I have always been an open book – anyone who has ever asked
advice from me knows this – so I have nothing to hide. And hope to get you thinking in doing so.
Rewind 4 years. I had
my last child – bouncing baby girl - and rounded my family off. Three beautiful children and one wounded
body. Any woman who has had children
knows the number it does on our bodies – some more than others – but we all
recognize and feel the changes.
And it’s not a bad thing.
It’s just a change, that’s all.
Well, without getting into TOO much detail (who am I kidding, I always go in to detail LOL!), this last month I
had to have reconstruction inside my pelvic area (bladder, female reproductive
organs and colon) due to the large children I bore. My pelvic floor ligaments that held basically
my insides up were shot and I was having problems because of it. Now, because I am an active person, my
surgeon let me know that as I get older, these problems will get worse,
especially when going through menopause later in life, and could actually be contributing to back pain that I have.
Up until my appointment in May, I had accepted that this was
the body I was given, and these were the ‘problems’ I would have to deal with,
literally, for the rest of my life. Nothing
I could do about it. So, because I had already done pelvic floor physio after I had my daughter years ago (and it didn't help, showing me that it had nothing to
do with the muscles, had everything to do with the ligaments surrounding my
bladder, colon etc etc), I opted for surgery. I had been referred to an amazing urogynaecologist a few years ago, but didn't think anything would come of it
because the wait was so long to get in.
Fast forward to this past May (2013).
I went in to see the best doctor I have ever seen, hands down. Amazing.
The wait was worth it. I told her
my concerns, my activity level, the back problems I have had since having kids,
everything. She didn't push surgery on
me at all, but let me make an informed decision.
So I took it.
I went in for surgery on June 19th and it was the
best decision I have ever made.
Recovery was brutal for the first week or two – as they told me it would be. I had something called cystocele and
rectocele repair, and vault suspension grafting. It is a surgery that takes 6 weeks for me to
even think about exercising, and even that will have to be eased into. It has been hard being in bed and doing
nothing – everyone is out having fun while I’m watching the same movie for the
4th time that week – but I have to rest. I am only 3 weeks post-op right now, so I am
still taking it very easy. I sure can't wait to get my runners back on and get moving again - all in good time though.
**Okay, so the point of my opening up about my surgery**
Before I had this surgery, I accepted that my pelvic problems were the
best it could be. Disappointed in it,
but this is the body I was given and that’s all there is to it. I see a lot of people overweight or obese
think like this too. I see people with injuries that quit because there's nothing they can do about it.
I can’t do this.
Tried and failed. This is the
body I’ve been given.
I’m so uncomfortable with my body. Guess I’ll wear a sweater during summer to
cover up. I’m so hot and sweaty
though. Wish I could run around in a
tank top. Not for me though. Can’t.
Can’t change. No point. I've tried before and can't lose the weight.
I hate my legs. Can’t
change them. This ugly body is all I
have. Guess I’ll wear jeans all summer,
even though I’m so stinkin hot.
I can’t change anything.
I can’t change anything.
This is what I’m stuck with.
You’re wrong. You are
wrong.
I accepted that my body would never feel better. I accepted the pressure I always felt in my
pelvic area when I ran was ‘just what I would always feel – it would never get
better’.
I was wrong. I
was.
What has been eating away at me for the last few weeks as I
laid in bed, was that there are so many people out there that accept what they
have, and that’s it.
If they’re obese, they accept that as ‘having curves’ not
realizing how much damage they are doing to their bodies, let alone the joint
pain due to excess weight on the joints.
If they have a knee problem, they accept that as a ‘sports injury’ and
don’t realize there are so many things they can do to improve that knee and
make it stronger and healthier.
People
who obsess about food accept it as an addiction and leave it at that, not
realizing that they can replace this addiction with a positive addiction and
feel happier and be healthier because of it.
If they have bladder problems, they figure it's here to stay and too much work to improve the situation.
There are always ways to improve life.
Don’t accept your problems or challenges as ‘just how it is’
and leave it at that.
You can change your life.
You can feel better. You can
reduce pain. You can feel lighter and
happier. You can improve your cardiorespiratory
issues. You can improve disease (yes you
can!!).
All it takes is a decision to change, and a plan to carry it
out.
So, as you know, I am a runner. I love it. My body craves it. A few people have asked how I train, or good ways to start training. Tomorrow I will do a post on running. Jogging. Easing in. Sprinting. What the body actually goes through when running. Common runner injuries and how to prevent/treat them. If you love running, or hate it for that matter, check my blog tomorrow. It'll be good.
Remember - love your body that you have been given, but love your body enough that you want to do the best for it and improve it.
Control the controllable.
Talk to you again tomorrow,
Naomi <3
