Beneficial Email Exchange with a Reader

I think that everybody can gain something from reading this email exchange. This is my correspondence with a reader of my blog. It is used with permission. Enjoy!

Email:

Hey Ronnie-
So you are not going to be too happy with my progress over the past week, well I guess I am just not too happy with myself. Last week was rough in terms of exercising. I had an extremely busy week getting ready for the Brooklyn Great Strides walk which was on Sunday. I also decided that it would be a good idea to have all my family/friends over to my house for a BBQ after the walk. Well it turns out that everyone was extremely enthusiastic about the walk this year…in terms of participating and donating, which was absolutely great!! But I also ended up with about 50 people coming over…and on top of that it rained… so the BBQ became an indoor event…and let’s just say I am a perfectionist who gets very easily stressed out!!! But all in all it was a really great day…we still walked ponchos, umbrellas and all! Everyone was a little drenched but had a lot of fun!

On top of that 2 days before the walk was my boyfriend’s birthday. He is a huge hockey fan, specifically Rangers fan so I decided that it would be a good idea to make him a Rangers birthday cake. The good news is that the cake turned out awesome! The bad news is that it took about
2 whole days of my life to make it…haha. Bottom line, I only got moving
2 days last week, a 3.2 mile bike ride one day, and a 3.5 mile walk another….boooo!

So I know that these are all poor excuses, which I am not buying from myself, and I hoping to make this week better. It has been raining in new York for 5 days straight now, and looks like it will continue for 5 more which is a bummer because that kind of knocks out the outdoor exercise…but there is still the gym. Also, I am having a PICC placed on Friday afternoon for another round of IVs….fun stuff! So, I was wondering if you have ever kept up an exercise routine while on IV? Usually I am pretty knocked out the first week of it, so I don’t know if I’d really be up for anything strenuous…but I’m thinking just slow-paced long walks might do the trick until I am feeling a little better.

Also been doing a little better about my sleeping schedule. Getting to bed by 10 is really a challenge for me…but 11/11:30 is working out well right now. That’s actually where I am headed now…

Talk to you soon!

My Response:

It’s certainly most important that you recognize that you are not happy with your own effort. The great thing is that you are the only one who can control that effort so it is literally and completely up to you. I will be here as a support mechanism and do anything and everything I can do to give you tips and motivate you. Ultimately, it is up to you to get it done, whatever “it” may be.

So let’s look at the last week. Bottom Line: Sometimes life gets busy and we can’t always control that. We have obligations other than ourselves to attend to and that is ok. Don’t beat yourself up for being a good friend, girlfriend, daughter etc…Believe me, there has been days in my life these last couple of months that there was just going to be NO WAY of completing my full exercise routine. Here’s what I think the key is though: DO SOMETHING. It doesn’t matter if that something is walking or jogging half a mile or going to the gym and walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes. The battle is never doing it once we start, it’s the actual starting it part that is hard. There are times where me night just gets super busy and if that happens, instead of walking 3 miles, I’ll just do one. Or I’ll do the stair stepper for 15 minutes.

The key is just to get your body moving. You’re body will start to expect to do something and you will start to form a craving for it and actually feel weird if you miss a workout. We are creatures of habit. Make sure that your habit is doing SOMETHING everyday, no matter how short or small.

And let’s not forget, you did a 3.2 mile bike ride AND a 3.5 mile walk! You know what I call that in terms of comparing it to the week before: PROGRESS!!!! Now here is your challenge, for the next 7 days, do SOMETHING everyday. It doesn’t matter if that something is walking up 10 flights of stairs at a local building and it only takes you 5 minutes. You are letting your body AND mind know that you WILL train everyday no matter what. Exercising is just as much of a mentality as it is a physical thing. If you set aside a small amount of time everyday, eventually that will become a habit. And like I said before, you will start to crave that habit and you will see the benefits of having a GOOD habit in your life.

As far as a PICC line and exercise goes, for me, it has never been a problem. When I first start IV’s in the hospital, I too feel like doodoo, but I do focus on at least walking around the unit a couple of times a day. Usually by the second week I am able to do a fast paced walk outside of the hospital and by the third week, I am doing stairs or jogging. The doctors have never told me to back off because of a PICC. So again, I would try to do something everyday while you have your PICC and just play it by ear as to how strenuous it is.

I’m glad to hear you are getting to bed earlier. That is a HUGE part of this whole process. I promise that as you start to do more, you will be able to go to bed even earlier yet. Just make sure you’re not hitting your snooze button 100 times in the morning!

Good Luck!! I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS! I’m excited to see what the next report will bring!

Do LIFE.

Running for My Life

**I recently submitted the following post to a contest being held by the company Nature Made. They were looking for stories about overcoming hardship, helping others, or making a difference in the world. I probably don't qualify, but I thought I'd give it a shot**

Two months ago I came to a fork in my life’s road. I had a choice to make: Continue on my current path, watch my lung function plummet, and die; or make a drastic change to take my life back.

Spending fifty days in the hospital can have many affects on a person. For me, it meant a total reevaluation of my life. I knew that I was going to have to make a change, and I knew that it would have to happen immediately.

I was born in 1980 with Cystic Fibrosis, a chronic illness that is the number one genetic killer of children today. When I was diagnosed at 6-months old, my mother was told my life expectancy was 19 years. This meant I shouldn’t plan on going to college, I shouldn’t expect to have a wife and kids, and I certainly shouldn’t count on living an “ordinary” life. She took that to only mean one thing: Raise me to live an “extraordinary” life.

I began living life at full capacity. I played sports in high school, obtained a college degree, and devoted much of my time to be a blessing to others. In a sense, I felt I needed to pack 90 years of living into 19. I figured the more life I could squeeze into the time I had, the better.
This meant pouring my time into activities that I found most rewarding. I began working with various non-profit organizations and trying to be a help to those in need. Over the course of a few years, I co-founded a non-profit clothing and jewelry line that donates its proceeds to various children’s charities; established a not-for-profit coffee shop at a local homeless shelter; and worked hard to raise money and spread awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

My life, however, was turned upside down at the start of 2009. I began coughing up blood; enough of it to send me straight to the Intensive Care Unit for a week, and hold me in the hospital for an additional 40 days. My doctors and nurses were dumb-founded with my drastic decline. My lung function was low enough to put me on the transplant list, and I was unable to get enough oxygen into my system without the aid of a machine. My doctors became visibly concerned after I had been in the hospital for nearly fifty days, and had not yet reached my typical lung function. The doctors said there was not much more they could do. I began to realize that I was at an impasse. As a 29-year-old CFer, 10 years past my expiration date, I needed to take my life into my own hands.

From the moment I exited the hospital doors, I was on a mission. I began a strict routine which consisted of revamping my diet, exercise and treatments. I started excising daily, both lifting weights and running. As for my treatments, I committed to being more faithful with doing them than ever, ensuring that I do four, thirty minute treatments a day. And my diet began consisting of six, smaller, more nutritious meals, and adding several supplements and multivitamins to my daily pill schedule. I wanted to put my body in the best position to succeed.

In the 7 weeks since my release, I have logged more than 150 miles on my legs and 60 hours in the gym. It has paid off. I recently had my lung function re-tested and my lungs are now at over 75% capacity. That’s an increase of over 40% in 2 months! I feel better than I have for a long time, and I’m finally getting my life back.

The most incredible part of my transformation, however, was the unexpected opportunity that stemmed from it. I started this journey to help myself. To help myself, so I could help others. What I didn’t foresee, however, was its immediate potential to help others. I began to blog about my journey on a Web site called runsickboyrun.com. And in 2 short months, I have attracted several other CFers and their families, who have commented that through my story, and watching my improvement, they have been motivated to take on my mission as well. They have committed to fighting their decline and prolonging their lives.

"Before and After" Pics

It was brought to my attention by a "loyal reader" that I promised to post some before and after photos so that you can see the progress that was being made. Well, here they are:

I obviously still have a loooonnnnggggggg way to go (my modeling agent is going to kill me *me making fart noise with mouth*), but I guess what really matters is how my lungs are doing and they are getting better. The first pic was taken on March 9th, 2009 with the second one being taken on April 20th, 2009.