Obligatory Introduction

A few weeks ago, I “celebrated” the 10th anniversary of an event that changed my life.

Picture this: you wake up one morning.  You stretch as you push aside the blankets. Stepping out of bed, you move towards the bathroom door that is only a few feet away from where you are.  But, instead of taking the four steps to the bathroom door, you slam into the wall.

All balance is gone.  Your eyes twitch trying to find a focal point.  You collapse to the floor and need help getting back into bed.  

Ten years later, I live with a debilitating condition called Cervical Vertigo.  It took over a year, and a specialist at Emory University’s Balance & Dizziness Center to give me a diagnosis.  MRIs.  CT Scans.  Neurologists.  Otorhinolaryngologists.  Months of tests and more tests.

Ten years ago I was using a walker to get around.

Today, my walker is up in the attic.  It is a part of my past, but it will also be a part of my future.  I know this.  I accept this.

I’m not the only one who had to face a life-changing diagnosis.  A few years later, my husband was diagnosed with diabetes.  He hoped to avoid needing to use insulin but that didn’t happen.  He fights every day to manage his glucose levels with diet and exercise.

It doesn’t stop there.  Add stage 1 kidney failure and severe osteoarthritis to our list of incurable conditions.  What can I say?  Being older is great but getting older sucks!

Anyway, this is why I am creating a new blog because I know I am a different person.  I have learned a lot about diet and exercise, about acceptance and resistance, and about the importance of being my own health advocate.

When I was growing up, this “proverb” was ubiquitous:  Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
Indeed, it is.  Join me in the rest of my life.  It should prove fun and informative.