Today I received the best news. My bone marrow donor has released her information so we can now be in contact with each other! She is 36 and from Germany. I had almost given up hope as I filled out the paperwork in March but the timing is surreal.
Three years ago in November I was told that if I didn’t get a bone marrow transplant, I would be lucky to live 3 years. That means now every day is a bonus day and every day I work to improve so I don’t waste this precious gift given to me.
Brain fog. It was one of the side effects of chemo but it also comes with age or brain injuries. It leaves holes in your thought processes and your memory.
There are still many forms that I have holes in and if I don’t repeat a form over and over other holes will appear but the positive is it is only holes. This week as I practiced Da Mu Hsing I went further than I expected. Once I filled in the missing stances, another section would appear until the next hole.
The one thing I know is that I can’t rely on my memory to fill in the holes, I need to practice and practice until that hole is no longer there. Each repetition makes the hole smaller and smaller.
If you are using your memory to fill in holes you might want to focus on repetitions. You never know if brain fog could affect you.
Numbers
Pushups (equivalent) - 6,220
Sit-ups (equivalent) - 2,120
Kilometers - 1229.2
Weapons form - 228
Hand form - 290
Sparring - 52
AOK - 1075
Piano - 1/50
Tai Chi - 42/50
Yoga - 34/50
Meditation - 18/50
A lot has changed since I last posted and I have lost chunks of my journey by not posting AND I broke my promise to blog each week. That means I have not been accountable and that weighs the heaviest on me so I my first step is this blog.
I am almost done my 12 week exercise course and I am just waiting to get onto a maintenance program. Continued muscle growth is very evident but the good part of starting over is the ability to train your body to do things correctly. My lunges are getting lower, my balance is improving and my cardio increases without the pain that I was experiencing before. Sure I still have twinges in my knees and shoulder but I now know how to push these areas without doing damage so I can continue to build on them. Between physiotherapy and my exercise program, I have eliminated my neuropathy and that is a huge win. Now I have to start deepening my Kung Fu stances and keeping my centre low as I transition between stances.
I returned to work 5 days a week. Having that extra day was a big change. Exercising your mind is no different than your body. You need to push it but also know how far to push it. I still need to take the time to think about what I am saying and to prepare ahead of time. This was evident on Thursday's meeting when I could not even speak about the Kinsmen toy drive. I have to keep reminding myself to be kind and embrace the new me but continue to use the tools that help me be successful.
I started doing more energy work and have more success in maintaining energy flow instead of the glimpses I would get. My 6 harmonies are coming together better but the biggest success is learning to listen to my body so I can catch when things are not inline and then figure out why. Also I have been booking my 1-1s again which really helps keeping the momentum going as well.
Numbers
Pushups (equivalent) - 6,020
Sit-ups (equivalent) - 2,020
Kilometers - 1208.6
Weapons form - 225
Hand form - 285
Sparring - 50
AOK - 1035
Piano - 1/50
Tai Chi - 42/50
Yoga - 34/50
Meditation - 18/50
Posting an old post I wrote.
Last I Ho Chuan meeting we were asked to look at where we were, where we wanted to be, and develop a plan and actions to get there.
I have found during these last few years that my motivation for self starting exercise has suffered. I know that I want to improve but I struggle with doing it on my own. I know that I will attend something I have committed to so I have been signing up for online classes to keep consistent training.
Yoga, Tai Chi, and again I’m in an online exercise class. They give many different variations so you progress at your pace but you are doing it together. At the highest level these exercises are hard. Lunges, planks, bird dogs, bridges. Activities that help build my strength and I have been pleased that most I can do at the highest level. (Funny how you can do almost anything for 1 min intervals.)
As summer is coming to an end, so are many of my online classes, so my action plan is to find more classes to build my strength and flexibility and have them in place BEFORE the others are done.
