiting carbohydrates in my diet, taking some supplements that are working, including Xyngular’s Global Blend, alfalfa, Omega-3, a B-complex, and drinking my turmeric tea. Drinking alot of water. Eating alot of nutrient rich vegetables. Avoiding commercially raised feed-lot red meat and switching to grass-fed beef. I love the elliptical machine…it feels like I’m running without the joint pain. Stretching, I am learning to love and get better at. And getting my rest. My motivation increases each day that I wake and can walk with little to no pain. And my shawl dancing….we’ll see how that goes. But I’m hopeful. I’m focused and grateful for what my body can do….instead of obsessing about what it can’t do. I’m looking at all I have to gain with maintaining these positive changes, instead of thinking about what I am losing. When I make food choices in a restaurant I think about what will help me the most, and that means selecting salmon and spinach and broccoli and giving away my bread and NOT ordering dessert. I don’t think about HAVING to give up a French Dip sandwich or a slice of lemon meringue pie, I think about all the good things the salmon and the Omega-3 and all those green veggies will do for my body and my joints. So my motivation comes from a place of positive thinking, encouragement, helping and healing my body. Because I want to feel better. I love how I feel when I do these things. The changes make my bad days not so bad and make the good days that much better. I’m making myself better, which will make me better for all those around me.

I really want to publicly thank my husband Joe B…who has had to put up with my mood swings but he never gives in to my negative thinking. And I want to thank my sister Sharon who is my biggest cheerleader and always finding new things for me to try. My sister Sandy, who with my sister Sharon, always keeps it real with me, and my BFF, my Maske, Erica….my example of perseverance through tough times. My brother Elwood because he has no idea of how special he is to me. Special acknowledgement and thanks to Mike LaFrombois and Kevin Tacan….the male version of “maske” for me. They both have such positive outlooks even with all they deal with, and lend me their good vibes all the time. They are excellent listeners, and Kevin recommended the alfalfa supplements. These people help hold me up even if they don’t realize it, and I’m eternally grateful. Wopida tanka to each of you, and to the others I didn’t mention (you know who you are) who have helped me in any way.