3 Month Anniversary

It’s been 3 months today!

Crazy how quick (and slow) time goes.

I’m making a lot of good progress. This week I went back to the pool to swim for the first time. It was very scary for me to push myself to go since I didn’t feel very good at it even before the surgery, but I did it! I was very slow, but I went and swam for an hour despite the cough. A very nice woman I had met there beforehand heard my story and told me I made her day. Yay!

I also am back to weight lifting and body pump! I’ve built myself up to be almost back at the weight I was using previously except for a few tracks. I can also do 7 pull ups (where I was at 10 beforehand). Overall I would say I’m 85% back to normal, which is pretty incredible when I take step back to think about it.

The main challenges now are this persistent cough and lack of ability to sleep. I saw an ENT and pulmonologist this week and no one seems to know what’s happening. I don’t have an infection as far as they can tell, have not had any fevers, and the last lung x-ray showed great improvement with no sign of pneumonia or fluid. Sigh. After much deliberation and apprehension, I’ve been taking prednisone (steroid) for a few days and it doesn’t seem to be helping either, meaning it isn’t asthma or the autoimmune. The doctors are stumped as am I. I’ve been getting into such intense cough spurts, my body is sore and I’m afraid I’m going to give myself a hernia. It’s never felt like this. So strange.

Alas the pulmonologist has me increasing the inhaler and staying on the pred for a few more days at a higher dose. I don’t want to, but I need to figure this out. The ENT says I might be colonized by some bacteria but he said it’s not that abnormal, especially after surgery, and he doesn’t want to treat me for it unless necessary, so antibiotics for that will be next.

The frustrating thing is that it wakes me up and then I’m up for a few hours coughing, which also doesn’t help all the anxiety. Alas I’m still maintaining my meditation practice (which is a constant gratitude for me – I can’t imagine handling all this without it) and regulating as best as I can.

Jeremy left today (he has 2 or 3 shifts left until his company closes it’s doors). Since we were both pretty stressed, I think it’s good that he has a distraction and I don’t have anyone to snap at lol.

I’m trying to give myself some time to take a break and rest as a way to allow my body to heal since I can’t seem to sleep. I have tried pretty much everything from cbd and melatonin, to unisom as well as all the “sleep preparation” activities they talk about. I wasn’t sleeping well before the surgery either, so I’m not that surprised. I just want to set my body up for success to heal as best as possible.

I am also giving myself this time to step back and think about what I realllllly want to do long term. I’m considering going back to school and looking at different industries; trying to make a list of companies I’m really passionate about. I know everything will even out eventually and the universe has a plan. I am not one to sit around and wait for something to happen, but I am trying to listen.

Here is a pic of us celebrating my last day and pretty Oregon snow