Years ago, I got the low-sodium spiel from my doctor. Blood pressure, as it relates to your kidney is circular. Your kidney regulates the amount of sodium, and hence water, in your system; this regulates your blood pressure. As your kidney function declines, your blood pressure increases. From the other…
At 8pm last night, the tears came. Of course they would come. Phillip was there. He sat close. Stayed quiet. He let me cry. I wiped my tears with my wrinkled dinner napkin and stared off into space. I choked out how weird it is to feel relatively healthy and…
Phillip and I were back for my 3 month checkup yesterday. I completed blood work on Tuesday and felt calm about where I was at. I’ve had some fatigue, but nothing dramatic. Life was moving along as life does so I assumed my kidney was following suit. During my January…
As people, we are a searching breed. We search through business accomplishments, spirituality, relationships, food, material possessions and any variety of ways you can imagine. We yearn for connection, security and purpose. We want to feel hopeful, inspired and passionate. Sometimes we are wildly successful. We bask in gratitude and…
In the most recent newsletter I talked about wanting to trade bodies with someone…just for one day. This way they could tell you just how freaked you should be about the symptoms you’re experiencing. When you cope with chronic illness, especially one that is progressive, symptoms randomly visit from time-to-time.…
It’s been awhile since I posted a vegan menu, so I thought I’d let you know what dinner at my house will be this week. I had a free Saturday afternoon, so I grabbed some cookbooks and used my meal planning process to brainstorm five dinners. I also read the…
While my body presents lots of challenges, it also has me in complete awe. The moment something doesn’t work correctly, you become aware of just how amazing its function was…all without having to consciously think about anything. Day-in-and-day-out our bodies work tirelessly to do millions of huge and tiny things…
I’m not exactly sure when this habit started, but I know that it was initially tied to my corporate career. In order to keep what needed to get done organized, I created a very, very simple system that has worked for years. With chronic illness, sometimes thinking, memory and focus…
According to Nielsen report, the average American watches between 37 and 40 hours of live and DVR TV each week. I’ve decided to do something about that, again, in my household. I say “again” because I have a love/guilt relationship with the TV. Since I was sick a lot growing…
The term “let go” has been tossed around in self-help circles a lot. Usually as in, “just let it go.” This vague term is used as a prescription for decreasing stress. Because it is fuzzy, it is can also be a frustrating statement. Prompting the response, “if I could just…