for what it's worth

I am posting from Sacramento, California this morning. I am visiting my sister and her family consisting of 1 husband and 3 kiddos. My nephew is 4, my niece is 2 and my other niece is 9 months on Monday. I am exhausted. I have forgotten what it is like to have littles running around. I love it though. I feeling out of sorts today. Not sure why. I have a strange ache in my right side a few inches over from my stoma... It kept me up much of the night. What is it? Could it be as simple as a sore muscle from my run yesterday? I am hoping so. Please don't let it be more... Being around these little ones reminds me of how pure and wonderful innocence is. My own kids are crossing the threshold of young adulthood taking with them their innocence. It saddens me a little but I admit, I love that they are turning into people I really enjoy hanging with. It's a trade off. *~*~*~* I've been reading various articles and postings on the topic of ostomates and public swimming pools

Yesterday's run was HARD as heck!! I really struggled. First, I ran on a school track which was very boring and second, the wind was pretty strong making it a struggle to stay on pace. It was also 5pm, this is not my favorite time to run. I think I was already tired from a busy day. And because I was so busy all day I did not drink water like I should've. People with ostomy bags can get dehydrated very fast; it didn't help that I forgot my camelback either. My mouth was like cotton the entire time. HATE THAT! I also noticed that I was extremely sore after this run. Probably from a dehydration. Note to self: Must remember camelback from now on. I will need to run today since I will be on an airplane all day tomorrow. Having a very hard time getting motivated after yesterday. I will need to pick somewhere interesting so I can get lost in the scenery. Then I will reward myself with a pedicure! Yes! That is exactly what I will do! Something to look forward to... My oldest

I head to my sister's this Wednesday. We talked earlier in the week, actually, we texted. Anyway, we decided to read the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova. http://www.amazon.com/Still-Alice-Lisa-Genova   It's about a very successful Harvard professor who is diagnosed with Early On-Set Alzheimer's. It is a subject that is very real to me as it runs deep in my mother's side of the family. I am having a very hard time reading much of it in one sitting. The author is a superb writer and the book flows smoothly, it just hits on a very personal level. We lost our grandmother (mom's mother) not long ago after her struggle with the disease. She was actually gone long before her body gave out. It's an ugly, ugly disease and it fights dirty. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it and not much you can do for it. I find that after a few pages of this book, I need to put it down to clear my head. It is the perfect motivator for getting out for a run. I need something

The hubs and I made a quick trip to Vegas this week. This was my first time to fly with my new bff--my ostomy bag. I was a bit nervous not knowing how it would go and hoping a bagcident would not occur. I was careful to empty it before security and didn't drink or eat anything that might produce a lot of air so the bag would lay nice and flat against my body. When it was my turn to go through security, I stripped down as required and proceeded through the detector... I don't know if in Amarillo our security is a bit tighter because of Pantex (a nuclear plant located here) but when I walked through-- all the bells and whistles went off. I went through the "Nekkid" machine, as my dad calls it; it revealed that I was carrying "contraband" around my waist. Seriously? I then told the security attendant that I have an ostomy bag there and she said, "Well, I have to pat you down anyway." So, after a very personal pat down I was told to rub my hands over

Home from another walk/run training session. My legs hurt. I stink. I NEED COFFEE. I really do enjoy running. This is just hard because it's a faster pace than what I am used too. It's not fun at the moment and I want to like it but it hurts. I will say, I feel very accomplished after though. I'll hang on to that. I am looking forward to our trip to Vegas tomorrow since I will be taking the day off from running. I'm going to try to hit the gym in the morning to do a little weight lifting, if I can get out of bed... I am NOT a morning person. It was all I could do to put my running shoes on this morning before coffee. For some reason, it seemed like a sin to strap on an athletic bra and shoes before the clock read 8am. Yes, I'm pretty sure it's against a law somewhere. Most of my workouts are either mid-morning or later in the day, when I'm awake and functioning like a human. I also have to be aware of what I've eaten and how quickly my ostomy bag

HOLY CRAP. I committed to a 5K on May 12th. I also committed to training with 4 other ladies, one of which is our running guru. Today was our first "introduction" to running. We did a walk/run for about 2 miles. I learned a lot and did decent. My stamina gave out before we were done though so I walked through the last 2 run cycles. I did finish the work out in the cold wind and spitting rain so I think that should count extra! I did not have a margarita before so maybe that's where I went wrong... I just got out of the shower and I think I have hit the wall. My legs are tired and yelling at me which is good--means I worked hard. They are screaming for a vodka tonic but I am not giving in. At least not yet... Trying to tone up and take a little weight off is not for the faint of heart. It is a daily commitment and  a freakin' struggle in willpower! I am motivated though. I lost quite a bit of weight after my 2 surgeries--ileostomy & rectum removal, so I wan

I'm running again! On a regular schedule! And I love it!! It ain't pretty but I am getting back into a running routine after YEARS of not being able to keep a regular exercise routine. It feels AHHH-MAZIN'! If I had known how good I would have felt with an ostomy, I would have had it done long before now. Running is very theraputic for me. It gives me time to think and just enjoy being alone with no texts or phone calls. I turn my music on and away I go. I really wanted to run this morning but messed around until it was too late and I had to get ready for a lunch with some girlfriends. So, I thought I'd run after lunch, well- that didn't work either because we decided to move to the patio and sip a margarita before ending lunch...  But, when I got home, I surprised myself and decided to go for a run. Shocking, I know, after a margarita! This may be my new routine--I actually shaved a couple of minutes off my usual time! Who knew? Margaritas~ the new sports dri

I'm really excited and a little nervous at the same time about an opportunity that has presented itself. A friend of mine is a nurse and she teaches at WTA&M's nursing program. She asked if I would be willing to come talk to her student nurses about my ostomy procedure and be open for questions and discussion about it all. I said yes with out even really thinking about it! In my last blog post I talked about how I wanted to educate people on more than just the clinical side of ostomies... What's that saying--be careful what you ask for because you might just get it? When I said yes, it never crossed my mind that I do not enjoy public speaking! I am hoping this will be very informal. Thankfully I may have some time to prepare as this is just penciled in for next week until my friend can firm up the date. Man, my tummy is doing flip flops just writing about it... I have a cousin who speaks all over the country to large groups of people all the time and she is amazing