HAWMC Day 5: The Renewal of Spring

Apr 5, 2012

HAWMC Day 5: The Renewal of Spring

April 5, 2012 By Jamee 2 Comments

Today’s writing assignment is to head to flickr.com/explore and select a picture at random that speaks to you.

This one definitely caught my attention, especially as I have thought about Easter.

I have always loved spring. Birds are singing. Flowers are beginning to bloom. Buds begin appearing on trees. The proof of new life is all around us. I think the connection between faith and nature is so powerful when you stop and think about it. In winter, everything seems empty, dark, and almost lifeless however with the change of the season everything has a chance to be reborn.

I think to truly appreciate the beauty of spring, we must acknowledge the barrenness of winter. I think the same is true with the celebration of Easter. Easter brings the promise of new life through the miracle of the resurrection. What a beautiful day! As believers we put a lot of focus on Easter Sunday (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but if we don’t stop to consider the dark that came before the dawn of the resurrection I think we are missing the point. I love that my church has a service on Good Friday. Its not a service where you come in a pretty dress or singing “Up From The Grave He Arose.” It is a service to revisit the pain and the sacrifice that Christ endured for each and every one of us.

When we allow ourselves time to pray and medicate on the events that transpired when Christ died on the cross, the even more beautiful our appreciation of the Resurrection! What once was dead is now alive! Through the Resurrection, Christ conquered death and paved the way for our salvation. Just as the trees in spring, we have the opportunity to be reborn. We can have new and abundant life and that is something to be celebrated!

You may be asking yourself why I’m talking about Easter when I’m working on a Health Activist Writer’s challenge since I’m talking about my faith instead of my health. The reason for that is because I’ve realized they go hand in hand. Just as spring brings new life to nature, I have a new life (and a new body) awaiting me in heaven. But even now while I’m still on earth, the Spirit continually breathe new life into me as long as I’m open to it and it is through that renewal of faith and spirit that I feel like I can keep pressing forward in battling chronic illness and continue to choose hope.

Filed Under: blogging, chronic illness, Faith Tagged With: chronic illness, Easter, faith, HAWMC

Apr 2, 2012

HAWMC Day 2 – Inspiring Words

April 2, 2012 By Jamee 8 Comments

Today’s assignment was pretty easy to complete as these are words that I have clung to the last three days.

via

There are days that these words are what get me out of bed every morning and put one foot in front of the other. It is these words keep me from going over the edge and losing all hope. These words speak of a promise of a future where pain is no longer a part of the equation.

I’m not sure that anyone would ever say that they were lucky to go through a hard experience. I would never have wished to be diagnosed with five illnesses by 30 or signed up to go through infertility and the roller coaster of adoption. But looking back I can see how I am a better person today because of those experiences. I have a greater understanding of faith that I could have never achieved without walking through these trials and heartaches. It was in the darkness of these times that I learned to wrestle with my faith and how I felt it all fit in my understanding of who God is. It was in the darkness of these times that I learned what it was like to having nothing else to hold onto but the promise of my Father and learned that that promise could and would carry me through.

This verse tells me that He not only has a plan for me but a plan to prosper me and give me a hope and a future. These words not only tell me that I can keep going but that there will be something waiting even better in the end.

I am thankful that along this journey that God has placed so many amazing and wonderful people in my path that I never ever would have been able to meet had I not gotten sick. I don’t think I ever would have started blogging or have found that writing could be a part of my ministry. I would never have learned to not take each day and the little things for granted. For all of these things I am thankful.

Filed Under: blogging, chronic illness, Faith, health Tagged With: chronic illness, faith, HAWMC, purpose

Mar 26, 2012

Blogging for Endo Awareness: An Alternative Treatment

March 26, 2012 By Jamee 4 Comments

I cannot believe it is already the last week of Blogging for Endometriosis Awareness 2012! I am most definitely hoping this becomes an annual event!

We’ve spent the last couple weeks sharing our stories about how endometriosis has affected us mentally and physically as well as talking about infertility but we would love to end the campaign on a more positive note and share some strategies to cope with this awful disease.

In the last eight years I have tried just about everything to find a way to cope with the effects of endo – surgeries, every kind of birth control you can imagine, changing my diet, herbs, even some off-label treatments in hopes that something would help. Some things worked ok where others did not. I had a lot of success with the birth control patch but obviously if you are hoping to get pregnant it takes it out of the pain relief equation. Most of my surgeries have provided at least some short term relief, even the one performed by the specialists in Atlanta. However, I won’t waste your time today telling you want hasn’t worked for me but instead offer an option that we’ve just recently tried: pelvic floor physical therapy.

It sounds scary, I know but if you can find the right physical therapist it may be worth a shot. My PT specializes in this type of physical therapy and is very knowledgeable about endometriosis as well as other pelvic issues. She explained that as the body is trying to protect itself, for example from endo, the muscles will lock down which will in turn cause more pain so the muscles lock down even further. Its a vicious cycle and one of the reasons women struggle with the unspoken side effect of endo.

On my way to my first PT appointment I was more than a little nervous as I had no idea what to expect. Because of the amount of doctors appointments I’ve been to and all of the fertility treatments we’d done, my modesty went out the window a while ago. Between being highly recommended by my doctor and knowing pelvic floor PT is all she did, I felt a little more at ease.

The initial evaluation was done in two visits. The external evaluation included checking out the lower back and hip muscles (which she found were very, very tight). The internal evaluation involved checking the pelvic floor muscles. A lot of women see a PT because the need to strengthen those muscles to have better bladder control but in my case, the PT would involved getting those muscles to relax.

Following treatments were focused on working to get these muscles relax and included stretches, deep muscle massage, and trigger point therapy. I will not lie. The first month of therapy was excruciating because everything was so tight. Many sessions I left in tears or sick to my stomach. But as time has gone on, I have gotten to the point where I can see the results. I’m still having some pelvic pain but its not quite the same as it was when I first started and I can tell a big difference in marital activities.

I wanted to share my experience with pelvic floor PT as a pain treatment option that didn’t include surgery or medications. I think its is a treatment option that is not regularly tied with endometriosis but as all of the lower back, lower abdominal, and hp muscles work extremely close together, it is a viable option that you may want to consider.

If you have any specific questions, please ask! I’m an open book!

Be sure to check out the other posts with coping tips!