let's run! or walk! or something....

[CHD63]

Yay, Jan, for making it back to the gym.  Dr. Stefan (HEI internist) said to wait a month before vigorous exercise for me.  So, the week before the Symposium I will need to get off my duff and back to work on the weakening muscles!

Kay, you know you and your mom are in my prayers.  You will get back on your normal regimen after you get home and hopefully rest up a bit.  You've been on a wild ride for a couple of months now so as we say "listen to your body" and do not push beyond that fatigue wall.  Easy does it for a few weeks.

Jill, congrats on all of the good bike rides.  You are rapidly in the hot months so I hope you are taking along adequate water on your rides!

Cindy .....  Walking is what does the most for me, these days.  Glad it does for you, as well.  We have been doing a lot of walking back and forth from Seton Hall to the hospital cafeteria and/or House Clinic pharmacy, mainly just for exercise.  Hardly have to hang on to Truman anymore so that is a big improvement.  He is the slow one these days!   

Keri .....  Other than being bored watching my hair grow back in  , Truman has done well with his health issues.  I was so nervous beforehand that something else would crop up, but he has seemed to be just fine.  Still have a couple of things to check out when we get home, but no crises on this trip.  So I am grateful, once again, for the power of prayer.

Clarice

[Soundy]

Sorry to hear about your Mom , Kay ... hope she does well ... I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers ... Mom is 3 1/2 years into her fight with aggressive breast cancer and doing well ... she has been had cancer free scans and tests for a little over 2 years ...

my Girls Scout troop is working on the "In The Pink" IP ... it is learning about breast cancer , treatment and prevention ... we have a Relay information booth to set up ... we have planned to have pink hearts on a white background with names of those in the fight ... I will add a heart for your mom

somehow today we ended up with a 6 week old border collie / St Bernard cross ... gonna let her legs get a little longer and then see if she will become a walking companion ... the 2 dogs we have got are not good walkers ... 10 pound Scruffy bounces around with too much energy and trips me ... Max is 11 1/2 years old and has decided she is a better rug than dog and lays around dozing at least 2/3s of the day and has no interest in walking anywhere with me  ...hopefully this new puppy , dubbed Stella , will walk with me ...

have carried my camera with me with no luck at getting shots of the mink ... did get a buzzard sitting on a fence post ... he was not nearly as appealing as the minks are ...

[saralynn143]

Your GS activity sounds great, Soundy. My mom is also a breast cancer survivor.

Our black lab is a great walking companion, until she poops out. Then she wants to lie down and rest, and thinks we should wait for her. Sorry, Daisy, don't think so!

[Jill Marie]

Kay - Will be thinking about you and your Mom.  Boy Mom's sure are tough aren't they, she found the lump while taking care of you and didn't want to say anything as you were going through enough.  So glad you were able to be there with her as she was with you.  Hope she will be OK.  Glad you shared the info. with us so we know what's going on with you.  Take a walk when you can to de-stress.

Jan - You are on a roll for sure and soon to be among those that exercise regularly, I can just feel it!

Clarice - Glad to hear that you are doing so well and that your Hubby is fine also, or at least nothing major going on while you had your surgery and recovery.  As the doc says, take it easy, enjoy your walks together.  I ride my bike in the evening so I'm fine right now but will start carrying water when it gets warmer, thanks for the reminder.  The way the river is right now I can get water just by riding as the water is over the trail I ride on in a spot or two.  We are at near flood levels but homes will be fine. 

Soundy - Boy you get involved in lots of stuff.  I was a Girl Scout, in fact I still am an honorary member because I continued throughout high school to be a scout.  We had a Border Collie/St. Bernard mix years ago and he was a great dog.  Protective of the kids but as gentle as a lamb with them.  I tried walking with him but couldn't keep up with him on the leash, he walked great with us when we were some place we didn't need a leash.  Hope Stella works out.

Going to go barbecue some steaks, later, Jill

[Keri]

so thankful about Clarice and also Kay's mom.. hoping subsequest tests show the cancer is all gone.

Jan - so glad you got back to the gym!! Keep it up!

Jill - no long bike ride for me.. my mom was in the hospital yesterday. She will be alright (she's in a nursing home and was very agitated and disoriented in the hospital). Pretty intense day but she's more relaxed today and things are better.

I'm just sitting on my butt thinking about how I should go bike but I'm so tired. So, maybe I will, maybe I won't. I did at least bike to the hospital yesterday. It's not that far and parking is really a pain. I didn't find a place to lock my bike so I locked it to a chair in the entryway of the ER!

Wish y'all were here to tell that if I'd just get up and go do something, I'd feel better that I did. Or the other voice is saying 'It's okay to rest!'

Keri

[Kaybo]

DL-
I am ok - just wanted you to know. Mom is doing exceptionally well - went to lunch today after she got out of hospital (double mastectomy & major lymph nodes taken FRIDAY!).  Looking forward to talking to you though!

K 

[Jill Marie]

Keri - Sorry you didn't get to go on the bike ride, know you were looking forward to it.  When Mom needs you she comes first.  Seems like you are to young to have a Mom in a nursing home.  Then again my Mom was bed ridden from Arthritis since I was 5, taken care of by her children then a care home then the nursing home before she passed away at 73.  Hope your Mom is doing ok.  Had to laugh when you said you locked your bike to a chair in the ER, love your spunk!  If you rode your bike yesterday then good for you, exercise is sometimes relaxing, if you just sat on your butt and rested because you needed to then good for you, sometimes we just need to take a break. 

Kay - Glad to hear your Mom is doing ok, major surgery and life changes but sounds like she's lucky to be here with you.  As you mentioned before, a long road to go yet. 

Take care you two, Jill

[leapyrtwins]

I'm still on the exercise wagon, but have changed my path a little bit.

Since getting to the gym seems to be part of the problem - it's farther from me since I moved - I've decided that my goal is to exercise in some shape or form each day.  Some days it might be the gym, some days it might be the exercise bike in my house, my "regular" bike, or the tennis court down the street, a walk on the lake front at lunch time, etc.

I'm only on day 3, but I seem to be adapting to this goal better than the past one; it's not as inconvenient or stressful.

Hope to keep at it,

Jan

[Kaybo]

Sounds good, Jan...keep up tbe good work!

Just to keep everybody informed, this is the text I sent out earlier today:

Dr just called...not very good news...took 25 lymph nodes & ALL had cancer (dr very surprised)...will be doing radiation AND chemo - will start as soon as drain tubes out...

Pretty sad about this...

K 

[CHD63]

Kay, you know you have tons of prayers going out for both you and your mom.

Love you, Clarice

[Kaybo]

Just went walking - brought walking clothes with me here - thought it might be good to get out & get exercise and fresh air. Not sure how far I went but probably 1.5-2 miles - walked pretty fast though - except when I was texting! 

K 

[Keri]

if texting were exercise, we would surely excell and our teens would be olympians!

kay, i'm so sorry about your mom, so hard when things were looking so good from the surgery. i'm hoping the chemo and other treatments go as well as they can and the stupid cancer can be gone. getting out and walking does help the stress part of things. my prayers are with you and her. and like clarice said, many are praying.

jill m, i'm 50 , my mom  is 80. she's had MS for 40 or so years. a few years ago just totally stopped walking / functioning. plus her mind sort of went with severe dementia (which i learned wasn't just loss of memory; it's getting stuck on things and being very agitated and all the issues that go with that). she's doing a bit better than she was a few years ago, which is good. she is out of the hospital and back in the nursing home right now. before when she had MS and could still walk with a cane, she was so active and had so much 'get up and go.' although her left side didn't function well, it didn't keep her down. it's tough to see her like this, but we've settled into it now. the fact that you kids took care of your mom is really a nice and special thing, though i know it must have been really tough.

jan !! so glad for you!! day 3; that's awesome. you're back on a roll. and it is so wise to just keep active and do what is possible, not always knocking yourself just to get to the gym. and with the stack of books you mentioned on the other thread, you have lots to keep you busy on the exercise bike!

oh, and the day i was debating whether to bike or sit, i sat, then i went out and biked. was so glad i did.

i need to do somehting today.. i guess run. i'll report back!

have a good day, everyone, and kay.. keep us posted.
keri

[cindyj]

The Tai Chi is very cool!  Unfortunately, enough people did not sign up for the next session, so this was my last class   Hopefully, the one later this Summer will work out.  The instructor constantly discussed the balance benefit of Tai Chi...it was a challenge, but more of a progressive type of thing.  Very peaceful also.  We did today's class outside - was really awesome!

Kay, so sorry to hear about your mom...I hope she is healing well and that she responds well to the chemo and radiation.  I did not have chemo, but did have radiation with my second bout of breast cancer.  Do know they've come a long way with the differenty types of chemo.  Please give her my best.

Keri, sorry to hear of your mom's issues as well.  Went through some pretty tough months w/ my father n law a year ago as he was in the later stages of Alzheimer's...yes, dementia is so much more than just memory loss.  Please take care of yourself as well.

Jan!  Glad to see you're back on the fitness wagon   Keep it up!

Clarice, do you not ever slow down!  You are amazing! 

Jill, things ok your way?

Soundy, a puppy, awwww...

Sara, I've lost track, have you started back w/ your fitness program yet?  Think you were in your "rest" period...or maybe I missed something?

Have a great Memorial weekend, all!  Dancing at the Legion tomorrow night - sure they'll do something nice to honor all our servicemen/women...

Cindy

[Kaybo]

Have been walking everyday again.  Don't know how far but think I am doing pretty well.  Mom has walked the last two mornings - I walk a little ways with her and then walk her back home and then go for a REAL walk.  Today, I actually tried running a bit.  Sad attempt really but at least I did it...really don't have the OK from m y Dr again so want to go slow...

K   

[CHD63]

Still jet-lagging a bit here, but did go for a walk around the track at our nearby park.  Felt good, but once around was enough.  Lots of small children on hot wheels and little bikes made me a bit uneasy.  Do not need a fall right now ..... well, any time, for that matter ..... but hitting my head now would not be pretty. 

Cindy, I need to check out local places offering Tai Chi.  Wonder if I could do it with my permanent balance issues.

Docs told me not to lift or bend for a month so not sure what else I can do until mid-June.  Figure walking may be about it in the mean time.

Still feeling great so no excuses in a couple of weeks!!

Clarice