Great news from my surgeon when I saw him earlier this week. Looks like everything is on track for a good recovery. He also said that I can start with some light exercise which is a good thing as I had already been walking up to 7 km a day when I saw him.
With this news I have started going to a local gym once a day for 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of granny weights (to start with - on the advice of my surgeon). The cardio helps burn off cortisol and adrenaline that are some of the by products of the fight or flight response triggered by worries about my health etc... and the weights will help me convert the energy from my high calorie diet to muscle mass instead of fat.
My body continues to adapt to the new plumbing so much so that I have been able to expand my diet to include more fibrous and starchy foods and less of the food that is blended beyond belief! I have also relaxed more and am able to appreciate and enjoy this time off from work as an opportunity to rest and heal while also still working on a couple of (fun) projects.
Tina and I are continuing with adoption. We have completed our home study and are in the process of creating our adoption profile. Getting much closer to entering the domestic adoption pool of wanna-be adoptive parents.
I am also researching elements of permaculture to create a garden design for a couple of friends of ours. There is something fascinating and nourishing about applying the principles of design to something that will be a living collection of organisms that will produce food at the end of the season.
So I find myself in a pretty good frame of mind these days which I am grateful for. One thing though that I am finding annoying/struggling with is some pretty disrupted sleep. I tend to wake up 5-6 times a night due to two things... very intense dreams and needing to empty the ileostomy (at least once a night right now). This is not the first time I have dealt with disrupted sleep and I believe that as my body adapts to the ileostomy, my medical situation stabilizes, and the adoption process unfolds my sleep will stabilize as well.
It's odd too. During my waking hours I feel pretty grounded and have a good degree of confidence about the future. I am also not in touch with much felt sense of anxiety or fear (tight chest, elevated heart rate etc...) about my health or the future. As a result I tend to go about my day with other activities and don't devote much effort to processing this information... okay to be honest there is some chatter in my head about some of the medical possibilities but there is not much "umph" behind it.
Judging from the story lines though of the 5 or 6 showings of Dan's subconscious per night I think this is where the heavy lifting is being done on my fears, anxieties and feelings of hurt/loss associated with my medical journey at the moment and our (Tina and my) status as wanna-be adoptive parents. While I appreciate the part of me that is choosing to do this heavy lifting I wish it would turn down the volume or reduce the number of showings per night.
In the event that my wishes aren't answered immediately ;) I am going to see if doing some of the heavy lifting during the day might result in some relief. Along these lines I am going to continue with regular physical activity plus incorporating some deep abdominal breathing and journal writing each day AND last doing some more blogging. So no BIG changes... simply re-incorporating some tools that I have found to be helpful before.
Here is a picture of Tina and I out and about on walk in Lynn Canyon.
With this news I have started going to a local gym once a day for 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of granny weights (to start with - on the advice of my surgeon). The cardio helps burn off cortisol and adrenaline that are some of the by products of the fight or flight response triggered by worries about my health etc... and the weights will help me convert the energy from my high calorie diet to muscle mass instead of fat.
My body continues to adapt to the new plumbing so much so that I have been able to expand my diet to include more fibrous and starchy foods and less of the food that is blended beyond belief! I have also relaxed more and am able to appreciate and enjoy this time off from work as an opportunity to rest and heal while also still working on a couple of (fun) projects.
Tina and I are continuing with adoption. We have completed our home study and are in the process of creating our adoption profile. Getting much closer to entering the domestic adoption pool of wanna-be adoptive parents.
I am also researching elements of permaculture to create a garden design for a couple of friends of ours. There is something fascinating and nourishing about applying the principles of design to something that will be a living collection of organisms that will produce food at the end of the season.
So I find myself in a pretty good frame of mind these days which I am grateful for. One thing though that I am finding annoying/struggling with is some pretty disrupted sleep. I tend to wake up 5-6 times a night due to two things... very intense dreams and needing to empty the ileostomy (at least once a night right now). This is not the first time I have dealt with disrupted sleep and I believe that as my body adapts to the ileostomy, my medical situation stabilizes, and the adoption process unfolds my sleep will stabilize as well.
It's odd too. During my waking hours I feel pretty grounded and have a good degree of confidence about the future. I am also not in touch with much felt sense of anxiety or fear (tight chest, elevated heart rate etc...) about my health or the future. As a result I tend to go about my day with other activities and don't devote much effort to processing this information... okay to be honest there is some chatter in my head about some of the medical possibilities but there is not much "umph" behind it.
Judging from the story lines though of the 5 or 6 showings of Dan's subconscious per night I think this is where the heavy lifting is being done on my fears, anxieties and feelings of hurt/loss associated with my medical journey at the moment and our (Tina and my) status as wanna-be adoptive parents. While I appreciate the part of me that is choosing to do this heavy lifting I wish it would turn down the volume or reduce the number of showings per night.
In the event that my wishes aren't answered immediately ;) I am going to see if doing some of the heavy lifting during the day might result in some relief. Along these lines I am going to continue with regular physical activity plus incorporating some deep abdominal breathing and journal writing each day AND last doing some more blogging. So no BIG changes... simply re-incorporating some tools that I have found to be helpful before.
Here is a picture of Tina and I out and about on walk in Lynn Canyon.