The Story of My Life 2013

As a final goodbye to 2013, I sit here in my first WDW half marathon shirt and wonder what 2014 will bring me in the coming year.
Last year at this time I was positive that 2013 would be a awesome year and that I was going to make it life changing and that it was! This year was a rollercoaster of emotions. Some higher than a mountain and some lower that deepest sea. God surely gave me obstacles that I never thought I would overcome, things to work on, and things to be grateful for including a new life!

I appreciate EVERY moment I had this year including even my lowest moment when I could not walk 2 feet after my emergency surgery after running 6 miles 2 days before. I never cried so hard wondering what the future had in store for me. You see I am a planner. I like to know what it coming next and feel secure but at that moment, nothing was promised to me and I had to fight. It was me, myself, and I that had to fight for my future and being positive and settings goals for myself was the only way I knew how to start paving my way and regain my life back. The diagnoses of Chrohn's is life altering and many times I find myself asking "Why me?". It has brought me to tears while running alone on a treadmill on my worst days and happy tears when I accomplish something no one thought I could do.

When I cross the finish line of a race I always cry happy tears. Some taking my breath away more than others. Those tears mean different things to me every time not only because I finished the race but because I earn that medal after every new road I travel on.

For some of you that don't know, when I ran through that finish line chute of the Disneyland Half in August it was exactly 16 weeks and to the minute that I was rushed into emergency surgery, which was my darkest moment, on that day it all changed. That day was a new beginning for me because I did not cry... I gave a big thumbs up as I crossed that finish line, laughed and smiled so big! It may be one of my proudest moments because I set out on a journey and "I" achieved it whole-heartily. I did it with friends taking care of me and asking me if  I was ok and the answer was "I feel great!" and I did.. I never felt better and it felt like a piece of me that had missing in my running puzzle was finally found.

My last half marathon was at Wine and Dine a few months ago, another milestone for me that not only made me scared but excited to do. I have always had my running girlfriend with me by my side. She keeps me in line when I am struggling and laughs with me along the way creating moments of a lifetime, but this time I was gong in solo. 13 miles of me, my iPod, and the road. It was different but with the support of texts and tweets from friends around the country while I was running I kept happy and going. That night as I came around the corner I saw the finish line lights. I kicked it into gear and sprinted like I never had before. I don't know what was in me at that moment but I as I crossed the finish line solo I yelled out a big "YES!" I proceeded to stop, laugh, cry, and then hyperventilate from excitement. My time may have been someone else's slow... but this was MY race and not anyone else's! With a half marathon Disney PR, I kicked Chrohn's ass and every other fear I had in me right in the face that night! Why? because I am a fighter, I am persistent, and yes I am a dreamer. Like Walt Disney said, "If you can dream it, you can do it!"

DO NOT tell me I can not do something.. I will prove you wrong and DO NOT tell me that Chrohn's will win over me... I will find a way!

As 2013 comes to a close I would like to thank EVERY person that has been a part of the rollercoaster ride that has brought me to where I am today. Without the support of my real family and my running family I could not have done it. I have laughed with all of you and cried with others. The friendships that I have made this year are priceless!! Not a day goes by without thinking of some of you. You all played a special part of each and every memory I had this year!

Here is a video of 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qw_uYHEtC4

(there is music so turn your volume down)

I hope you smile and laugh as I did watching the video of my best and a few worst memories of 2013. If you know me, you will know that Bon Jovi is my favorite band not only because Jon is really my secret husband, or because they are from NJ (lol) but because they always seem to find the right song to fit me and this one fits again!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you.

May 2014 be a fabulous year for each and every one of us.

May it bring you PR's

May it bring you SMILES

May it bring you friendships that last a lifetime

May it bring you prosperity

and May it bring you love like you never dreamed of before

 

 

Keep calm and have a ...

It's Sunday and I'm pretty sure no one is doing what I am doing on a Sunday. While everyone is out running, shopping, and watching football or a movie I am preparing for a colonoscopy Monday morning before the sun comes up and crows... Well what ever they do?!

UG yes! Since it has been 18 weeks since my resectioning surgery/ Chrohn's diagnoses. I must have this test to make sure Humpty Dumpty was put back together again and correctly. 

I am telling you that I am not looking forward to this. Even though I have had one done before, about 8 yrs ago, it's not any more fun the second time around. 

1. 

It's 12:00 noon and here is just one of the bottles I am supposed to drink. After drinking a half of one I started to doctor myself and think "Wait! I am supposed to drink 2 of these? I am only 105 lbs & a Chrohns patient, not the normal 200 lbs grown man who can chug this!" As I am writing this I am already getting gut wrenching pains. Yeah today is really going to suck!

1:00 pm Ok I'm back! So I only drank half of that bottle. I just couldn't do it. It tasted like really really sour lemonade & full of saccharin and sucrose (something a Chrohns person is NOT supposed to have) OMG- ick! GROSS.

2:00 pm Now it's time for the second dose. I keep trying to psych myself out but it's not working. I stuck a straw in the bottle thinking I would drink it fast- nope, that didn't work. This stuff is horrible! 

4:00 pm So this is totally not fair... My family is having ribs and BBQ for dinner. My house smells like the Whispering Canyon in the Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World (yes there is always a correlation between something and WDW). Considering I have to be on a liquid diet until tomorrow's test I made my daughter go out and get me some wonton soup from our local Chinese restaurant. The salt was a good change from the sucrose induced drink they gave me to drink. I am getting cranky from all this sugar and no real food. 

I swear I am going to go to a buffet tomorrow! 

I don't think I have to drink any more of that stuff. Ewww! The thought of it makes me shiver. 

So it's 6:40am and I am heading off to the surgery center. I was up all night and my nerves are shot. Wish me luck! 

So I just walked in and did all if the paper work and they told me my appointment isn't until 8:15am. What? Lovely.. More nerves.

Ok it's time to go in. TTYL

So that wasn't the best experience, it wasn't the worst either. 

It was kind of what I expected. As soon as I came in I had to hand over my belongings. I should of left my purse in the car when my husband dropped me off but I didn't. I had to make a itemized list of what was in my purse which was fine buy then I had to count my money in my wallet in front of 2 nurses and have them witness and sign off on the amount I had. Interesting. 

The nurse rushed me through pre-op questions and then handed me a gown to put on. The temperature in this place must have been like 60 degrees. Brrr! 

So then the fun part came. IV time. I always try to tell them to use pediatric needles and let them know where my good veins are. She didn't listen.  I asked the nurse nicely not to put in in my hand, and of course after a bit of an argument and my arm turning colors, while on the other arm the blood pressure cuff was squeezing me like a python ...I gave in and started to tear up. After it was in he brought me a tissue and asked what I was in for and why. After I told her that I was in to do a follow up to a surgery I had she asked "When & What happened? What did you have?" I told her I had a resection after going septic on Mother's Day and she said "OMG do you have Chrohns?" I replied "Yes" and now all of a sudden she became compassionate and told me she was sorry and now she understood why I was acting the way I was. I all of a sudden started to tear up even more. I was having flashbacks of that hospital ordeal. 

I am not a fan of hospitals not procedures. I hate it. 

The anesthesiologist came in and talked to me and again I had to go thru my Schpeel of how I don't wake up easily and even though you think I am awake .. I'm not! Why do they NOT listen to you? They look as if you are crazy? 

Oxygen on, IV's going and off I went into a private room. The room had tons of TV's and nurses. As everyone was walking around one of the nurses came over and started to push the anesthesia into my IV. The last thing I said was "man this stuff burns... And I went out!"

I woke up as scheduled a few minutes later in another room groggy as all hell and of course they were trying to push me out and hurry me out. I started to tear up again because I wanted to yell out "omg chill out!" 

My husband helped me to the car where I immediately asked him to stop for food. I was hungry after not eating for 2 days. 

Next stop... Panera for a Cinnamon Crunch bagel with hazelnut cream cheese stat! 

I see the doctor in another week to talk about a few biopsies he tool but he told my husband that everything looked good and I was healing nicely! No gaps, no holes, and no detours! (lol)  

I guess Humpty Dumpty was put together again.