It's official -- my mother's diagnosis came on Friday and the doctor was right, "You have a serious, serious problem." She has advanced osteoporosis and the pain she's been having is from fractures in the spine as a result of weakened vertebrae. It's so heartbreaking to see her in so much pain and not being able to do normal things anymore like run the vacuum or stand and wash dishes or cook. And there's no remedy for recovery - no surgery, no therapy, no nothing -- just pain pills for a little relief. The doc said recovery for the fractures is long. Please, whether you are male or female, take care of yourself now -- today. Osteoporosis is often brought on by a lifetime of not getting enough calcium and habits that deplete the calcium from the bone such as smoking, drinking alcohol and a high animal protein diet that leaches protein from the bone (this one is controversial, but my parents are huge meat eaters their entire life. Growing up, it was never unusual to see pickled tongue and heart in the frig - yuk!). The disease IS preventable. Don't smoke, watch your calcium intake and eating foods that leach it from your bones (salt, phosphoric acid in sodas, alcohol, animal proteins), get vitamins especially vitamin D, and EXERCISE! Running, jogging, jumping, walking, dancing, and free weight lifting (no machines) are preventative measures to fight it off. I'll never stop running or walking/hiking. The bike and swimming is not enough -- you MUST do weight-bearing exercises.
The Rattling 25K run and 25 mile bike race is OFF my schedule. I can't take the time to finish training for it right now. The only event I'm definitely doing is the BASH, and the Capital City Challenge. I can squeeze in an hour or two of riding/running/paddling to stay semi-fit for the Cap City Challenge, but that'll be it. I'm very fortunate momma lives next door and I can stop by as much as needed. Right now, we're on an every-other day schedule. We're taking it one day at a time. Now go have a glass of soy milk!
1 comment:
So very sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis. She's lucky to have you close by.
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