Running

I was in the middle of composing an email to a dear friend of mine from my long ago university days, explaining how things have been going, when I realized that I hadn't updated this blog for quite some time.

The brief update is that things are going well.  Arden is busy at work, I am busy with the boys, and the boys are busy exploring, playing and enjoying the long days of summer.

We are in temporary housing for the moment which has been very good as it is a house with a large backyard and a playground around the corner.  We have been so thankful to have had a wonderful visit with Miss Sally over Stampede week and have been warmly welcomed to Calgary by family and friends.

Our time in Calgary has been highlighted by trips to the zoo, visits with family & friends (and friends who are family), and exploration with Arden in his evenings and weekends off (yay!); these photos are from a trip we took to Bragg Creek's Elbow Falls.

We won't be settled into our new house until August 15th (or at least that's possession date... I imagine it will be quite a few weeks of settling in) but I am looking forward to the next chapter.  One of the biggest blessings of this season is that I am accessing some good health care (or at least easily accessible, which seems amazing; no one could ever replace my current physician in Fort McMurray for all she has done with regards to my care) and I am feeling significantly better physically these days.  It has been a long road up from the pulmonary embolism.

My new family physician seems very competent and helpful; he was surprised by my medical history (which, when put onto an intake form, does seem extensive and unusual) and was even more surprised when I presented all of my related paperwork.  He called me an "A+ patient" whereas I explained the need I've had to be advocating for my health, which is why I have all of my paperwork.  It has been helpful for me and for the doctors that I have seen as I have been receiving treatment and I am very grateful to have all of the information.

Getting in to see a hematologist less than two weeks of finding a regular family physician was amazing.  Amazing.   What was more amazing was the in depth explanation that I received from the specialist.  He explained - for the first time - the complexities of my case and the science behind my choices (my choices!  which are significantly limited, but it was helpful to have them presented to me) for anticoagulation treatment.  He confirmed the need for me to be taking Coumadin/Warfarin long term - most likely indefinitely - and broke down the elements of why and how.  I walked out of his clinic beaming and relieved.

Perhaps it is odd to be relieved as I am no further ahead in finding out what triggered or caused my pulmonary emboli and being anticoagulated indefinitely has some risks of its own (primarily bleeding), but to finally find myself understanding my case from a logical, linear angle - coming from a specialist who was able to take the whole of the information and translate it for me - has made a huge difference in how I feel about my health.

I have been feeling better.  Significantly, amazingly better.  So much better that I've started running.  Me.  Running.  It seems completely miraculous given how I felt at this time last year.  My lungs aren't yet what they used to be (nor is my physical ability); when I began running the year after my second child was born, I seemed to be able to run a lot more effectively, faster. In fact, most of my running is in spurts between walking. I have a ways to go... especially since I literally pulled a muscle in yanking on my special support stockings last week.  I laughed at the situation and, after the pain subsided, still went out for my run.

The positive news expands in many areas: from the wonderful blessing of little Elijah being born (and three other beautiful baby boys added to the FBC family!) to the older boys having the opportunity to be enrolled in the school I was hoping for.  In the midst of all of the positive news, there's a lot of hard aspects yet to be worked out. Amongst many other areas, my second born's necessary extraction of two front teeth as well as the challenges of the move still persist.  Missing my Fort McMurray family often weighs heavy on me.  That's why I am keeping on running in every area of my life.  Choosing joy, hope, and peace involve a continual maturing process of discipline... something I am learning through the discipline of motherhood, the endurance on my road to recovery, and a work-in-progress dedication to my running.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.  ~Hebrews 12:11-13