Journey With Jen

My blood tests came back and apparently, I don't have any food allergies.  I was a bit disappointed.  I keep hoping for a moment where it is a, "yes!  that's the reason!"  I wanted to know the reason for this stuff to be happening.  To point at something and I have this food intolerance and it caused my body to react.  But alas, that is not the case for me. I did go to another podiatrist.  The idea that the arthritis on the top of my foot was causing all of this swelling in my feet.  It just didn't seem right.  That clinic slapped a label on it and that was it.  The new podiatrist didn't even do x-rays.  He felt around on my feet and told me that several of his patients have arthritis in their feet but it does not look like mine.  He thinks that it has be something in my system causing the swelling because when ever it is not working right - swelling always go to the feet. He saw that I had to have kidney surgery and wants to b...

 It is July now.  And still trying to get this figured out.  When I spoke to my doctor about seeing a rheumatologist, I was told that the wait to get in was around a year and a half.  Seriously!  And that is if they look at your file and accept you.  So, my primary doctor ran a few test that the rheumatology clinic require before they will accept you.  Those numbers did not turn out bad enough.  I got messaged through my Mercy app the results and that was it.  End of the line despite the fact that my feet swell, joints in my hands are crooked, and I sleep with ice packs. And, every 6 weeks the foot doctor wants to see me even though, he can't do anything to fix it.  The only option they have suggested is wearing my compression socks, tennis shoes, and maybe adding an orthotic to keep my foot from moving so much.  That sounds miserable to me. I was wearing my Chaco's everyday just a few months ago!   I told them that I woul...

  The human body is truly an amazing creation.  How everything works together just to keep us going each day.  Because it takes everything working together, it doesn't take much to throw it off balance.  Unfortunately, mine has been in a rough cycle the past two years. The swelling that started on March 10th still an issue.  I've had an echocardiogram.  I had ultrasound to rule out blood clots in femoral artery.  I also went to a vein clinic and had an ultrasound done on the smaller veins in my leg and to make sure that all my valves were opening and closing correctly.  All of those tests were clear.  Which leads me back to the foot clinic.  The end of April I got into the foot clinic and x-rays were done.  He could not see anything but arthritis on top where the swelling is.  No fracture.  No other reason for the fluid. I got a steroid shot and two pills.  One steroid and one for inflammation.  I also got a comp...

 Well, it has been a few months since my last post.  Thankful to say that my last blood work and ultrasound with my kidney doctor turned out normal.  So, I am good for another 6 months.  I also turned 50 just a few days ago.  Before last year - I definitely would not have actually wrote that.  But, having a year of surgeries and recovery put things in perspective.  I am thankful to have made it through everything to be here. I am thankful for God's protection to catch problems before they are not fixable.  I actually told one of my children last year that if I made it through everything - I wanted a big birthday party for my 50th.  Well, that didn't happen....probably because I didn't plan it! 😄   But my hope for a quite, calm year without any health issues - has a bit of a kink in my plans.  The beginning of the month, actually March 10th, my left foot started swelling.  I was at school and by my lunch break, my straps o...

 October of last year was when it all began.  I'd been having some pain for a few months and finally decided to get it check out.  Doctor figured it was a hernia and sent me to a CT scan to confirm.  Then, I got my list of diagnosis.  And a new set of doctors.  It has been hard.  After three surgeries in an 8 month span -- my body is still healing.  The first four weeks of summer break, I did nothing.  I slept a lot.  I kept thinking that I need to get up and start my summer projects.  But, I was just exhausted.  The "want to" was not there.  The second month, I slowly started feeling more like myself. I have started walking again.  Not everyday yet, but it's getting there.  I know that sitting there is not going to help my energy levels or my healing overall.  But somedays, the tired wins.  I have one more thing scheduled this year.  A colonoscopy is planned for November.  Praying nothing is ...

 Words have that stuck with me through the past 8 months.  You cannot heal in the same environment that has made you sick.  Think about that for a moment.  That includes your diet, stress, relationships, thoughts, and especially your daily habits.  MOST cancers don't pop up randomly.  Only 5-10% of cancers are genetic.  Most cancers come from long-term stress, inflammation, toxic exposure, and nutrient depletion.  So, if I kept doing what I've always done - my body would stay a toxic, nutrient depleted environment. Once your cells have mutated and resulted in cancer, you body and cells are more likely to do that again. So many people who receive the "No Evidence of Disease" label, go back to their previous lifestyles.  Only to find out that the cancer often resurfaces within 5 years.  No, I have not become one of the crazy health nuts that would run away from treatment and only eat seeds.  However, I was blessed to catch my cancer i...