All I can really say is WOW. The past few days were tough.
After the first trip to the ER I vowed I would not return…knew I had some doctors appointments lied out for the following week. Days of REST and more rest and I returned to work late Monday. Barely able to make it through the lessons as soon as I hit home things got scary. We headed back to the ER for some treatment and before you know it we were NOT going home.
Severe dehydration, the lack of nutrition, and the intense flare up had me in my worst state EVER. Yes, I had flare ups before lasting 4-6 months but never this severe, they were managed well by medication and listening to my body and resting as needed.
Ironically my GI doctor was the on call gastroneurologist for the week so he was able to come see me every day. It took 7 huge iv bags to have to go to the bathroom. And after losing over 8 lbs, I soon blew up so much that I did not even recognize myself. I didn’t care about anything though, just wanted to get healthy and feel normal again. I soon had cankles, swore I gained 15 pounds (later to find out only three), and looked like I had collagen injectons all over my face.
Many have asked what causes the flare up and so just to address it, it is not “caused” by stress or nutrition. It is that I continually have inflammation due to ulcers in my colon and it needs to be attended too, once a major flare up occurs (which for me comes on quickly and strong) then anything (ie: stress and nutrition) become a huge component it getting it to settle. So I was on complete bed rest, iv bags and liquid diet (chicken broth and jello). They do not know what causes ulcerative colitis but is very similar to Crohns disease (on a smaller scale). I had heard of hospitalizations and individuals having sections of their colons removed but truly never thought I would be in this situation.
My tests all came back negative so I have started the
Remicade treatments (yep, they run from t $7,000-$14,000, thank goodness for insurance). I responded very well to the first one, as I was actually moving and was able to eat solids starting the next day. I was pretty exhausted immediately following but with the help of amazing friends and family the time was spent much more pleasantly than having to go through this solo. I had the most beautiful flowers to look at (thank you Johnna, Ryan, Bryn and the Cunninghams!), magazines galore (Thank you Bri, Bridget, Jenn, Kirsten, Sarah, Karen, unbelievable that there were no "repeats!") (BTW the black blazer is the hot item now!), a fantastic new
lululemon scarf/blanket/do anything cover, a real toothbrush and toothpaste, room spray (Miss Bridget is like a mom!) , the cards, the FB messages, the concerns, and an
ipad that has EVERYTHING a girl could want to watch and the little trip for a cute lulu tank and deodrant was over the top (thank you Beth!), itunes gift card (H* thank you!) , and visitors that made the time fly by (You guys are the best!). And thank you everyone for taking care of Mark during this time too, he was more of a trooper than myself I believe (the sandwiches, the pretzels, the banana bread, a trip to Azteca- he likes food!, but the messages too....I can't thank you guys enough).
I have another treatment in two weeks, then in four, then in 8, etc, etc. It is a progressive medication that does have many side effects but if I lay low and rest then I hope to continue to respond like the first treatment.
As for training, that is no more for now and there is no time to telling as to when. But I promise to be the best spectathlete to all of you out there pursuing your fitness dreams! My time will come! I am pretty okay with it for right now. Just had a small bout of sadness when looking at the pro list for Lake Stevens this Sunday. That quickly changed though when I had to “walk” around the hallway (which I had not been out of my room in 3 days) and felt dizzy just doing that. Amazing to go from 100 mile bike rides, to walking 50 steps as success, baby steps I know! Leaving the hospital was pretty emotional, seeing the sun, going home, and having this new amazing husband that could not have been any more supportive made me appreciate life even more.
I know most of you reading are triathletes and taking time or days off is really hard to swallow. I wanted to just remind you that are bodies are pretty amazing things and they “let” us do what we want on a day to day basis. It is important to listen to it and know when to say when and also to appreciate it and on those days you are looking for motivation just remind yourself how “lucky” you are to just be out there doing what you love. So often athletes are so focused on the time goal, the PR, the winning, and truly it is so much more than that. But yes, I understand that winning is fun! Triathlon has kept me fit, given me the best job in the world, has let me travel the world, but what I think of most is how the sport has one by one added new amazing friends to my life. The support and the messages that rolled in during this past week reminded me of what a family this multisport lifestyle really has become. What I will miss the most during this time is that which I get to spend with my friends, the fun memories we create while doing these crazy workouts and the laughter. The races are the icing on the cake and as much as I love to race….it can wait for now!
Tonight we are hoping for a great nights rest of no more pottying in toilet hats, no more BP and HR reading on the hour, no more iv’s, no more moveable beds (to prevent bed sores), and to the lady next door whom was on “high alert for falling” whom bed sung “Mary had a Little Lamb” like the ice cream truck was driving by every time she would’t wait for a nurse….you will NOT be missed! (PS, this was more than an hourly occurrence, no joke, ask my visitors!!)
Cheers to your health and to being able to appreciating what our bodies can do for us!
(Mark played super coach doing all the "running" around and relaying message from me)
