Today I was thinking how I have been wanting to share my health journey with others because it might be helpful to someone. I don’t even know if anyone will read this but hopefully, if it helps even one person, it will be worth writing.
My journey started back in June of 2020. My friend had suddenly died in her sleep and she was only 58. I immediately was in a state of shock. I was living in my new home in Cadillac, the one that she rode up to see with me when I was curious about it. She was there when I decided this was the one! I had spoken with her a couple weeks before. She had gone up to Lansing to drop off her money for the family Wharton Center tickets. She was happy and excited but both of us were worried about this Covid 19 disease. When I first heard of her death it was through the horrible Facebook posting of a couple of friends. I at first thought they must be talking about Ellen DeGeneres. They weren’t. That week I became extremely tired. I had to go lie down. I felt unusually exhausted. I remember walking across the street to the lake and having to stop to catch my breath. I just figured it was stress and shock from my recent news. However, it was much more and the beginning of a bigger issue. Of course, being one of 14 kids I was always raised to tough it out. I also didn’t like to go to doctors and rarely did even though I had good healthcare.
June stretched into July and I became very ill. I thought I had food poisoning from my local Burger King. If only it were that. I became violently ill. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom for many days. I could only urinate and vomit. I didn’t pick up my mail for several days, so my mail lady called the police for a wellness check. They said they could call an ambulance. Of course I told them that I thought I was getting better. What a crock! That was on a Thursday. By Sunday, I told my sister I would go in on Monday. She told me I was going right now. She called my brother to come help me go to the hospital. So, I did!
I ended up having a complete blockage and a hernia! They were ready to put me in an ambulance to go to Traverse City for surgery. I called my son to let him know what was going on. As I am talking, the staff is acting very concerned. It was then that they realized my heart was doing crazy stuff. I was in Afib which is an irregular heartbeat. Most people are in sinus rhythm. I was in crazy land with my heart bouncing around like a ping pong ball from high to low. This was the beginning of my real health journey!
I spent 10 days in the hospital. The staff was great. I had a bit of my intestine removed and I couldn’t eat for the whole time as green gross fluid was being taken out through my nose. I produced a lot. I was in a room that was right in front of the nurses station which I just thought was so sweet because it was private. Later, I realized how serious it was. Months later. The night before my last day, I was moved to a shared room, which I thought was weird because I was leaving the next day. I wasn’t very wise. My son came home to help me. He was great, even played his guitar and sang for me in the hospital.
When I got home, it was very difficult. I had planned on staying downstairs on this nice couch/bed I had purchased that sat a little higher than a regular sofa bed. That was insane. It was so painful to get up from. The next day I ordered a hospital bed as my bedroom is upstairs. I had trouble even getting my legs up on the bed. Everything was difficult and it was compounded by my weight. My son was upset. He hadn’t seen me in a couple of years, so seeing me so ill and so unable to do anything shocked him. I am assuming he was scared. I was still rather oblivious to all that had happened with me. I was just thankful to be home and alive.
This is where my journey really got serious. I knew I needed to get some weight off and be healthier. I could barely walk without pain. I would sit in the kitchen on a stool to cook or do dishes. That was a far cry from my life before. I started by taking the walker I was using and trying to just walk a bit throughout the day in the house. This was all during the pandemic and I am thankful that my son could be with me as he lives in California. It was tough though. I had no real clue how or where to begin. I just started to try eating better, but I had no real plan.
Another friend wanted me to take a National Diabetes Prevention Class online through zoom. She said we could see each other that way. This was in September of 2020. I was extremely resistant. I told her it was closed as the class had already started and the link didn’t work. She emailed the coach and it was opened back up. I had no more excuses, so I signed up just to please my friend. I am not one to do group activities and share that way, but with her push, I did it! It turned out to be a life saver. I received a package through the mail that had these items shown in the picture.
I had no idea that I had just signed up for a yearlong class, until I read the fine print. That was a shock to me, but it turned out to be a wise commitment. Classes met weekly for the first six months. I learned about reading labels, going low fat, moving more, and what a true portion is….among other things. The biggest thing I learned is how to change my lifestyle. I don’t think I would ever have figured this out without the class and the great coaches. My lifestyle is completely different today. The way I eat and move now I will do for the rest of my life. At least that is my plan.
During that year, I also had to get a cardiologist and deal with the Afib. I had two cardioversions within two weeks of each other. The first one didn’t work. I had to spend three days in the hospital taking a drug called Sotalol. I had to be watched closely taking this drug. At the end of the three days, I had another cardioversion. This time it worked. I was in sinus rhythm for the next year until sometime in October of 2021. I had a drug change which made me realize that the heart drugs I am on are designed to slow the heart down, so, they slow the metabolism down. I mention this because this all figures into my health journey. I had another cardioversion in January of 2022. It lasted a few weeks. It lasted until I had to deal with the deaths of my brother in-law and brother. My emotions got the best of me and once again I went into Afib. With drug changes, I have been stabilized but I remain in Afib. My resting heart rate is kept well under 100bpm. I don’t really feel it and I can do all kinds of activities and not feel exhausted and tired.
So with all that I was going through, I managed from around August of 2020 to today, June of 2023, to lose 125+ pounds. Most was lost before I had the medicine change but I continue to lose but at a slower steady rate. This has been life changing for me. I swim five days a week at the YMCA 1/3 of mile combining water jogging with dumbbells and hand paddles. I walk much more and I use a vibration platform every morning for twenty minutes. I am a different person. I can move more and I am definitely healthier. My journey isn’t over. I consider myself, much like my art, a work in progress. I am 68 years old. My journey started when I was 65. My point is it is never too late. I am sharing this to hopefully inspire other people. I eventually took another class with the National Diabetes Prevention Program. That one really focused on movement. I probably would have never joined the YMCA without the push from that class. I am thankful for that program and also for my local YMCA where I have discovered so many wonderful caring people. When I have time, I will share my lifestyle plan for those that might want to know what I did and am doing to lose all that weight and keep it off. For now, I just wanted to try an inspire others to not be afraid to try something new to change your life in a positive way.
News flash: As of today when I finally got around to posting this, I am now swimming ½ mile, five days a week…progress!