The Ought Years

 

 

 

After my heavy bleeding incident in 2005/2006 had been resolved, I was able to get a little bit of a reprieve health wise - aside from the fact that I was dealing with some untreated depression and I found myself literally eating my emotions.

In February 2008, my sister in law passed from complications of diabetes. She was married to brother #3. My cousin and I flew from Oregon to New York to attend her service.  The weather was very cold and windy, but I managed to squeeze in a lunch date with an acquaintance that lived in the area.  After lunch, we made our way to the airport where our flight was delayed several hours. Finally we were able to board, only to be held on the runway an additional 2 hours. By the time we arrived back home, my cousin had developed full blown pneumonia. 

My oldest brother (10 years older than me) realized that the family cohesiveness that we once had was falling apart. He decided at that point to call everyone at least once a month.  His phone calls were the absolute best! (More on those in an upcoming post)

In the late fall of 2008, I was selected by my supervisor at work to be able to work from home. On my second day of working from home, I slipped on some ice and landed on my right knee. This is the same leg that I had cellulitis in a few years earlier.  My leg was swollen and sore, but the good news was that I was working from home so I could easily keep the leg elevated as I worked. 

With the lack of physical activity, and the continuation of eating my emotions I managed to put on more weight.

Just after Christmas in 2009, I received word that my dad had been admitted to the hospital with a respiratory issue. He was admitted to ICU, where he remained until he passed on January 3, 2010.   There were blizzards in Idaho and roads were closed, but 3 days after his passing, my dad was laid to rest. I was unable to attend due to the weather. My dad’s last wishes were that he not have everyone gather in the middle of the winter, but to wait until warmer weather and to have a large family reunion.  His memorial service was held on his birthday in May, and it was a nice reunion.

I was in a long distance relationship with a guy whose birthday is the same day my dad passed. I recall speaking with him that day. He asked how my day was and I mentioned my dad passing. His response was very uncaring and he seemed a bit upset that I hadn't mentioned his birthday first.  We didn’t speak to each other very much after that. 

I kept eating those emotions and keeping them all bottled up. I found myself weighing in at the highest weight at 411.  But I had a plan!

In Mid January 2010 I decided I would try Nutrisystem. My mom had tried this program back in the late 70s and early 80s. She had some success with it, so I thought I would give it an honest effort.

By Mid April of that same year, I had dropped 50 pounds. I was really proud of my accomplishment.  After my dad’s memorial service in May, one of my coworkers asked me if I would come with her to the gym. I had never been to a gym nor held a gym membership before in my life.  But I was on a mission to get myself back into better health. I even signed up to meet with a personal trainer three times a week. 

 

Until Next time…