Sisterhood—In Sickness and in Health
by Lee McKenzieA year and a half ago I received some scary news. I had developed malignant melanoma in at least one lymph node in my neck—a recurrence following a primary lesion that had been removed in 2001. A close friend—a true sister in every sense of the word—was with me when I received that diagnosis. Throughout the surgery, recovery and a year of chemotherapy, I’ve been surrounded by a large and supportive group of women.
Ever since that dreadful day in the doctor’s office, my family, friends and colleagues—my own personal sisterhood—rallied around, and their unending love and support kept me going when the going was rough.
Christmas—my favorite holiday—fell between the diagnosis and surgery, and my daughter helped made sure the festivities came together beautifully. She was there when I went into surgery and five hours later was there when I came out. She sat with me in the hospital, washed and combed my hair, patiently learned to clean and care for the incisions, and loaded my favorite music on her iPod. At home, she was always there when I needed her, in spite of a full course load at university and a part-time job.
My extended family of “sisters”—my mother, mother-in-law, aunts, and sister-in-law—live in different cities, so their love and support came as phone calls, cards, bouquets, emails and the occasional visit. I’ve been continually buoyed up by their strength and positive energy.
My friends showered me with attention. Meals, flowers, gifts and books were delivered to the door, and my inbox and voice mail were filled with good wishes. They took me to medical appointments, to the physiotherapist and, at my whim, to the local children’s petting zoo and for walks in public gardens. As I began to regain energy, there were coffee dates and lunch dates.
My Noodler sisters, this amazing group of women that I have been so fortunate to connect with, have continually offered support and
My family doctor, the nurses at the hospital, physiotherapist, massage therapist and therapeutic touch practitioner—all women—have offered more comfort and shown more compassion than I ever would have dreamed possible.
My editors have patiently waited for me to recover, and I’m now triumphantly working on my next submission. It’s wonderful to feel well enough to write again.
This is not to say I haven’t received support from the men in my life. My husband was also at my side before and after surgery, sat with me in the chemo room, and, when I was too sick to get out of bed, ran the household while working full-time. My son, who was away at college, called often and visited when he could. My father, who has the biggest heart of any man on the planet, never let go of his belief that I would beat this.
But today is about sisterhood, and I am so lucky to be part of one with such a vigorous embrace. I am now healthy and well, and regaining a little strength and energy every day. I’d like to think I could have done this on my own, but I’m beyond grateful that I didn’t have to. So, my sisters, I’m now hugging back, and this hug’s for you.
With much love,
Lee
Labels: health, Lee McKenzie, love, sisters, support
Monitoring Your Health
As Maureen talked about yesterday, exercise is very important for your health. We need to be good to ourselves, not only by exercising, but by making sure we monitor our health with regular checkups. Women should go once a year for a pap test and a mammogram. As women, we know these tests are not the most pleasant experiences, but they are important tests. Don't skip them. In between the yearly mammograms, you should do a breast self-examination each month.
You should also monitor your cholesterol and your blood pressure. Every time I go into a store that has one of those places to check blood pressure, I sit down and check mine. Although it is important to have this done by a professional also, these machines can be helpful in between visits to your doctor. Measuring blood pressure should be an average of a number of readings over time, not just one reading. If you notice a pattern of high blood pressure, you should see your doctor. Also a good thing to check is your heart rate recovery after exercise. To do this you should count your heartbeats for 15 seconds after regular strenuous exercise, then multiply by four to get your heart rate. Sit down and wait two minutes and then check again. Subtract the second number from the first. If it is under 55, your heart rate recovery is higher than normal and you should check with your doctor.
Your skin is another important thing to monitor. Every three months get naked and check your skin from head-to-toe, even in places like the underside of your arms, between your toes and fingers and your scalp. Look for for any new moles, changed moles, suspicious spots or rashes. If anything looks suspicious, see a dermatologist. I have a regular yearly exam with a dermatologist. Since I live in a very sunny climate and spend a lot of time outdoors, I believe this important.
You should also examine your feet. What can your feet tell you? You can check to see whether you have a good pulse in your feet that indicates you are getting good circulation in your legs. You should also check your toenails and be on the lookout for toenail fungus. We want to keep those tootsies healthy. After all, we need something to stand on and need them to exercise.
You have all been taught to keep an eye on your weight, but a better measure is your body mass index because it relates your weight to your height. A normal body mass index or BMI is about 19 to 24. You are overweight if your BMI is 25 to 30. A BMI of over 30 means you are considered obese. With a Google search, you can find a number of places on the Web to calculate your BMI.
If you are over 50 years old, there are a few other tests you should have to monitor your health. Your should have a colonoscopy to check for any signs of colon cancer. Another important test for women is a bone density test. This test monitors bone loss as you age. Keeping healthy bones is particularly important as you age. Unhealthy bones can lead to breaks that can have long-term consequences to your health.
These are some of the important ways you can monitor your health and be good to yourselves in the process. Something you can do every day that doesn't require a special test is making sure you get enough fruits, vegetables and fiber in your diet, exercise, relax and get enough sleep.
Are there any other things that you do to monitor your health?
Labels: blood pressure, BMI, bone density, cholesterol, colonoscopy, health, mammogram, pap test
Q&A Friday!
Staying healthy isn't exactly free. At the very least, it takes your time, and writers often don't have a lot of that. Here's a scenario... Your book just hit the NYT bestseller list and you received a seven-figure advance on your next contract. Is there some purchase you'd make toward your health, whether it's a change of location, a piece of equipment, or a live-in massage therapist? Dream big, kids. A dream is very close to a plan.
Me, I'd hire a personal chef to make sure I didn't eat the same stuff every day and develop new allergies.
Labels: health, Writers' Health
10,000 steps and counting
In this month's Wet Noodle Posse e-zine, we posed the question, "What's your favorite way to exercise?" to the Noodlers. The majority of
the answers (located at the bottom of the linked page) came back as walking, including mine. And it makes sense. Walking is probably the easiest exercise to add to your daily routine. You don't need any equipment other than a pair of good athletic shoes unless you count the purchase of a treadmill for walking indoors during cold and inclement weather. But I have to say my treadmill is one of the best purchases I've ever made. It's a piece of exercise equipment I actually use because 1) I like to walk and 2) I can do other things while walking on it. I typically read while on the treadmill, but you can also watch TV or movies or listen to music. And fellow Noodler Kiki Clark has even rigged up a platform across the front of her treadmill and cruises the Internet on her laptop while walking. Now that's talent. I might possibly make a misstep and go flying off the back of the treadmill into the wall. I can just see the look on my husband's face if he were to come home from work and find my arms and legs sticking out of the drywall.
Writers can lead a very sendetary lifestyle if we're not careful. Hours sitting in front of the computer isn't a recipe for great physical health. That's why I make the effort to go to Curves three times a week and walk every day. Last month, I started wearing a pedometer to count my steps and force myself to get in the recommended 10,000 steps a day. That means that at the end of the day, if I'm still short, I hop on the treadmill and walk and read until I reach 10,000. You might not think 10,000 is all that many steps in the course of a day, but according to
The Walking Site, which has lots of information about the 10,000 steps program and walking in general, the average sedentary person may only take between 1,000 and 3,000 steps a day.
I challenge all of you to clip on a pedometer -- I have an
inexpensive one from Sportline (TM) -- and get in 10,000 steps a day. You may need to take a few days of just normal activity to get your baseline, then work up to 10,000 steps. But every step you add will likely do good things for your body. And once you hit the 10,000 steps a day mark, don't miss a day. Exercise is like writing -- if you miss a day, it becomes easier to miss a second and then a third and so on. I'm up to 22 days and counting.
Some other sites with information about the 10,000 steps program:
http://www.10000steps.org.au/ (for the Australians among us)
http://www.shapeup.org/shape/steps.php
http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/health/health20percentboost.html
Happy walking!
Labels: exercise, health
Feeling your age
A few nights ago, my husband and I went to a rock concert at the local arena. We've gone to see rock shows in the past -- Van Halen, Creed, etc. -- but this was a bit different. Evanescence was the headliner, so there were a fair amount of goth people in the crowd. At one point, my husband asked me if it all made me feel old.
Actually, no. In fact, going to concerts like that make me feel younger than I am. I've always been a believer in you're only as old as you feel. A lot of it comes down to mindset. I actually feel more like I'm in my 20s sometimes than my mid-30s. When I look at how many years it's been since I graduated college, I can't believe it. It doesn't seem like that long ago. I don't feel like I'm much different than I was then. I like a good bit of modern music, like teen movies and TV shows, and read books aimed at teens. Yes, my name is Trish, I'm 36 and I watch
Smallville and read Stephenie Meyer books. :)
I firmly believe our mindset affects us physically. My husband's grandmother can do way more physically than my parents, and she's 20 years older than them. I'm sure you've met people who were old enough to be grandparents who were still doing amazing things physically and mentally. They're running races, climbing mountains and writing books. They're inspiring.
The human body is a complex machine, so we have to keep our bodies, minds and attitudes in tip-top shape so the machine keeps whirring away for a good long time. When I'm 80, I still don't want to feel old -- mentally or physically. That's why I intend to keep reading, going for walks, working out at Curves, attending rock concerts, watching
Smallville and
Supernatural, and writing young adult books. Who is going to join me?
Labels: attitude, health
Ever since that dreadful day in the doctor’s office, my family, friends and colleagues—my own personal sisterhood—rallied around, and their unending love and support kept me going when the going was rough.
My extended family of “sisters”—my mother, mother-in-law, aunts, and sister-in-law—live in different cities, so their love and support came as phone calls, cards, bouquets, emails and the occasional visit. I’ve been continually buoyed up by their strength and positive energy.
This is not to say I haven’t received support from the men in my life. My husband was also at my side before and after surgery, sat with me in the chemo room, and, when I was too sick to get out of bed, ran the household while working full-time. My son, who was away at college, called often and visited when he could. My father, who has the biggest heart of any man on the planet, never let go of his belief that I would beat this.
