Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by! So here's a short update on the craziness of my journey. I love my journey. But today I love pizza and hamburgers more. Well, in my mind any way...
NON-JUICE-RELATED CRAZINESS
The last few days have been very distracting. Since before I started my juice fast, my father and stepmom have been in town. My dad, as some of you may recall, had a bi-lateral lung transplant (that's BOTH lungs), back in November of 2013. In the meantime, he's been doing great! In the past year or two, he has had to come to Seattle for checkups every 4 months.
Usually, everything checks out just fine and he and my stepmom Pam head back to Eastern Washington to go about their lives. Well, this time unfortunately was a bit different. My dad was having a hard time breathing and so they checked him into the hospital. He had a significant amount of fluid in and around his lungs and one lung had actually deflated! So they put in a drain and started doing some tests to find out what was going on.
Thankfully, it was not as a result of an infection! But they couldn't quite figure out what was going on. Finally, they seemed to come upon some possible small holes in his lungs. So on Thursday, they had to do a laparoscopic surgery (minimally invasive) to cauterize and plug those holes. For most people, this would be a pretty simple surgery, but for a man that has virtually no immune system, it was dangerous.
He went in at 3:30 p.m. and I got to the hospital after work at about 4 p.m. The surgery took about 5 hours and we didn't hear from the doctor until about 8:45 p.m. But he was semi-alert and we got a chance to say hi and then I had to head home. Thank you everyone for your prayers. My dad is such a great man, and he seems in good spirits and looks healthier than when he went in! Now we just wait for the next few days to see how he does and if the fluid stops.
On a side note, this has been very difficult on my stepmom. She has been an absolute hero for my dad. She makes sure he is taking his meds and shots (he got diabetes from the surgery and is also suffering almost total short term memory loss). She cooks and cleans for him and my father would absolutely not be around if it were not for her tireless efforts. Anyway, if you think about it, please send good thoughts and prayers for her, too. 😀
Sadly, on the same day of the surgery, my stepmother got a call from my brother in Alaska. He and his girlfriend moved there a year ago to build a house and start a life together there. My brother has been working so hard to get the house done and he is currently within a few weeks of completion. A few days ago, he finished the deck floor. Now, I'm assuming this is a bear-deterrent, but the house is built about 10 feet above ground. So the deck is also at that level.
His girlfriend went out onto the deck and somehow fell off, falling 10 feet down to the bare ground. According to my brother, the doctors are saying she has severed her spine and will likely be paralyzed. Her surgery was supposed to be today and I have not yet heard how that went. So, if you think of it, please pray for them. Her name is Yvonne.
THE FAST
So with all that other craziness, my craziness doesn't seem too crazy, right? Well, it is still crazy, but I'm plugging along anyway. The last few days I have just sort of been cruising. I still want food, but my cravings are still generally diminishing. I still have good days and bad days, but overall it's getting a little bit easier each day.
But today was one of those days where I just wanted to eat something... ANYTHING!! Still craving cheese, and would love to sink my teeth into a big old pizza! But I stayed strong...
Today we had the men's forum at Magnusson Park. It was fun, there was activities and food (I had my juice) and an amazing lesson preached by Joel. We spent some time playing frisbee and ninja, and I spent a good amount of time active and in the incredible sunshine, just a few feet from Lake Washington!
But afterward, I was pretty wiped out! I went to the guys' house and they were having a gaming hangout. I didn't stay for long because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. So I headed home and crashed for about an hour and a half.
I've been feeling a lot better in a lot of ways since starting this juice fast, but I have still been pretty tired overall. I believe that the one thing that I haven't been doing enough of, is exercise. So I have set a goal to put 30,000 steps behind me this weekend. But after my nap, I had only put on about 6,000 steps and it was almost 9pm!
So, I decided to walk to the store. Not the one by my house, but that's about a mile away. To make a long, very boring story short, I took the long way home, walking about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) total! With the possible exception of walking around Greenlake almost two years ago, I believe this is the most I've walked at one time. I wouldn't have been able to do a mile even 3 weeks ago, so this is increible. And I'm not sore (yet)!! So, I will be going to bed this evening with at least 14,259 steps tonight! I'm pretty excited about that!
So this ends day 16.... Yesterday I weighed myself and have lost a total of 22 pounds (exactly 10 kg)! I originally asked for all of your help, and you've delivered in an incredible way! Thank you all for your amazing love and support: your texts, notes on facebook, and for the donations that literally are making this possible for me! But most of all, I'm so grateful to God for blessing it so much. I can't wait to eat again in two weeks, but for now, I'm hanging in there!
Love you all and I'll post again in the next few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment