How 20 Years of Chronic Health Issues Helped Me Through the Pandemic

 

 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 

I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

 

 I want to mention that since Blogger changed to a new format for posting, if you can click on each picture if you care to enlarge it......

  I know this has been an terrible year for so many people......

Many people have lost their jobs, loved ones, their homes, their physical and mental health and their way of life.....

Some feel they have lost their freedom....freedom to go where they want to go and their choice to do so.....

Some feel they have been cheated....

Some feel this is the worse year of their lives....

I am NOT one of those people.....

We are all in the same storm but we are all not in the same boat.... 

 For me, It's Sprinkling.....

For many of you, your way of life ended rather abruptly.....

For me, my way of life started to change over 20 years ago when health issues reared their ugly heads.....

Over 20 years ago, I started have major GI issues which lead to gall bladder removal surgery which should have helped but it only caused more issues......

Because I had a Necrotic or "dead" gall bladder, that made me susceptible to what is called Post Gall Bladder syndrome.....

Putting it rather bluntly and not so delicately, after eating a meal, I had to be within 30 minutes of a bathroom.....

Another name for Post Gall Bladder syndrome is "Dumping" syndrome.....

 

Yes, you got it.....massive diarrhea after eating.....

Normal laxatives do not control it and neither does diet.....

Because it is call Bile Salt diarrhea.... 

after your gall bladder is removed, bile is "Dumped" directly into the intestines and in some cases, acts like a laxative....

Ironically, certain cholesterol medication helps as it binds with the bile lessening it's laxative effect........

But does not get rid of the issue.....

That was when I realized that I was no longer able to eat out in restaurants or even travel anywhere, without knowing where a bathroom would be, comfortably.........

So at that point in time, we stopped going on vacations and eating in restaurants and started to order take home so we could eat in the privacy of our own home.....

My Gall Bladder surgery then lead to another medical issue....

I developed what they originally thought was one ventral hernia from the gall bladder surgery because of lifting patients as I worked as a Rehab Nurse........

After suffering bouts of abdominal pain and vomiting, fearing that I would have to have surgery on an emergency basis, I elected to have hernia repair surgery.....

Well, it turned out that I had 4 abdominal hernias and ended up with a mess system inserted to more or less hold me together and an 8 inch incision......

I thought this might ease my GI issues......

Wrong again.....

I was then diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, an auto immune disease...

So essentially, I have not been able to eat out in restaurants or gone on vacation in over 20 years.....

I had to change my life style to accommodate my health issues.....

I learned to not eat at all before going anywhere......

Even if we were not going out until the evening, I do not eat......

So you see, I do not miss being able to go out to dinner with family and friends or go on vacation because I elected to stop doing that a long time ago......

 Did it bother me???

Not in the slightest!!

Luckily, we live where we do because we are surrounded by all types of restaurants and eateries that offer Take Out and if they didn't before this Pandemic, they sure as heck do now......

I truly enjoy being able to eat food from a restaurant in my own home and not having to hear every Tom, Dick and Harry's conversation because of crowded seating, not having to wait for the meal to be served or the check to be brought to us and also not having to put up with unruly children whose parents let them run wild......

These were always my pet peeves about going to a restaurant.... 

And I have NO desire to Travel....

Been there, done that when the boys were young and that is when I felt it was important to travel, creating wonderful memories for my sons....

And to travel now with just Joe......

OMG!!!!!

That would be a nightmare as we do not like any of the same things....

I would want to go to historical places and museums and he would be bored to death and we would then be fighting all the time....more so than we do already!!!

Right now being retired is like being on a permanent Stacation for me!!!!

As the years went by, I then started to have pain in my knee which was making it very painful to walk.....

I was diagnosed over 8 years ago with severe osteoarthritis in my right knee with almost no cartilage  left in the joint......

Bone on bone and needing a joint replacement.....

I decided I was going to put off my surgery as long as I possibly could and try to have it right before I retired at 62 years old.....

As time went on, the cortisone shots that I was taking every 4 months were not lasting as long as previously and walking became very painful......

Again, I had to change my life style and stop going anywhere which required walking for any type of distance....

I could not even go shopping where I would be on my feet for more than a half hour continuously.....

You can see that because of this, I was forced to stay home as much as possible.....

Because of all of these health issues, I poured myself into creating a home that I would not want to leave......

A home that I viewed as my haven, my sanctuary, a place where I would be so content and happy in that rI would not miss being able to leave it......

That was when I made my home into what I call my own Victorian Bed and Breakfast....

If I could not travel then I wanted to be able to live in a place that I would want to stay in if I could travel.....

Other than going to work, I was pretty much not leaving our home.....

Again, luckily I live where I do and have The Mohegan Sun Arena 5 minutes down the road from us...

Joe and I looked at that as a blessing and that we would be stupid not to take advantage of seeing any entertainment that came into the Arena......

We are also lucky to have the F. M.Kirby Center for the Performing Arts only 10 minutes away from us so we started to see shows and concerts there......

During this time, this is what I learned......

Then in February of 2019, my Life Changed in an Instant.......

I was having such pain upon walking that I was scheduled for a Dr.'s appointment to see if fluid could be aspirated from my knee.... 

The surgeon was unable to do so....

That meant that my knee had deteriorated to a condition where I needed the knee replacement surgery soon and that I was not going to get any relief from the pain and pressure until I had the surgery......

That also meant that I could barely walk without limping and experiencing pain.....

That also meant that since I could barely walk, how could I possibly continue to work?????

Simple.....

I was no longer physically able to work.........

Life changes in an Instant......

 

 In my case, it was an hour and a half.......

In that hour and a half.......

I had an unsuccessful aspiration of my right knee.....

I had a note stating that I was not able to work because knee pain until impending knee replacement surgery

Had a battery of  Xrays done

Scheduled a date for my surgery

 

 Scheduled appointments for Joint Class, Anesthesia consult, History, Physical and examination and blood work and other testing.....

That was the last day that I worked.....

For most of 2019, I had mobility issues first because of the need for surgery and then because of the surgery and recovery period.....

So for almost 9 months or so, I was home bound with only going to Dr.'s appointment and outpatient physical therapy.....

I know many of you feel that this year, 2020, has been the worst year of your life.....

And rightfully so but for me, 2019 was one of the worst years of my life.....

I will not go into the details of losing my job, my mobility, a family member and also possibly losing the chance to become a grandparent....

You can read about it HERE......

I started 2020 with renewed energy and hope and chose POSITIVITY as my theme for the year as 2019 was filled with so much Negativity for me!!

I decided not to choose a Word of the Year and went with choosing a Word for each month which I must say did help me maintain my positivity through out this year.....

I officially Retired at the end of January when I turned 62 years old even though I resigned from my job in August of 2019.....

I was finally free to do what I wanted, when I wanted and to catch up on my 2-3 Year To Do List.....

I posted this at the beginning of 2020 and I feel that it held true for the entire year for me....

I, personally, have not had much in my life change since the pandemic started......

I am a Home Body and for the first year since I stopped working and retired, I truly was only leaving my house about once or twice a week......

Before Retirement, I hated my job so much that I used to try to dream up what crime I could commit so I would get a sentence of House Arrest!!

Now I was finally living my Dream!!!

I would have spent 2020 pretty much doing exactly what I did do and that was staying home and enjoying the Haven that I created for myself.....

I had already given up traveling, eating in restaurants and as part of our Early Retirement plan, I had greatly curtailed any shopping I was doing..... 

I had no problem whatsoever staying home and away from people.....

I worked for over 41 years in a profession where I dealt with people at their worst.....

When they were ill....

So I had no problem not being around people.....

In fact, I truly needed a break from dealing with people.....

I still feel that way because of seeing all the negativity and ranting that goes on on social media about anything and everything and I feel sorry for these people who are apparently so miserable that they constantly have to complain.....

 

I have not been bored......

In fact, I have been so busy that I don't know how I did everything that I did and worked too.....

I have embraced this year as a time to recharge, reflect and make decisions about how I want to live out the remainder of my life.....

There have been many BLESSINGS this year too and I choose to focus on them....

 

 I feel like the last 20 years of my life has prepared me for 2020.....

I guess you can say that I had already adjusted my life style to deal with this year.....

Who knew?????

I know so many of you were not ready for that change of life style.....

BUT life is all about how you chose to live it.....

Do you choose to be negative, angry and resentful?????

 

 Or do you chose to see things as an opportunity to seriously look at your life and decide what is really important????

And remember....

Just because the calendar year is about to change, that does not mean that everything will miraculously return to "Normal" 

 

Whatever " Normal" was.....

Personally, I think the "normal" that most Americans were living was not working....

We were an incredibly "Busy" society but what were we "busy" doing.....

Living at a super fast pace, running here and there and doing this and that.....

I think we needed to Stop

 And hit that Pause bottom......

 And truly take a look at how we were living.....

Maybe we all need to create a new "Normal" for ourselves and instead of complaining about 2020, make 2021 an adventure in creating a better life for ourselves and those we love and care about no matter what is happening in this world.....

 

 I think this was a GOOD year for children.....

A year of learning a lesson about Life....

For the last few generations now, we have been raising a population of people who were used to getting what they wanted, when they wanted it and when they became adults, they were not equipped to handle Life...

Because you do not always get what you want in Life!!!!

 Life, in general, is HARD!!

I hope that the children of this Pandemic, and some adults too, will learn to NOT take things for granted....

Like spending TIME with their Families.....

Their Friends....

And not put so much importance on material things.....

We had become a ME ME ME society and I truly hope that this turns around and people are less selfish....

You can dwell on the Bad of this year and remain "stuck" where you are or you can embrace the Good of this year and move forward.....

I decided that I will not be doing a Word of the Month this year but I will be selecting a Theme and going back to choosing One Little Word for 2021....

And I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......

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