With Thanksgiving next week I wanted to share what I’m most thankful for: it’s my health. It’s true that without health we have nothing.
A few weeks ago I had a health scare. I was terrified. As you know I have significant — yet manageable — health issues (my deal here) yet with a business, a blog, a little girl, a husband, life, friends, my mom and dad both relocating nearby, travel and I’m sure more, I put myself last and majorly over did it. I realized I’m no use to anyone — my daughter, my business, anyone — if I’m not healthy.
What happened:
A few weekends ago I was uncomfortably exhausted. That Monday I had plans to visit a close friend who is a business owner and mom of a one-year old — and, she’s fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. True to who she is, she’s kicking its ass (thank g-d). On my way to see her, I freaked about my health. I thought that every symptom I had two years ago when I wound up with temporary paralysis a few years ago was presenting again. I spent a large part of my friend’s chemo treatment reigning in my panic attack and realizing something so important.
I finally realized I need to make myself a priority, I need to focus on “me”. I didn’t listen to my body, which had been telling me for weeks that I needed to slow down. Are you that kind of person, too? When I came to my senses I took control: I made appointments with my neurologist, my counselor, got two massages, worked out, and skipped a few blog posts to go to sleep at 9:30 pm (when blogging typically starts).
Plus, this Monday, I had a major break through: for at least a year I’ve felt tired and my memory has been awful. I’ve felt stupid. I forget words (and I’m a words girl!), names, situations, you name it. During a visit to a neuro specialist on Monday, he was shocked at my dosage of Lyrica, an anti-seizure med that minimizes my feelings of burning, tingling, etc on my skin. Apparently my unusually high dosage (he’s never given it to anyone) — recommended by a different neuro — is likely the result of every single mental issue I’ve been feeling as well as my extreme exhaustion (ok, totally recognize the fact I’m a semi-crazy lady who tries to do it all, ha!). When he told me that, I cried. The relief was overwhelming. This dumb, tired, groggy version of me is drugs. Dosage minimized asap.
Do you ever put your issues at bay so you can deal with other things, be it family or work priorities? My friend got diagnosed with Hodgkin’s nearly two years ago after starting to see doctors for various symptoms and another new friend mentioned she recently dealt with a brain tumor (luckily, benign). These women went from doctor to doctor, knowing in their gut something was going on. I’m so proud of them for fighting for themselves, and it’s encouragement and inspiration to me - and hopefully you — to take care of you, whether that means more relaxation or finally making that doctor or dentist appointment you’ve been avoiding.
Be thankful for your health, as it’s one to those things I never realized how grateful I was for it until I lost it.
