Present
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July 1, 2010:
MRIs of my brain, neck and spine look good, but there was a discrepancy in the Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SEP) test. The SEP test showed a slow response from my neck to my spine. Neurologist wants me to re-do the SEP test to rule out possible testing/reading error. Next step is a spinal tap to see if I may or may not have a form of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Reading of spinal tap can result in something that cannot be seen in the MRI.
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June 25, 2010:
I have an appointment scheduled this Tues. @ 6:45 a.m. for a thoracic lumbar and spine MRI. Then, at 9:00am, I have a neuroextremeties test. Finally, I have an appointment to meet back with the neurologist on July 1st to go over the results to the MRI and neuro extremeties test.
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June 24, 2010:
9:00 a.m. - Still haven't heard from the neurologist. I will call his secretary again this morning. My gait is horrible with my left foot turning inward whenever I lift my leg to take a step to walk. I have tried running short distances about 2x/week (1 mile ea.), but it takes a tremendous amount of concentration for me to lift my foot high enough and outward so I don't trip and fall. My entire back is hurting, especially the mid-to-lower area. My hips seem to hurt as well. I'm beginning to wonder if my foot/leg problem has anything to do with my spine...
1:40 p.m. - Finally heard from my neurologist after making my morning call to his secretary! The results of my brain/cervical spine MRI (neck up) came back negative. The only thing that was abnormal was a high glucose level from blood work which could be an onset for diabetes and possible cause for the numbness in my leg. Neurologist suggests getting a glucose tolerance analysis through my primary physician. The dr. will actually be back in town next week and wants to see me toward the latter half of that week before scheduling another MRI for the middle part of my back/spine.
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June 18, 2010:
The neurologist is on rotation up in Rochester's Mayo Clinic until August. My brain & cervical spine MRI appointment was scheduled for after his return. But I moved it up to this morning because my foot's getting worse and I want to find out what's going on, NOW. I contacted the neurologist's secretary so that she can alert the dr. to review my MRI results and contact me by phone.
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May 12, 2010:
My left foot/leg is still bothering me, especially during my walks and runs. I feel like my left foot is dragging; that there is a delayed lifting reaction. Today, my left leg seems to be numb from the knee down. I tripped four times during a slow 2.5 mile walk. I have scheduled a doctor's appointment at Mayo Clinic with a neurologist for Monday, May 17th. Hopefully, the doctor will find the cause of my problem and have options for treatment as needed.
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April 17, 2010:
I fell during my run this afternoon, almost doing a face plant! My left foot went numb on me, and I couldn't feel the ground upon my landing. There were cars behind me, and I know the drivers had to have seen me bite the dust, LOL. But I wasn't embarassed more than I was stunned and felt like an idiot! I bent over my left knee to analyze my bleeding boo-boo before getting back up to run the last quarter mile home.
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April 3, 2010:
My first Figure competition! Dieted & trained for three months. Lowest weight was 101 with a waist measurement of 24.5 inches. I definitely achieved my Personal Best and although I did not place in the Jax Physique competition, I am happy I reached all of my fitness goals during this time frame!
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Aug. 4, 2009
Results from yesterday's semi-annual blood work and CT scan are negative
for colon cancer recurrence! Oncologist congratulated me with great news
for the next semi-annual medical procedures: I can skip the colonoscopy!
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Sat., April 25, 2009 - Happy Spring!
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Tues., March 24
- Skiing & Racing Updates:
I am in love with skiing! Dreamt about it for several days after getting
back from our trip to Snowshoe, WV. Started with a class on the bunny
slopes and ended that day doing three runs on three separate Greens! Went
skiing all day the following day and also did night-skiing with David,
daughter Armani and our niece Alena. We are already planning our family
ski trip for next year! And Armani & I will go with our very own skis,
snowboard & ski/snowboard boots!
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I beat my 5K personal best (see below) with 32:48 (10:33 min./mile), placing 10 out of 21 in my age group and 66 out of 137 in the women's division @ the St. Patrick's Day 5K/10K Race this past Sunday! See my race pics online until 06/22/09. My sis Gina & I plan to run a 10K race by the end of this year.
 Grace & David |
 Grace (on tip-toes!) & Gina |
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Thurs., March 5:
Worked on my iPod Shuffle music selection which I sorted by beats per
minute (BPM), from slow (132 bpm) to accelerated (168 bpm). That way,
I can easily fast-forward through my music and better pace myself for
the upcoming St. Patrick's Day 5K race! After I set up my iPod with my
music, I worked-out my legs and finished with a "test run".
I ran my first mile in 00:09:34 and finished 3.26 miles in 00:33:54. I
believe that is a personal best (PB) for me, so I can plan on finishing
the race around that same time. Actually, I'll try to beat my PB
at the race! Wish me luck!
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Wed., March 4:
I have never snow-skiied but have always wanted to do so. I leave for
Snowshoe, West Virginia exactly one week from today. Whoo-Hoo! I'll be
going with a dozen people, to include my husband, daughter, sister, bro-in-law,
niece, and brother. Bought ski pants, goggles, ski gloves, thermals (non-cotton)
and ski socks (extra padding). I already have a nice ski jacket, turtlenecks,
hats and boots. Well, the jacket is on the "puffier" side, not
as slimming as I would like to have for skiing, but I am not going to
buy another jacket for my first time skiing. If I don't get the hang of
skiing even after daily lessons, I would like to at least look
like I know how to ski. Hahaha! Did the same thing when I started taking
golf lessons several years ago--I sure looked good with my hair pulled
back in a ponytail; pink, blue or white polo shirt, white or tan capris
and white golf shoes and glove. But I can hardly call myself a golfer!
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Tues., March 3:
OK, I want to let you know that although I felt fine right after my 5-mile
run last Friday, my left hip was really bothering me the next day, to
the point of limping after being in a sitting or lying position for an
extended period of time. I asked my doctor if there is anything I can
do to alleviate the pain from osteoarthritis (bone-to-bone arthritis in
the hip due to my past chemo treatments), and she recommended glucosamine-chondroitin.
Unfortunately, one of the ingredients in the supplement is shellfish to
which I have an allergy. The only thing I can take for the pain is 800mg
of ibuprofen, the equivalent of a prescription dose. I'm too young to
get a hip replacement, but it is possible that I will have to opt for
it in the future. My doctor also recommended that I look into other forms
of aerobic exercise such as brisk walking, biking or swimming, all of
which are low-impact. There's nothing wrong with low-impact exercise.
In fact, I was an AFAA-certified group exercise instructor and taught
step-aerobics! However, I am completely hooked on running and feel
that I am just "warming up" to the sport! So for now, I'll continue
to run, take the 800mg of Ibuprofen and try not to whine so much about
the pain.
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Fri., Feb. 27:
I've been ramping up my once-a-week "long" running distance
from 2.5 miles to 4 miles, and then running twice more during the week
for at least 3 miles each time, with an average speed of between 10.5-and-11-minute
miles. This morning, I ran 5 miles for the first time in over a year!
Not too proud of my finish time of 75:00 (15-minute-miles), but 1) I finished
and 2) I'm feeling fine!
My youngest sister, Gina, invited me to participate in a St. Patrick's Day 5K/10K race on Sun., March 22nd. I've never ran a race, and Lord knows I won't be running for time, but I think I'll give it a try.
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Thurs., Feb. 12:
Wonderful news! Last Tues., my colonoscopy revealed that I did not
in fact have a stricture. Rather, the muscles are no longer constricting
in that certain section where my colon was resectioned. In other words,
that portion is no longer able to move things through the colon. I now
have to take a dose of Glycolax (or Miralax) every day. Aside from the
daily laxative, I do not have to worry about further surgery or a colonoscopy
for another five years.
The gastroenterologist did find and remove three polyps, all of which he believes are benign. Biopsies were sent to the lab. I should get the results sometime next week.
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Mon., Feb. 9:
Today is the day I start my all-clear-liquid diet and 3:00 p.m. colon-cleansing
treatment of Golytely (pronounced go lightly). I'm having a colonoscopy
scheduled for 10:45am tomorrow. Apparently, my cancer-removal surgery
(hemicolectomy) in 2005 left a portion of my colon much too small for
things to pass through without build-up. So, I will be cleaned
out tomorrow, and if possible, the doctor will try to enlarge this area
of my colon by lasering off some of the scar tissue. If the lasering cannot
be done during the colonoscopy, I will have to have surgery to revise
the colon resection.
Ran 4 miles earlier today in 46 minutes! This is terrific news for me, considering (1) I have not ran 4 miles since early last year and (2) my best 4-mile run time was 48 minutes. It's 1pm, and so far today, I have had 2 cups of coffee (no milk allowed) and one cup of green tea. I'm hungry!
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Thurs., Feb. 5:
CT scan and blood work came back clear of cancer! I am officially a three-year
colon cancer survivor today. Yeah! However, I will have to have a colonoscopy
sometime next week; one year early for this procedure, due to some back-up
in the colon, if you know what I mean.
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Happy New Year!
Still keeping up with my workouts -- lifting weights and cardio (walking and/or running)! Will post a current photo soon!
Been tired lately,
wanting to nap during the day and sleep in in the mornings. Of course,
the first thing I worry about is the return of colon cancer. I'm not going
to worry about it too much until I learn otherwise. I have my annual CT
scan and bloodwork scheduled for January 29th and will post the results
soon thereafter.
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