Wednesday, May 16, 2007

My Cat Took A Crap, And I Crapped Out...

It's been a red-letter day...Meha, the cat, otherwise known as "Devil Kitty", finally did the "2". Thank God...I was beginning to tally the vet bills in my mind pre "Do whatever you need to do to save her" conversation with her feline friend, the veterinarian! But alas, she finally let 'er rip on her own. LOL I don't tell her I'd give my left kidney to her if she needed it (now THAT would be a transplant miracle, eh?!?) for fear she will get on the Internet when I am not home and SELL my kidneys.

Aside from my cat scraping the box today, I nearly ended up IN a box today, AKA coffin! As most of you know from previous posts, I have been trying to incorporate a bit more "health" into my living. This has included shutting down the Alaskan Pipeline of caffeine I was pumping into my system, eating better meals, AND trying to exercise more. On top of those looming self "projects", I have also appointed myself chief coach and inspirational motivator for Saint EB's BIKACIDE in September...this means, encouraging her to train for her near-death-experience ride!


Saint EB and I had planned a walk in the park today...a 2.4 mile walk on flat terrain, to be exact. My last stroll through the "hood" took me an even 2 miles, so I made a plan to bump that up a notch and take the loop around one of my favorite parks with one of my favorite peeps. That is, until Saint EB called to say (in croaking voice) she had contracted an upper respiratory infection while on vacation earlier this week and did NOT feel she could make the walk...she chose BREATHING over walking with ME! Go figure...


But have no fear...another one of my "peeps", who I refer to as my "neighbor", jumped at the chance to fill in for Saint EB. It was another beautiful afternoon in Seattle, so instead of driving to the park in the late afternoon traffic, we opted to stroll the "hood" once again.


Neighbor and I USED to take relatively LONG walks together last year...before MS decided to rear it's ugly head again. We USED to walk anywhere from 2 - 5 miles at a time...note the operative word here is "USED" to. Back when I was feeling a bit more spry and spunky, we USED to wind our way through a few woodland parks and trails along Lake Washington and climb some fairly steep embankments in the name of a "good workout".


So Neighbor says to me we will just "take it slow" and maybe walk down to the lake or something. It is exactly 1/2 mile from my home to Lake Washington and going DOWN to the lake is quite easy...it's coming BACK from the lake that is a killer. But I decided to be a sport and try it anyway.


By the time we got down to the lake, I still had feeling in my legs and actually felt pretty good. So Neighbor says to me again that maybe we could just walk down to one of the parks and cut back through on the trails UP in the general direction of "home"...my completely spirited and unrealistic side agreed.


So, we took off down the shore of Lake Washington and headed through the park...I had forgotten this particular park has death cliffs in it! My legs were also forgetting they were attached to my hips at this point. But still, I climbed.


I climbed and I walked and I huffed and I puffed until the blood that used to supply my brain simply drained into my legs to try to keep me moving...all reasoning was gone and survival kicked in. I HAD to make it through the trails to get home where I could collapse on my couch!


After a long and extremely painful 3 miles, we finally returned to home in the "hood"...I was never so happy to see my deck in all my life! My legs had become rubber and my brain congealed like Jello...I gasped for air as I tried to point my shaky finger at Neighbor and bark out, "You just tried to kill me, didn't you!?!" All that could be heard was the deep wheezing in my lungs and the occasional drip of sweat leaping from my forehead as I threw myself down on my deck.


Now, after a few hours of rest and a "present" found in the cat box, I'm a bit less hostile about the walk and feeling a tad bit smug...I just made it THREE MILES through hills and valleys and trails through cliffs!!! Six months ago I could not have walked a block let alone ambulate on hills! Woohoo! I'm back...and it's a relief to feel some strength again (privately I do the "victory" dance and say, "F YOU, Multiple Sclerosis!").


Now, pardon me while I screw my legs back on and try to drag myself to bed...I hope my legs eventually thank me for my stupidity today! They are definitely "crapped out", but in a totally wonderful way...

7 comments:

Christmas said...

So proud of you and your marathon walk, and even prouder of my step-mother EB who has reached almost 100% of her bikathon donation goal-it's posted on the Washington MS website! She really is a saint, and not at all middle-aged in any negative sense of the phrase. A friend and inspiration, Saint EB can "go with the flow" anytime, anywhere. Last weekend, she attended her first kegger at my nephew's college graduation party (we really "do it up" here in Montana), and cheered the winner at "beer pong". Thank you for giving her the credit that she deserves for being a great friend. I enjoy reading your blog (EB got me started), and thank you for taking the time to help me smile.

harkoo said...

For the last step in your positive transformation, would you like my tofu recipes?

BRAINCHEESE said...

CHRISTMAS:

Well, HELLO!! I've heard much about you and, although meeting on the Internet isn't exactly "meeting", it's still nice to MEET you! LOL

Yes, your Step-Mom is a Saint...and I AM middle aged, but she can still run circles around me! I fear she may try to throw a kegger herself, however...and as her friend, I will have to "just say no" on that one (or help her carry the keg up five flights of stairs!).

LD

BRAINCHEESE said...

HARKOO/JOYCE:

OMG! Tofu...that will have to come a bit later, I'm afraid. I just chowed down on a steak! LOL

Yes, I know I'll burn in hell for that comment...

LD

harkoo said...

i had to try! lol

Have Myelin? said...

Whoa,that's some walk! I'm on the same "plan" you are...No coffee(egads!) better eating habits, increasing my exercise (but can I please stop falling?) and so on.

Question: Just what is your definition of "middle age" now that we're living longer? LOL!

BRAINCHEESE said...

HAVE MYELIN:

OMG! It's a pandemic! Next thing you know, we'll ALL be begging JOYCE/HARKOO for her tofu recipes!!! LOL

Good for you that you are feeling some motivation to make changes in spite of your MS (and most likely fatigue symptoms)...and I understand BBQ is a "dietary" plan also!

My definition of "middle-aged" is somewhere between 20 and 100...depending on one's lifespan, which can only be determined post mortem...LOL

And if I disclosed Saint EB's REAL age, we'd all feel like schmucks for not doing more at OUR young ages...even WITH MS! She's just in the prime of her life.

LD