Lovely pix! You have bears 🐻 😳? Great chicken coop, glad your dad is getting lots of eggs. Sounds like you are doing self-care pretty well but there is always room for a little more grace. Hugs as you carry on!
I'm so glad you don't have real bears roaming your property, your dad is a great artist! And I meant to sat, Congrats 🥳 🎉 on your 2nd transplant anniversary, wow, what a milestone! Keep living your best life, sharing it with and inspiring us 🤗
Sending hugs, strength and love, Dawn. I'm not going to give you any advice because you're figuring out what can work and how you can rest amongst all your appointments! What a huge hamster wheel you're running on right now!
My mum and I are in calmer waters these days, but I remember the tense-body, hypervigilance all too well. I was quietly applauding the walks you did up the hill. While they were forced by the lack of WiFi, these small exhales kept you sane....and that's the best most human thing we can do.
Finding the small gratitudes/moments that can bring joy created bridges to self-compassion for me. I hope you can find more of yours. xo
Wow! A second heart transplant! And I thought I had it bad with CHD! My issue is with fluid but I did lose over 20 lbs of water! I need to watch my sugar (for diabetes) and salt (for the fluid). I hope everything works out for you! Oh, I forgot, I too have plantar fasciitis but my foot doctor says there's nothing he can do! He never mentions Therapy! And he needs to order me shoes but I had to make a separate appointment to have my feet measured! I hope you feel better soon!
Ah, the dietary restrictions. I still have to watch my salt intake, plus my transplant meds have made me diabetic so I need to monitor my sugar. Those same lovely meds have also made my triglycerides soar to the moon, so no fat. I eat lots of smoothies, salads, eggs whites, chicken breast, yogurt, and hummus. But I still need to have a taco now and then to keep my sanity.
PT has mostly been stretching. Lay on my back and hold my leg up straight and flex my foot. Stand next to bed with the leg on the bed and flex my foot. Stand facing a wall with the bad leg behind me and lean forward to stretch my calf and hamstring with hands on wall. Amazingly, it works.
Also, I found Dr. Scholl's insoles for PF online. They work better than the $300 orthotics the podiatrist sold me. And I don't recommend the steroid shot in your heel. I had to walk with a cane for nearly a week after and it didn't help anything.
My foot Dr. was talking about steroid shots but he gave me cortisone shots instead! At least I thought they were cortisone shots! I've had Therapists come to the house but nothing like what you did! I'll have to say something to my foot doctor about Therapy when I see him next month! My doctor usually inserts insoles and pads in my new shoes!
Dawn, you are an amazing human and an amazing writer. I love your metaphors. But you need to make yourself a priority. A week of "down time" doesn't sound like it's enough for you. More will be better for you and everyone else too! There's a lot written and said about Type A types; I don't see so much about Types B and C or whatever, but it's okay to downshift. Shared with love.
Thank you for your kind words. I would really love a year of downtime, but that's not going to happen any time soon. However, I did get a full eight hours of sleep last night. I feel like I could take on the world this morning, until I step on my left heel just right.
For now, I take it one day at a time. I have two weeks before I go back. Today is a quiet day, as is the weekend. I want to rest, write, and probably clean the floors.
For as much as I feed the birds, you'd think they would do me some Snow White cleaning favors.
Love this. I needed to read this today. My husband had a recent stroke and his kidneys are not doing great. My 86 years old father is having a heart procedure on Aug 5th and two weeks earlier, my 85 years old mom is having a knee replacement. I may have to leave my husband at home to go take care of them for a short while.
Oh my goodness. That is a lot all at once. I hope your husband makes a good recovery. I've had two strokes myself and physical therapy made all the difference in my recovery. My memory is still a disaster, but I can get around okay.
Caregiving is not easy. Make sure to take care of yourself while taking care of everyone else.
Lovely pix! You have bears 🐻 😳? Great chicken coop, glad your dad is getting lots of eggs. Sounds like you are doing self-care pretty well but there is always room for a little more grace. Hugs as you carry on!
Those are metal bear silhouettes he made years ago. But they are pretty realistic. He's a great artist.
I'm so glad you don't have real bears roaming your property, your dad is a great artist! And I meant to sat, Congrats 🥳 🎉 on your 2nd transplant anniversary, wow, what a milestone! Keep living your best life, sharing it with and inspiring us 🤗
Sending hugs, strength and love, Dawn. I'm not going to give you any advice because you're figuring out what can work and how you can rest amongst all your appointments! What a huge hamster wheel you're running on right now!
My mum and I are in calmer waters these days, but I remember the tense-body, hypervigilance all too well. I was quietly applauding the walks you did up the hill. While they were forced by the lack of WiFi, these small exhales kept you sane....and that's the best most human thing we can do.
Finding the small gratitudes/moments that can bring joy created bridges to self-compassion for me. I hope you can find more of yours. xo
Thank you. I took a lot of pictures on those walks. I've posted a few. The bee on a flower was one of my favorites.
That's so good to hear, Dawn.
Wow! A second heart transplant! And I thought I had it bad with CHD! My issue is with fluid but I did lose over 20 lbs of water! I need to watch my sugar (for diabetes) and salt (for the fluid). I hope everything works out for you! Oh, I forgot, I too have plantar fasciitis but my foot doctor says there's nothing he can do! He never mentions Therapy! And he needs to order me shoes but I had to make a separate appointment to have my feet measured! I hope you feel better soon!
Ah, the dietary restrictions. I still have to watch my salt intake, plus my transplant meds have made me diabetic so I need to monitor my sugar. Those same lovely meds have also made my triglycerides soar to the moon, so no fat. I eat lots of smoothies, salads, eggs whites, chicken breast, yogurt, and hummus. But I still need to have a taco now and then to keep my sanity.
PT has mostly been stretching. Lay on my back and hold my leg up straight and flex my foot. Stand next to bed with the leg on the bed and flex my foot. Stand facing a wall with the bad leg behind me and lean forward to stretch my calf and hamstring with hands on wall. Amazingly, it works.
Also, I found Dr. Scholl's insoles for PF online. They work better than the $300 orthotics the podiatrist sold me. And I don't recommend the steroid shot in your heel. I had to walk with a cane for nearly a week after and it didn't help anything.
My foot Dr. was talking about steroid shots but he gave me cortisone shots instead! At least I thought they were cortisone shots! I've had Therapists come to the house but nothing like what you did! I'll have to say something to my foot doctor about Therapy when I see him next month! My doctor usually inserts insoles and pads in my new shoes!
Dawn, you are an amazing human and an amazing writer. I love your metaphors. But you need to make yourself a priority. A week of "down time" doesn't sound like it's enough for you. More will be better for you and everyone else too! There's a lot written and said about Type A types; I don't see so much about Types B and C or whatever, but it's okay to downshift. Shared with love.
Thank you for your kind words. I would really love a year of downtime, but that's not going to happen any time soon. However, I did get a full eight hours of sleep last night. I feel like I could take on the world this morning, until I step on my left heel just right.
For now, I take it one day at a time. I have two weeks before I go back. Today is a quiet day, as is the weekend. I want to rest, write, and probably clean the floors.
For as much as I feed the birds, you'd think they would do me some Snow White cleaning favors.
Love this. I needed to read this today. My husband had a recent stroke and his kidneys are not doing great. My 86 years old father is having a heart procedure on Aug 5th and two weeks earlier, my 85 years old mom is having a knee replacement. I may have to leave my husband at home to go take care of them for a short while.
Oh my goodness. That is a lot all at once. I hope your husband makes a good recovery. I've had two strokes myself and physical therapy made all the difference in my recovery. My memory is still a disaster, but I can get around okay.
Caregiving is not easy. Make sure to take care of yourself while taking care of everyone else.