My Journey
This post may or may not interest some. I personally enjoy listening to everyone's story. I've had more time to think in recent months. Everyday I write a journal entry in my head. It never makes it to paper or computer because I'm either to tired to get it there or other things take precedent. A friend commented recently that I should write a blog. And well that is just brilliant. A space where I can write as much as I want and people can choose to read it if they feel inclined to do so. I'm always hesitant to post on Facebook because I don't want to be a bother. Even though I like ready about everyone's lives, I know people don't necessarily share that sentiment with me. So please proceed with caution. This post is more like a novel...
Growing up I remember having occasional digestion issues. It was often enough that I noticed it, but not bad enough/frequent enough to tell anyone about it. And let's be honest.. my favorite foods were ice cream, candy, and probably pasta. Yes, I was like Elf. So having a questionable stomach is really not shocking. I deserved it.
In the 6th grade I broke my first bone. It felt appropriate to race someone running backwards in gym one day. I don't know why I thought I would win that race. And who chooses running backwards as the opportunity to do so! Apparently, me. It was one of those moments where you fall and don't realize what just happened until you actually look at your mangled arm. So pitiful. Dad came to the rescue that day. Brought me to the clinic the next town over. He probably made friends with everyone he met... that he didn't already know. Let's be honest, he probably already knew half the people working there. Things got real bad when the numbing medication didn't work and they still had to pop my arm back in place. I'll never forget dad saying it took him a moment to realize it was actually me screaming in the nearby room as he was chatting with someone in the hall.
Ahh.. and here comes bone break #2 & 3! June 1998... I'm riding 4-wheeler in the ditch by our house... wind in my face... SQUIRREL! no, not a squirrel, just a car passing by that I decided to get distracted by. Turn back, field approach is literally right there, no time to react. So I hit it hard. I fly to the right and the 4-wheeler goes to the left. I definitely blacked out or something for a second.. or maybe I just closed my eyes... either way I woke up on the ground. Dammit.. mangled right arm again. I'm in complete shock. I get my helmet off... for some reason decided that I must get the 4-wheeler out of the neighbors field.. then start walking for home. I had to walk, because there was no way I could actually drive the 4-wheeler in the condition I was in. As I start walking I'm obviously a bit panicky, but trying to stay calm. And then my parents start driving down the driveway to go somewhere they needed to be (I actually think it might have been for a visitation?). So then I REALLY panic. And yes, I waved my arms. One was clearly not in good shape and the other one just hurt really bad. But I knew if they didn't see me I was completely screwed. Thankfully they did see me. And I immediately bawled once they got there. Now as a parent I get this. My kids can keep it together all day.. they see me and sometimes just start crying.. for no reason. Parents have this way of letting you feel comfortable in your current state. And my current state was a hot mess. I've already used too many words on this story, but it's such a classic. Long story short, both arms were broken. And I had to do x-rays TWICE! Once in Springfield and then got transferred to New Ulm and had to do them again. Was I miserable? yes. Did I probably think I was dying? yes. Are my parents rockstars? yes. I had two lovely casts in the middle of summer. One other random tidbit.. the first week in casts was obviously dreadful. One night my right arm swelled up SO bad! So mom cut my cast and then brought me in to get it looked at. The doctor was PISSED! But mom did the right thing. Thanks, mom :) So I had to get that one recasted.
Onto high school. I start having headaches all the time. In fact, now that I think about it. I remember having them in grade school a lot too. Anyhow, I had neck/back pain and headaches so I started seeing a chiropractor. I'm not even sure at what age. I think I was at least able to drive myself always. When I was 17 I also had an MRA done on my head to make sure there wasn't anything else crazy going on. There wasn't.
College. I moved, so I found a new chiropractor. Still made frequent visits. I went in spurts because I'd get sick of going all the time. So I'd boycott for as long as I could take it. I also learned that you're supposed to have regular bowel movements and I did not. I made a few trips to the doctor and asked about my frequent exhaustion and lack of digestion. I was told to eat better and exercise. And though I probably still didn't eat as well as I should have, I did try. I was a member at Curves. Do they still have those? That was the hot thing over a decade ago. I also took up riding bicycle with Ben. He even tried to help me be a runner for a spurt there. We got into a big argument one time over it. I was probably being a baby and he didn't want to deal with me anymore. We must have worked it out because he agreed to run with me again after that. I will never be much of a runner, but I've given it a try a few times. Point of my story here is that she was no help and only sort of listened to me. So I stopped seeing her.
By now I'm in my early twenties.. working a full time job. Still having issues with my upper back and neck and being tired. Go to a new clinic and she refers me for physical therapy (I didn't really like that doctor either). So I did physical therapy, felt a little better. Found out that even though graston hurts like heck initially it did wonders. And then not long after I fell off the wagon with keeping up on the stretches. Through referrals I did find a new primary doctor and new chiropractor though! Shortly after this I had issues getting pregnant. After a few years of treatments the miracle of Theodore happened. The day we find out we're pregnant Ben's grandpa passed away :( The circle of life in full force that day. We all know those treatments probably took a huge toll on my body... mentally and physically. But it was all worth it. Theodore arrived. My grandpa passed away a few days later. At least newborns bring a ray of sunshine with them even at funerals.
After a few months I hopped on the Weight Watchers train to try and lose the weight I gained doing infertility treatments and weight from being prego. This is obviously every woman's favorite part about having a baby ;) So I was eating healthy and started running again.. Couch to 5k program. I was feeling pretty good and then my stomach took a bad turn again. This time I made it to the GI doctor. They ran some blood tests to rule out Celiac and things like that. All was good on that front. I kept a food journal for awhile and there didn't seem to be a trend. He told me to take miralax and metamucil every day and so I did just that. And it did help, so I went with it. A few months later I started having more issues with my bladder. I've always had to go a million times a day. But I got an infection and even after antibiotics I still wasn't feeling better. So then I went to a urologist. They did an ultrasound and just told me I had an overactive bladder. Which I realize sounds like NBD, but it's more than just having to go pee frequently. It had gotten to the point where it burned and always felt like I had to go even though I didn't need to. The dude put me on a med and guess what it did.. made me more constipated. Didn't we just go through this? Yes, yes we did. So I was like NOPE, not taking it. Then he told me I could get some procedure done to burn the nerve endings or cut them or something (Nerve Endings.. the theme begins). I don't remember what it was called. I just remember being a bit terrified by the thought at something going wrong. So then I did more reading and decided to cut out caffeine, alcohol, and acidic foods. And that helped A TON! I mean.. was it rough at first? of course. But it was worth it.
What year are we on? Isn't this exhausting reading all of this? Let's see... 2014. Yup it's now 2014. Ben and I had started the T25 workout program so we were obviously looking great at this point. Okay so maybe we were motivated by an upcoming vacation. Vegas! April 2014.. amazing vacation with friends at the Bellagio. I'm only telling you it's the Bellagio because it was so great and I highly recommend it to anyone. Guess what happened in May? I found out I was pregnant. WHAAAAAATT!! Mind. Blown. People can get pregnant without drugs? That's a thing? As you can imagine we were THRILLED! Like beyond. I will throw in here that many people were almost as excited as we were.. but only one person responded with jumping up and down while clapping.. my dad <3
I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy.. well for most of it. The last month felt really dramatic and long.. or maybe I'm just dramatic? It's probably the latter. But I did go into preterm labor at 35 weeks. Then the girl hung in there for awhile. I had a cold that entire month and with frequent braxton hicks I was pretty much over it. My glow started diminishing, but I still tried to throw on as much sparkle as I could. At the end it was still dramatic, but more like dramatic and quick. So yay! Violet is here.. life is rainbows and unicorns. Minus the part where we had two funerals shortly after her arrival. Our dear friend, Jenna, passed away from cancer. And Ben's parents' good friend, Honey, died from cancer about a month after that. This death theme with having babies is not cool. After that we had a pretty good 2015. I did more physical therapy end of spring/early summer and continued to see a chiropractor. Theodore adored his baby sister and we enjoyed all the milestones together as a family of four.
The rest to come in another post...
Growing up I remember having occasional digestion issues. It was often enough that I noticed it, but not bad enough/frequent enough to tell anyone about it. And let's be honest.. my favorite foods were ice cream, candy, and probably pasta. Yes, I was like Elf. So having a questionable stomach is really not shocking. I deserved it.
In the 6th grade I broke my first bone. It felt appropriate to race someone running backwards in gym one day. I don't know why I thought I would win that race. And who chooses running backwards as the opportunity to do so! Apparently, me. It was one of those moments where you fall and don't realize what just happened until you actually look at your mangled arm. So pitiful. Dad came to the rescue that day. Brought me to the clinic the next town over. He probably made friends with everyone he met... that he didn't already know. Let's be honest, he probably already knew half the people working there. Things got real bad when the numbing medication didn't work and they still had to pop my arm back in place. I'll never forget dad saying it took him a moment to realize it was actually me screaming in the nearby room as he was chatting with someone in the hall.
Ahh.. and here comes bone break #2 & 3! June 1998... I'm riding 4-wheeler in the ditch by our house... wind in my face... SQUIRREL! no, not a squirrel, just a car passing by that I decided to get distracted by. Turn back, field approach is literally right there, no time to react. So I hit it hard. I fly to the right and the 4-wheeler goes to the left. I definitely blacked out or something for a second.. or maybe I just closed my eyes... either way I woke up on the ground. Dammit.. mangled right arm again. I'm in complete shock. I get my helmet off... for some reason decided that I must get the 4-wheeler out of the neighbors field.. then start walking for home. I had to walk, because there was no way I could actually drive the 4-wheeler in the condition I was in. As I start walking I'm obviously a bit panicky, but trying to stay calm. And then my parents start driving down the driveway to go somewhere they needed to be (I actually think it might have been for a visitation?). So then I REALLY panic. And yes, I waved my arms. One was clearly not in good shape and the other one just hurt really bad. But I knew if they didn't see me I was completely screwed. Thankfully they did see me. And I immediately bawled once they got there. Now as a parent I get this. My kids can keep it together all day.. they see me and sometimes just start crying.. for no reason. Parents have this way of letting you feel comfortable in your current state. And my current state was a hot mess. I've already used too many words on this story, but it's such a classic. Long story short, both arms were broken. And I had to do x-rays TWICE! Once in Springfield and then got transferred to New Ulm and had to do them again. Was I miserable? yes. Did I probably think I was dying? yes. Are my parents rockstars? yes. I had two lovely casts in the middle of summer. One other random tidbit.. the first week in casts was obviously dreadful. One night my right arm swelled up SO bad! So mom cut my cast and then brought me in to get it looked at. The doctor was PISSED! But mom did the right thing. Thanks, mom :) So I had to get that one recasted.
Onto high school. I start having headaches all the time. In fact, now that I think about it. I remember having them in grade school a lot too. Anyhow, I had neck/back pain and headaches so I started seeing a chiropractor. I'm not even sure at what age. I think I was at least able to drive myself always. When I was 17 I also had an MRA done on my head to make sure there wasn't anything else crazy going on. There wasn't.
College. I moved, so I found a new chiropractor. Still made frequent visits. I went in spurts because I'd get sick of going all the time. So I'd boycott for as long as I could take it. I also learned that you're supposed to have regular bowel movements and I did not. I made a few trips to the doctor and asked about my frequent exhaustion and lack of digestion. I was told to eat better and exercise. And though I probably still didn't eat as well as I should have, I did try. I was a member at Curves. Do they still have those? That was the hot thing over a decade ago. I also took up riding bicycle with Ben. He even tried to help me be a runner for a spurt there. We got into a big argument one time over it. I was probably being a baby and he didn't want to deal with me anymore. We must have worked it out because he agreed to run with me again after that. I will never be much of a runner, but I've given it a try a few times. Point of my story here is that she was no help and only sort of listened to me. So I stopped seeing her.
By now I'm in my early twenties.. working a full time job. Still having issues with my upper back and neck and being tired. Go to a new clinic and she refers me for physical therapy (I didn't really like that doctor either). So I did physical therapy, felt a little better. Found out that even though graston hurts like heck initially it did wonders. And then not long after I fell off the wagon with keeping up on the stretches. Through referrals I did find a new primary doctor and new chiropractor though! Shortly after this I had issues getting pregnant. After a few years of treatments the miracle of Theodore happened. The day we find out we're pregnant Ben's grandpa passed away :( The circle of life in full force that day. We all know those treatments probably took a huge toll on my body... mentally and physically. But it was all worth it. Theodore arrived. My grandpa passed away a few days later. At least newborns bring a ray of sunshine with them even at funerals.
After a few months I hopped on the Weight Watchers train to try and lose the weight I gained doing infertility treatments and weight from being prego. This is obviously every woman's favorite part about having a baby ;) So I was eating healthy and started running again.. Couch to 5k program. I was feeling pretty good and then my stomach took a bad turn again. This time I made it to the GI doctor. They ran some blood tests to rule out Celiac and things like that. All was good on that front. I kept a food journal for awhile and there didn't seem to be a trend. He told me to take miralax and metamucil every day and so I did just that. And it did help, so I went with it. A few months later I started having more issues with my bladder. I've always had to go a million times a day. But I got an infection and even after antibiotics I still wasn't feeling better. So then I went to a urologist. They did an ultrasound and just told me I had an overactive bladder. Which I realize sounds like NBD, but it's more than just having to go pee frequently. It had gotten to the point where it burned and always felt like I had to go even though I didn't need to. The dude put me on a med and guess what it did.. made me more constipated. Didn't we just go through this? Yes, yes we did. So I was like NOPE, not taking it. Then he told me I could get some procedure done to burn the nerve endings or cut them or something (Nerve Endings.. the theme begins). I don't remember what it was called. I just remember being a bit terrified by the thought at something going wrong. So then I did more reading and decided to cut out caffeine, alcohol, and acidic foods. And that helped A TON! I mean.. was it rough at first? of course. But it was worth it.
What year are we on? Isn't this exhausting reading all of this? Let's see... 2014. Yup it's now 2014. Ben and I had started the T25 workout program so we were obviously looking great at this point. Okay so maybe we were motivated by an upcoming vacation. Vegas! April 2014.. amazing vacation with friends at the Bellagio. I'm only telling you it's the Bellagio because it was so great and I highly recommend it to anyone. Guess what happened in May? I found out I was pregnant. WHAAAAAATT!! Mind. Blown. People can get pregnant without drugs? That's a thing? As you can imagine we were THRILLED! Like beyond. I will throw in here that many people were almost as excited as we were.. but only one person responded with jumping up and down while clapping.. my dad <3
I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy.. well for most of it. The last month felt really dramatic and long.. or maybe I'm just dramatic? It's probably the latter. But I did go into preterm labor at 35 weeks. Then the girl hung in there for awhile. I had a cold that entire month and with frequent braxton hicks I was pretty much over it. My glow started diminishing, but I still tried to throw on as much sparkle as I could. At the end it was still dramatic, but more like dramatic and quick. So yay! Violet is here.. life is rainbows and unicorns. Minus the part where we had two funerals shortly after her arrival. Our dear friend, Jenna, passed away from cancer. And Ben's parents' good friend, Honey, died from cancer about a month after that. This death theme with having babies is not cool. After that we had a pretty good 2015. I did more physical therapy end of spring/early summer and continued to see a chiropractor. Theodore adored his baby sister and we enjoyed all the milestones together as a family of four.
The rest to come in another post...
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