Medical Test Done Like I Run...

This is a post from two weeks ago I wasn't sure I wanted to share yet since we won't get a diagnosis until November 26, but I decided it might help others or at least entertain them!

Yesterday started at 4am! Not for a race (which will be this Saturday) but to drive three hours for a "NUCLEAR" scan! My appointment for my thyroid ultrasound was at 8am and I was told to allow thirty minutes for registration, as the hospital has a new records system called epic! Epic was a good name because the registration process took two hours.  Two hours sitting in the waiting room, just to be taken to a room with a radioactive sign on the door and given a magic pill.

The pill was so magic that the guy wouldn't even touch the lead bottle and wouldn't help me open it when I couldn't get the "safety" cap off. When I asked for assistance he told me thst he couldn't touch the bottle. I then asked him how the bottle got on the table if he couldn't touch it.  He didn't have an answer fo that but did advise i could get the bottle open by pushing the cap down and up at the same time.  I got the bottle open and the guy reminded me again not to touch the pill. Really? I asked if its not safe to touch then how the hell was I supposed to swallow the pill since my toungue would be in contact with the pill! He was not impressed with my questions of the obvious and replied the test was medically necessary and take the pill.

It was a blue and white pill. I took it then was told to come back in four hours for my scan and uptake test. Oh and by the way you'll have to come back tomorrow to finish the test. Never have I had a medical test that was so slow to complete! Slow to get results back yes, but to administer? I could run two half marathons and clean my house in the time it took to finish with this test.

Apparently,  when you ask too many obvious questions you get the new tech that does not speak a great deal of English when you come back. She was very nice and only had to repeat one of the scans, but unlike the guy from the morning she attempted to explain what was going on. She worked like I run- slow and methodical. The test got done and unlike the couple of hours I wait to check my race time, I will wait a couple weeks for the results from the magic pill. Guess running slow has prepared me once again for waiting to get to the finish line!

One Step Forward, One Step Back

I was supposed to run 12 miles last Saturday,  but instead walked 2.5 and started to bleed from my biopsy.  I didn't realize that your uterus would take so long to heal from a "minimum invasive procedure," but it did take two rounds to get the sample. Note to anyone reading this. .. minimum invasive procedure is a relative term, meaning its going to hurt like hell, but the insurance company says we can do it in the office with no pain meds! I had the biopsy Thursday evening and Wednesday was the first day of no bleeding and no cramping. One step closer to answers, one step further away from my marathon training.

Finding answers is not easy, but like my workout plan, I keep checking off tests and possibilities.  Its a tiring and frustratingly long process, which is probably like training for a marathon. Unlike finishing a race, I'm not sure what emotions will be on the other side of whatever diagnosis I'm given. Like a finish line in a race, I would like to get a diagnosis quickly so I can get on with my life!

Lots Going on and 135 Days Until I Run A Marathon

Its been awhile since I've written anything on this blog. I've been a little busy tracking down some health issues. I've been pretty exhausted for the last couple months and at first I thought it was starting a new job and increasing mileage,  but a blood test indicated that I have thyroid issues. A subsequent visit to the doctor has lead to more tests and a working diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. Yeah something new. Since treatment depends on what is causing the hyperthyroidism,  I'm trudging through appointments and tests one at a time.

With 135 days until my first marathon, one of my biggest fears is correcting the thyroid will interrupt my training, or worse, cancel it all together. I'm too far in now to bail. I completed my first ten miler of the training plan and will run my third half marathon of the year on November 9. I religiously meet my running group bright and early Saturday mornings and run the proscribed distance.  Ironically,  its the training for the marathon that has put this most recent health crisis in perspective. Its early and dark when we meet. The only thing I know is the distance for the day. I trust our pace leader to lead us, while I put one foot in front of the other. The sun come up half way through the run. We finish the run with smiles and promises that we'll stick with the program.

How has marathon training prepared me for this recent health crisis? I've met the doctors in the dark about my condition. The doctors, like my pace group leader, has the plan and since this is not my area of expertise,  I have to trust the doctor will make sure I finish in good shape. With each new ordered test and appointment I approach them with the same mindset as the long run...just keep putting one foot in front of the other. This mindset has served me well through marathon training and I hope it will find me smiling and happy with the treatment plan.

I'll keep y'all posted on the running and the treatment.  Three more tests left and a follow up to come, but if you want to see what gives me the mental toughness to deal with these medical issues, come watch me run in Columbus on November 9.

173 Days Left and a Swollen Foot

This week's long run was 5miles. Saturday was a wasted day at the doctor's office so, I had to run it by myself today. 173 days seems like a long time away, but in marathon training at my age and medical issues, I'm not sure I can afford an time off to nurse an injury.  So, of course that means my right foot decides to show itself, and not in a good way! Not sure if my ankle brace for the bone fragments has become obsolete, or if I stepped wrong, but there's brusing and a bone sticking out.

Now for most people I'm sure a bruised foot with a lump after running is a trip to the doctor, but since I spent yesterday there I'm really not in the mood to hear "ice and rest!" I'm also not in the mood to hear "why run a marathon, " so I'm treating my foot at home! I do have a doctorate degree after all (okay, so its not a medical degree but it should count for something, right)!  I've manipulated the bone somewhere close to back in place, and as you see in the picture I'm icing it. If that doesn't do the trick I have a couple orthopedic boots to select from. This is not my first rodeo with orthopedic issues and I have amassed a great deal of equipment to refrain from giving money, that could be spent on a race or new running outfit, to a doctor!

So here I sit! I'm making steak for supper and going to bed early. I hear that proteins help you heal faster! There are two thirty minute runs on slate for later this week so, say a little prayer that my foot is ready. There are only 173 more days until my first marathon and I need to be in tip top shape!

Doctor Visit, Up and 174 Days to Go

I was supposed to run five miles today with my pace group, but I went to the doctor's instead. I did my 30 minutes Thursday, but its been a rough week and everyone could tell. My principal told me to go home and rest this weekend.  No football game tonight, just rest and take Monday too if I need it! (Have I mentioned how much I love my new school) My stomach has been bothering me and I feel like I have a piece of candy stuck in my throat.

I slept in until 830am, ate, showered and went to the doctor.  The doctor took one look at my throat and said it was obvious I had strep! I was surprised by her announcement because I haven't been running a fever and my throat doesn't hurt. Blood work doesn't show elevated white blood cells and they never ran a strep test. An antibiotic shot and steroid shot and a four hour wait later no one knows what's wrong with my stomach or why I've put on about ten pounds in the last month or why by 8pm I look six months pregnant.  I should of stayed in Albany and run my five miles. It would of been cheaper and I'd probably feel better!

Because four hours in the doctor's office wasn't enough, we went to get Zeke a phone. While we were there my husband got me an Up band to see if that will provide some insights into my health. It's a cool gadget and now I don't have to deplete my cell phone battery when I run. Super excited to try it out tomorrow when I do my five miles because in 174 days it will be tracking my first marathon! I'll keep y'all posted on how it worked tomorrow!

The Marathon Journey Begins:180 Days of Full Crazy

There are 180 days until the Albany Marathon. There are 180 days before I earn a coveted 26.2 sticker for my car. There are 180 days before I run a marathon in our new home town. There are 180 days full of self doubt that I can run a marathon. There are 180 days of training ahead to counter the self doubt that I'm going to run a marathon (for real this time)!

This time is different. I have taken steps to ensure I will make it to the start line and to the finish line. I have joined a training group for the Albany Marathon. I put my money where my feet shall go by joining this group. My first run was Saturday and I'm with group six (my favorite number). The race director is in my group and she is very reassuring this is the perfect first marathon! None of the people in the group look like elite runners, all have jobs and kids so, if they can do it so can I!

The course is flat and actually runs down our new street. It will take me five, ten minutes tops to get to the starting line and even shorter to get home. There's a seven hour time limit which sounds just about right. Friends and family can come cheer me on then come back to our new house to celebrate the fact I will no longer be a marathon hopeful, but a marathon completer!

180 days is a school year away and I've done pleanty of school years! I'll be posting updates on my training for the next 180 days if your interested in watching me be full crazy instead of half crazy!  Wish me luck!

Its Been Awhile

I'm home for the weekend! That doesn't sound like a big deal, but this is the first week I "lived" in south Georgia.  The rest of the family stayed behind at our house in Griffin. The three hour one way drive to work was getting exhausting so we had to do something, and that something was me renting a room in Camilla until we close on our new house in south Georgia.

My husband changed shifts to a weekend shift so the children were not unsupervised. I call every night to check in, but its been awhile since my husband and I have spent more than a night apart. Try like 11 years that we have gone with seeing each other everyday.  The longest stint away might have been three days tops. Poor thing, he has the hard job here at home with the kids. I just miss them and worry, which come to think of it, its been awhile since I've had to worry that the house will still be standing upon my return!

I'm enjoying the new things I'm learning as an assistant principal, but its also been awhile since I've done my typical hobbies. Writing, running, baking and knitting are rarely happening. I'm busy from 7am to 5pm and then I'm tired and ready for a nap by 8.  Is this what it feels like to get old, or is it just adjusting to all the changes?

We are hoping that by Labor Day we will all be settled in south Georgia and that it will be awhile before we're seperated again!