Day 193: Stressed, but THANKFUL

It's been about 2 and a half weeks since my last blog entry, but I am sure that most of you know why. My mom was hospitalized from October 20 - October 25th due to blood clots in her lungs. She complained about shortness of breath and chest pains that Saturday (the 20th), and after a lot of badgering from several others and myself, she finally went to the emergency room that night at around 9:30. She, my dad, and I spent a few hours in a private room of the Emergency Room unit until the results from her tests came back revealing that she needed to be admitted right away. They discovered multiple blood clots in both of her lungs, so they immediately placed her in the ICU and on blood thinners to begin the process to dissolve the clots.

The entire ordeal was very surreal. My mom is kind of a hyper active person, so the diagnosis was a bit of a surprise to us since clots are typically found in people who live sedentary lifestyles. Other than the shortness of breath, she was pretty much acting like her normal self while she was in the hospital.

My mom & dad are troopers...

I visited her every day during my lunch break while she was in the hospital, and we're keeping an eye on monitoring her INR number to make sure her blood doesn't clot more or her blood doesn't get too thin. Here's hoping she's out of the woods sooner than later!! Thanks again to everyone who has sent positive thoughts & prayers our way. They've definitely helped because she seems to be doing fine for the most part. She still has to visit her cardiologist twice a week for blood tests, but that's definitely more than OK.

It's been a rough year for my parents and me regarding their health issues. These situations always make it difficult to maintain a good healthy lifestyle both mentally and physically. During the times my parents have been in the hospital this year, I've found myself slacking on everything because my mind is preoccupied with their well-being. Of course, this is only natural, but why do people (myself included) tend to do such a horrible job of making better decisions for themselves in these kinds of stressful situations when the mind and body need better care the most? I hate that I found more comfort from eating when my mom was sick, and even to now, I'm still struggling to ween myself back into eating better after that time.

My body is still catching up from the exhaustion of the past couple of weeks' events. Thankfully, I've still been relatively active by walking about an hour per day with my friend Craig during our lunch break. I believe I had just begun tracking our walks with the GPS MapMyRide app in the last blog entry I made. The only exercise I've been doing since I last blogged is walking and this awesome Jillian Michaels Shred workout that my boss told me about.

Otherwise, I've been busy playing catch up on freelance projects and work, but I feel like I'm constantly running behind. 

Even though I still have a lot to do, I decided to be sure to blog today because today was one of my capstone events of the year regarding health:  THE HEART WALK. I know those of you who've been reading have seen my link to ask for donations at the end of each entry over the past few months. Thanks to those of you who donated!! I was able to reach my goal on Tuesday and exceed it on Thursday of this week! I raised a total of $1,060, and I was the top fundraiser for the Heart Walk in Beaumont this year. THANK YOU ALL who helped me accomplish this!!! Nick wasn't able to walk with me this year like he has over the past 2 years due to his school work, but he was definitely on my mind and in my heart along with all the other people I walk for every year today!

With my daily walking buddy, Craig.
I'm so proud of his dedication to be active!!

The top fundraisers of the Heart Walk!

I walked for these loved ones and so many
more people today. It always feels so rewarding!

When I finally feel caught up with my rest and my other work, I will definitely begin blogging regularly again. I hope ya'll understand! I have just felt extremely overwhelmed lately, so blogging has had to go to the back burner for the past couple of weeks. I'm actively seeking ways to better deal with my stress, and I definitely have some happier things to look forward to this week, so I'm hoping those help me get back into the swing of things more quickly.

I've gained about 3 pounds since my mom got sick, so I'm back up to 137. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself for it, but I definitely do not intend to let that number go out of control. If I can get into the 120s before New Year, I will feel extremely accomplished! If I do not, well, I won't hate myself for it, but I need to kick my butt into high gear despite the delicious holidays that are quickly approaching. 

OK, goodnight, everyone! OH and for those of you who have to worry about it, don't forget to set your clocks back an hour! My bike is crying because I may be using it less due to the end of daylight savings time for the year. I hope to be riding again soon.