Just a "zebra" trying my best to live life to the fullest with EDS and POTS...and loving the ride.

Posts Tagged ‘Mishawaka’

Five For Friday 7/5/19

Written by Katie. Posted in Five For Friday

1. Medical Stuff:

  • Prolo on Monday. Dr. C thinks things got stretched out from labor, and I have since sprained my hip and both SI joints. Prolo in the hip capsule, both SI joints, and groin.
  • 1 Day of PT. OMT only since it was the day after prolotherapy and I felt it was best to give it a chance to work.
  • Lots of time on my trusty heating pad this week.
  • 1 shrink visit. Starting to taper one of my meds. Fingers crossed.
  • 1 Infusion. Had to wait to start while they called my docs since my blood pressure was too low. They determined I was okay enough to do the infusion and thankfully did not have to go anywhere.

Five For Friday 1/5/18

Written by Katie. Posted in Five For Friday

Happy New Year, friends and family!

1. Medical Stuff:

  • Still on my PT hiatus for three more days!
  • I had prolotherapy today! The last time I went was February. This blows my mind because when I first started going in 2011, I had to have treatments every six weeks. That’s some major progress. Today, we did my neck, jaw, thoracic, and SI Joints. Definitely worth the trip to Indiana.
  • Three Days of Home Rehab. Tuesday marked my first workout of 2018 and it wasn’t pretty but I made it. I tried being a “normal” person the last two weeks, by eating my way through Christmas and New Year, not working out, and lazing around with family and friends.  Well, that was dumb. LIKE REALLY DUMB.

    Defective collagen is no joke, and I am not stronger than it. I tried to show it who was boss, but my body showed me who was boss right back. My family kept telling me to wear my neck brace yesterday, and I kept stubbornly refusing while holding my head up with my hand.

    I remember the day I was diagnosed with EDS by my specialist, who also has EDS himself, and he told me that I’ll find out pretty quickly how many days I can go without being active before I feel like my body is coming unglued. For him, it was three days.

    Well, he was right. For me, it is FOUR. After four, I started feeling weaker, and having more symptoms. By last night (14 days later), I was in tears, and was really, REALLY mad at myself.

    Today, I decided that the anger was no longer productive, and I begrudgingly strapped on that neck brace and put in an hour of cardio and strengthening…And guess what? I immediately started functioning better after my workout.

    So once again, my body showed me I am not a “normal” person. I work out to stand up, function, and ultimately live. And the more I work with my body like it’s my best friend, rather than try to show it up, I will be better off. So no, I’m not normal. I’m a defective zebra…But a badass zebra at that.

    2. My brother had an imaginary friend as a kid named Herkey Morocco. Now his best friend is a reality. Ladies and gents, meet Senor Herkey Morocco Dama, my new beautiful nephew. That makes two dog nephews and seven human nieces. I’m a lucky aunt. #adoptdontshop

3. This week was a lot less about being lazy, and a lot more about being productive. Renewing teacher certs, replacing my car battery, getting back on the treadmill and bike, scheduling appointments, cleaning out my drawers and closet, taking a trip to Goodwill, working in my classroom for four hours…It feels good to have gotten some of those “nagging” jobs done that I have been putting off for a while.
Funny story while Brad was finishing some laundry this week:
Brad: Where does your unicorn onesie go?
Me: In the bin labeled onsies.
Brad: WTF. We have a onesie bin in our basement?!?!
Me: Doesn’t everyone?
Brad was NOT amused. I laughed so hard.
4. We rang in the New Year in Grand Ledge with dear friends. We have been following this same tradition for as long as I have been with Brad. This year was all about Cards Against Humanity and therefore, hilarity. Lots and lots of ridiculousness and hilarity.
5. If you had to choose one word for 2018, what would you choose?
Last year, my word was SHINE. This year, I was between faith and action, but after much reflection, I decided on FAITH for 2018.
I am excited to see what this year brings.

Five For Friday 3/11/16

Written by Katie. Posted in Five For Friday

1. Medical Stuff: It was just one of those weeks when I felt like a lived at the doctor.

  • 1 Day of Home Rehab. Treadmill! Side walking and backwards walking too…
  • I saw Larry on Tuesday. He just makes going to the doctor a blast. We laughed so hard as he worked on my neck, head, and jaw. He’s good for the body AND mind. Those kind of doctors are gems.
  • I had my second infusion on Wednesday. I am learning. Get it in my non-dominant hand, and I can still work on the computer. I did feel much better after both bags of saline.
  • Brad and I traveled to Indiana Thursday night for a Friday morning appointment with a new doc; Dr. Klauer who specializes in TMJ and sleep disorders. Wellll, after four hours, a VERY extensive exam, and going over all of the results, we came up with a plan: 1) I need a sleep study to see if EDS is affecting my breathing when I sleep. 2) I have a severe deviated septum and bone spur and need surgery. (Sigh). 3) I am having a new splint made for my jaw pain that will take all of the pressure off the back of my teeth and mouth to allow my jaw muscles and ligaments to relax at night. Let me just say that they did an amazing job, and I really liked Dr. Klauer, but as many of you know, having chronic illnesses is NOT cheap.

Pain is Real. So is Hope.

Written by Katie. Posted in Ehlers-Danlos Appointments, Prolotherapy

I returned to Mishawaka yesterday for more prolotherapy. I have been struggling with my first ribs, neck pain, jaw pain, and headaches lately so I was relieved it was time for shots again, as twisted as that sounds.  I worked all the way there in my benefit planning world, knowing I would not be able to move much the rest of the day.