Leadership Snohomish County

I have been away from this blog for over a year, I just wasn't feeling it. But it's time to update it.

 Life takes some interesting turns, not all of which are thought of as good when they happen. But most of the time I find that they turn out to be the best - and I'm glad they happen. I have found myself getting more and more involved in, for want of a better phrase, giving back. All of these opportunities have snuck up on me, tapped me on the shoulder and said.... come this way. So eye opening. It's as though the Universe is saying to me "ok Melissa you may not have know you wanted to do this, but here it is, ready or not".

As a member of the Board of Directors of my local YMCA, I went to a networking session back in May of this year. And there I met a woman who was leading the session, Sarri Gilman. What an amazing woman! She is a therapist on an island, one that I used to live on. She moved to Whidbey Island the same year I left, 1986.

She also is the Executive Director of Leadership Snohomish County. After the networking session she told me I should look into taking the Leadership SC class. I pooh poohed it at first thinking it wouldn't interest me. But I took one of her brochures and it sat on my desk for weeks. I was also drawn to look at it again and again. I researched the class, I looked it up online. I spoke to several people who know something about it. I wrote Sarri an email about an issue I was dealing with, she told me that the Leadership class would help me understand my issue.

The class is not cheap and I knew that most corporations that folks work for who take the class pay for their employees to attend. And also that my company could not really afford it what with the poor economy.

I kept coming back to that brochure until I finally signed up. Yay! I have now attended the 2 day retreat that is the start of the class. This program is all about making a difference in our community. And I am THRILLED! I look forward to the next 8 months of classes and learning and teamwork and community building.

 Somehow I have been led to this place which is exactly where I am supposed to be. And I am so grateful.

http://leadershipsc.org/

Low-Carbs?

Because my weight has been creeping up in the last year I decided, on July 10th to try to eat less carbs. I didn't make the decision lightly, I'd been researching this new "diet" for a couple of months. I know that I am a carb-oholic. The more I ate, the more I craved, which made me eat more, which made me crave more. It was getting to be a never-ending cycle, hence the weight creep.

I took a look at my present way of eating. Breakfast was usually either a couple small bowls of Cheerios with milk; or 1/2 cup of honey flavored Greek yogurt with toast, butter and a glass of milk, or oatmeal. All of those items are carb-heavy. If I ate breakfast at 7:30, by 10:00 or 10:30 I'd be hungry again.

With any meal we'd always have some kind of starch. When I was a kid, that was the meal-mantra: protein (meat or chicken), starch and a veggie. Always.

So that was the habit I'd gotten into as I got older. So with our chicken we'd always have potatoes, or with the steak, a baked potato.

And don't get me started about sweets! I loved my sweets. My husband would buy me a 1 lb. box of See's dark chocolate buttercream candies.... mmmm, my favorite. I didn't eat them quickly, I'd have one (or two) with my tea, then one in the afternoon, then one after dinner. Or ice cream, or something sweet. Bad news for me! I'm a sugar addict!

So when my weight crept up to 200 lbs (I'm 5'10") it was a very rude awakening. I'm lucky that I don't suffer from diabetes, or high blood pressure. I'm very healthy. I work out at the Y four days a week, plus active stuff around my house. So it was a shocker that the weight started piling on again. Especially since I'd done so well 4 years ago and lost 30 lbs.

*sigh*

It was now been a little over 2 weeks since I started cutting out a lot of the carbs I eat. For breakfast now I usually have a couple of scrambled eggs, a glass of milk and a slice of toast with butter. I don't get hungry mid-morning. For lunch and dinner I eat sensibly, with plenty of fat added in so I don't feel starved. I have cut out sugary drinks, no more soda, or maybe one a week at the most. I drink lots of water.

The most impressive change is that I feel so much better.

*lost 4 lbs in a little over 2 weeks
*more energy
*less bloating - which seemed to be getting worse
*I am much more "regular" - which was a problem my whole life
*I feel trimmer

While I'm not totally cutting out carbs, I've cut back to about 100g per day at the most. Losing weight was not the primary goal, though it certainly figured into my decision to change my eating habits. My goal was to feel better, as well as look better. So far so good!

Will to Live

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the will to live exhibited by some people. We all have it - it is inborn in us and very strong.

I am a respite volunteer for a hospice patient. Without divulging too much info... she is a very old lady with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). I've been seeing her once a week for a couple of house, mostly to just give her someone else to talk to.

At the age of 96, she is very spry, her hearing and vision are great and she beats me at checkers every time. When I saw her this past week it was obvious that something had changed. Her breathing was labored, she looked tired, just not her usual perky self. Her caregiver told me she'd had a bad weekend, she wasn't eating or drinking any water. They thought they were going to lose her.

So it made me think about our will to live. At some point in our life does the will do away and we just give up. Or are we always fighting to live? At 96 does she still think about that? Or will her body finally just stop working.

I know that when we are younger we fight to live. I've known a number of people diagnosed with cancer who have passed on, but before that happened they fought and fought, some for years, to live just a little longer.

Does that will to live ever stop?

Hospice

I started Hospice training last week - so that I could work in people's homes who are terminally ill in respite. This is to give the caregiver a break (rest) for up to 4 hours per week.

I was very nervous to start the training, probably more nervous than giving away a kidney.

But what I wasn't prepared for was the sense of fulfillment I got from 3 days of training. I am SO looking forward to meeting my first client (patient) - I feel I have so much to give back.

The training was good, but very emotionally draining. An exercise we did, role playing, a movie we watched.

I know, I KNOW, deep in my heart that this is going to be a good thing for me, all part of my spiritual journey. But it's not just about me and what this will do for me... it's more about what I can do for someone else. I feel that I have so much to offer - maybe not for everyone, but for someone...

I have learned so much in my life's journey and maybe I can share a little bit with someone else - or just take the burden of end-of-life stresses off someone else.

more to follow...

Kidneys - The Final Chapter, part 2

It is now 5 weeks post surgery. I feel great, mentally, physically. I've had a couple of minor setbacks. One week post surgery it felt like I was coming down with the flu, the tingly sensation on my skin. Although there was no fever or nausea, it lasted about 24 hours. Then on Thanksgiving Day I ate some crab dip, which made my remaining kidney hurt for about 16 hours. It felt like a pulsing ache going through my left kidney every 10 seconds or so. Turns out that shellfish has toxins which normally doesn't hurt people, but with only 1 kidney...

I'm still feeling the glow from the donation, it's such a great feeling. To come full circle I want to meet the recipient and hear his story. That will make this all worthwhile.

Kidneys -The Final Chapter

Home from the hospital... what an experience.

This week I went in on Monday the 25th for my pre-op visit with the Transplant Center. Got all my instructions, they took blood for a final crossmatch, met with the transplant surgeon again, then the pre-anesthesia clinic.

On Tuesday, I could only eat clear fluids all day in preparation for surgery on Wednesday morning - along with fluid to clean me out (give me diarrhea).

Surprisingly, I was not nervous in the least, no doubts in my head whatsoever. It's like I'm on a path, pre-ordained and nothing was going to stop me from getting to the end.

Wednesday morning we left at 5:30 in order to get to Seattle for my 6:15 check-in at the surgery center. They took us back immediately to prep me for the surgery. I must have stayed there for about an hour while they told us they were getting the operating room set-up.

They wheeled me into the operating room with an oxygen mask over my face. I don't remember anything until I woke up in recovery. When I woke up I was still out of it of course but I remember starting to move my legs, hands and taking deep breaths. I think they moved me up to my room after an hour or so. I remember asking what time it was, and the nurse told me 2:30, so I'd probably been in the operating room for 4 hours or so (my surgeon came out to the waiting room at 1:30 to tell my husband how it went).

All afternoon on Wednesday I was still out of it, drifting in and out of sleep. The nurse tried to get me up to walk around but I started to get nauseated. By Thursday morning I was feeling a lot better though the catheter, while convenient was a big pain. Turns out the pain medication they were giving me was what was making me nauseated so they stopped giving me that and started with oxycodone. By then I was able to eat small meals too.

By Thursday afternoon I was able to take more walks around the floor and once they took the catheter out on Friday morning I felt like I could have done a marathon, ok, not really.

Once the catheter came out, then they removed the IV I was feeling "almost" back to normal.

I came home from the hospital on Friday, about 48 hours after the surgery.

Some of my observations in the hospital:

1. The University of WA Medical Center is a very well run facility. They had room service you could order just about anything you want. The nurses and LPNs were all wonderful, caring people who were there when you needed them. And this was a crowded floor.

2. My kidney was a "Cadillac" according to my surgeon. It started making urine immediately and the recipient started feeling better as soon as it was put in his body.

3. The people I met from the Transplant Center were the best. From my surgeon, Dr. Bakhta to the nurse, to the social worker - they were all caring, wonderful individuals.

4. I do not know who the recipient was yet, it'll be about 3 months until I can find out - but one of the doctors let slip that "he" was doing well.

This is all for now, more later possibly...

kidney update

the date has been set! Wednesday, October 27th at 6 a.m. I show up at the University of Washington Medical Center for my nephrectomy (removal of my kidney).

I don't know which kidney they'll take, nor do I care that much. I was surprised at the length of time it took and and amount of tests that they did. My first appointment was on May 19th, so it's taken 5 months to get to this point. Though it has been relatively easy.

I'm thrilled that I get to take the next step. I'm not nervous yet, the operation is 10 days away - and I'm not sure I expect to be nervous. As I told a friend, there will be a white light surrounding me, protecting me.

I have heard some peoples story, from family members, to the actual "recipient" - but I do not know, nor will I know anything about the person who will receive my kidney. I am hoping that eventually they will contact me.