Lindsey Update

Sorry for the delay.  We were moved to the rehab ward in the old part of the building.  It's further from the computers, and I wasn't feeling super motivated...

So yes, we moved to rehab on Friday.  It's in the old OLD part of the hospital, and the room/accomodations are henous.  The room is drap, the view poor, and the bathroom is shared with the room next to us.  I guess our vacation is over. :)

It seems like all we've done since we got to the hospital is wait.  We've waited and waited for rehab.  We've been there since Friday and we're still just waiting - now for Monday.  Apparently, those working in rehab are Mon-Fri people.  We did get about the same amount of attention on Saturday as we did on the neuro floor, but today no therapy.  Seems like a waste of time to me.  Lindsey is feeling more like a prisoner than a patient, and I can't blame her. 

Every day there are improvements.  Her face droop is minimal now, though she's still highly self-conscious about it.  I think her new crooked smile is kind of cute (heck, mine is a bit crooked), but she doesn't seem to share my enthusiasm.  Her motor skills are getting better in that right hand.  She really needs to work on it, but she gets a little miffed every time I suggest it.  I guess that's what I get.

She's still as Lindsey as she could ever be.  She's defiant and stubborn, but funny and sweet.  She's determined to get out of there by the end of the week.  I'm not sure just exactly what they have planned for her, but I know she'll do great.  She's a fighter.

Please pray specifically that her brain will heal on it's own.  If it doesn't, she'll have to undergo radiation and it will take a year for recovery, plus the chances of recurrence are increased.  We appreciate the love and prayers sent our way.  It has meant the world to us to know that not only has the Lord blessed us with Lindsey's life and improving health, but that He's blessed us with such wonderful people who share our burden and love us.  Thank you.

Wake me up, love, every day!

Lindsey and I stay pretty frugal at all times.  We have little extra money for luxuries, so vacations are cheap or non-existent.  Last year our big get-a-way was spending three days in the hospital at St. Al's welcoming our new arrival, Riley.  This year, we're joking that we loved it so much, we're back for another vacay, this time staying a little longer.

She's in good spirits today, and feeling better than ever.  She's been able to get up and walk a little.  Her legs are strong and she's getting more and more steady as she goes.  She was able to sit up today and eat lunch by herself.  She didn't even spill a drop (which is more than we could say for my brother who visited during his lunch hour). 

Last night she was able to take a shower, and brush her teeth.  Her aunt Amy bought her some cute pajamas to wear during her stay at the hospital.  We were both glad for the feeling, look, and sense on normalcy.  She brushed her own hair and I helped her put it up into a messy bun again. 

The outlook is good for her recovery.  We'll learn more today.  She seems to be progressing well, and shows more and more that she comprehends, and can respond appropriately.  Her control over her right arm and hand is getting better, though that'll be the biggest challenge.  We will be working extensively with her to be able to get her back at making art and allowing her to be creative.

I'm so glad I have such a good wife.  She's always lvoed and supported me in all my trials, now I will be with her during her trials.  Isn't family wonderful?  We have such a good one, too.  Thank you all again for your love, prayers, and support.

Lindsey (Counting the Miracles)

Many of you already know how amazing my wife is.  For those of you who do not, I feel bad.  She's talented and beautiful.  She's compassionate, caring, loving, smart, witty, sassy, cool, and absolutely the most wonderful person I know.

Sunday we had a bit of an emergency that landed us in St. Alphonsus in Boise.  Sunday afternoon, she complained of a slight headache as we were about to leave for church.  She said she didn't need any Tylenol when asked, and assured me she would be fine.  We got to church a few minutes late and had to sit in the very back of the gym.  As we sat, Riley played around us at our feet, Lindsey made her a bottle, and scratched my back.  She still had a headache, and asked that I rub her neck a little bit after she scratched my back.  I massaged her neck for a couple of minutes, but she alerted me to Riley escaping toward a lady sitting further down our row.  I went to get her, and when I sat back down near Lindsey, she leaned over and said something that didn't make any sense.  I asked her to repeat it, looking at her face, and she still didn't make any sense.  I noticed that the right side of her face was sagging a little bit.  I asked her if she was okay, and she said she might need to go home, but wasn't sure she could drive.  I told her we were going to get her to the ER at West Valley (Only 2 miles away - miracle #1) and off we went. 

In a whirlwind of grabbing and moving, I got Riley, my scriptures and EQ Secretary binder in one arm, and the baby bag on the other with Lindsey leaning on me for assistance.  She had strength in her legs (miracle #2) as we left, but was unsteady.  We got to the hospital, and I was unsure how I'd get Riley and her into the ER.  I pulled into a parking space and there was a pleasant looking lady and a man (miracle #3)standing just near where I parked.  I asked if she would please watch my baby in the car, that I'd leave it on with the AC running, and be back in just a minute.  I could only plan on getting Lindsey checked in, then coming back out.  She offered to bring Riley in for me, and did so (she held her for a few minutes as we got checked in).  Riley was actually pretty bummed when I took her back.

They did a CT at West Valley after taking Lindsey's vitals.  She had become increasingly unresponsive since we got to the ER.  They discovered that she had some blood vessels rupture, causing a brian aneurism.  They decided to move her by ambulance to St. Al's in Boise. I could see in her eyes, though, that she was concious of what was happening and afraid. 

I have never been so heartbroken and afraid in my life either.  I prayed that the Lord would not leave me alone.  I was shocked and in disbelief.

My father in-law, Mike Ransley, was there minutes after I called.  He's a nurse at West Valley, and knew the way well.  He got there just as the nurse came out and told us she had some bleeding in her brain and would need to be transported.  We were both nearly coming unglued.  We were able to give her a blessing before they put her in the ambulance (then we actually beat the ambulance here).

Lindsey was in better shape when they unloaded her from the ambulance than she was when they had loaded her in.  That was encouraging.  She recognized me the whole time.  They took her directly into the ICU and she spent 2 days there. They discovered she had a congenital malformation that caused the rupture.  It was only a matter of time before it was to blow, and we were lucky it was as small as it was, and that it happened when it did (while we were together and she wasn't driving or anything - miracles #4 and #5).

She was cofused and anxious the first day.  She wasn't able to comprehend all that happened.  But she has hinted that she understands now.  She knows where she is and that she's surrounded by love.  She recognizes most people, but sometimes has a hard time communicating.  Some of the wires are still crossed in her head since there's excess blood and swelling.  She now continuing to recover in the neuro unit. 

She's improving daily... even hourly.  Most of her right side has good strength, but little fine motor control.  That will be back with time.  We will be in neuro for a couple of days, then inpatient rehab for a couple more days or a week. 

We just have felt overwhelmed with love and support from all of you.  We appreciate your prayers, well wishes, sincerity, and offers for help and support.  Please keep praying for us.  Lindsey is doing well.  She's a fighter, and will be back on her feet in no time!  Each one of you is a miracle to us.  Please give your loved ones a hug and a kiss.  It sounds super cliche, but you never realize just how much they mean to you until you almost lose them.  Again, we feel like we have the best family and friends in the world.  They say that in these situations, you find out who your friends are.  I can say with confidence that we have no shortage of good friends.  We love you and pray for you as well. 

Get out, get moving.

I think we'd all be amazed at how many "found" calories we consume in a day when we're not careful.  A bite of this and that, a midday snack, or a little pre-meal grazing can add calories to our day really fast.  Likewise, some "found" activity time can add in an extra punch to that calorie burn!

This weekend Lindsey and I took our 10mo. old daughter, Riley, to the zoo for the first time.  That was a good way to walk around and burn some calories.  We walked about a mile and a half inside the zoo. 

There are a wealth of things we already do, or can do to add in some activity time.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.  Park in the back on the parking lot.  Do a couple laps around the outside isles of the grocery store before shopping. 

Make quality time count!  When you spend time with your family, make it enriching both to the relationship and the body.  Plan a fun activity outside.  Go on a family walk.  Garden.  Have a picnic in the park.  Wrestle with your kids.  Make family time fun and active.  Go for a bike ride.  Pull your kids around the block in a wagon.  They will love it, and your waist will too!

Do two or more of these things every day.  You could burn an extra hundred calories (maybe more!), and not even realize it.  If you're having trouble getting motivated to exercise, start with some of these ideas.  Get out, get moving!

Reaching Higher, Lifting Heavier

Here's an interesting fact: one pound of muscle burns somewhere between 35-50 calories per day.  A pound of fat? somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-6 calories per day.  That's a big BIG difference!

While on my Sabbatical, I was feeling discouraged, mostly becuase I had continued to eat right and exercise, but was not losing any more weight.  I felt like my plateau was never going to end.  There I was, stuck at about 302 and not getting anywhere doing what I had been doing.  Of course, when it stops working as you'd want, it's easy to just stop... or at least to slack off for a while.  That's what I did. 

But I still lost about 4lbs.  In fact, I lost 2lbs in two consecutive weeks.  The difference was weight training. 

I hate to say this, but ladies, you're the most averse to weight training.  I get it - you don't want to look all muscular and manly, or sore either.  Plus, it doesn't feel like you're getting a good work out every time when you lift.

Do it anyway.  If you don't know how to lift, you can find a myriad of great online tutorials, or just ask a trainer at your gym (most gyms give you a free training session when you join anyway).  It's true that you may not burn the same amount of calories as you would with your aerobic exercise, but you're building a foundation for future calorie burn.  Additionally, as Bill Phillips notes in Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength, if you don't change the way your body looks under the fat you have, you're going to have the same body shape you have now... only in smaller form.  I think most of us trying to lose weight are, among other things, trying to change the way our bodies look.

Ladies, here are some tips for shaping up:

1) Focus on really heavy lifting on the legs.  Not only do your legs have some of the largest, longest, and most powerful muscles in your body, they are some of the most highly used.  Don't be afraid to pack on a few lbs of muscle.  Not only will the little extra bulk be barely noticeable, it will probably actually improve the look of your legs.

2) Your arms will not bulk up.  Don't worry about getting "man arms," it won't happen.  You don't have the testosterone that causes men to really bulk up.  Unless you go crazy and lift every day, take the weight lifting supplements, and lift super heavy, it won't be an issue.  You can build muscle without "bulking".  Go moderate on your arms, and work all the muscles.

3) Your core needs to be strong, but a thousand sit ups won't do you much good.  Your core muscles should get some focus, but not all your focus.  Work in some core exercises with your regular weight training.

4) The frequency of your weight training should be planned out in advance.  For supplementing weightloss, 2-3 time per week should be sufficient.  Don't worry about going more often than this unless you really want that strength.

Adding some weight training can really kick-start your routine.  Whether you've hit that plateau, or if you're looking for a new way to get that burn going. 

Here's a great article with more information!  No go out and get moving!

Taking Time Off

Dieting is a tiring thing.  We start out with gusto then... I'm not evenn sure what happened.  I pretty much went into maintenence mode, I guess.  I still lost 2 lbs last month, but never really made the effort for more. 

So it's back on for the month of July, and so is the blog.  I apologize for my Sabbatical.  So I'm now down to 298lbs, but still a long way to go.  My goal is to be somewhere around 250 by the end of the year.  That's about 2lbs per week.  I better get moving!  Good thing I've got my GoWearFit.

What will I do differently this time?  Write down everything I eat.  I've got to keep a food journal so I know wxactly where I'm at for the day.  The GoWearFit website allows me to calculate my calorie intake, then automatically calculates my calorie burn.

Here we go for round 2!  If I can do as well as round one, I'll be perfectly happy!

Exercise Planning and Routines

I've talked about why exercise is important.  We all know it is.  Probably more so for the mental kick it can give you than the physical.  The physical aspect will only affect your weightloss 20% or so.  Losing weight is 80% diet, and 20% exercise.  Why am I putting so much emphasis on exercise, then?  Becuase it's also a showing and a physical performance of your commitment to health.  That can help you stay focused mentally, and continue through those pesky plateaus.

So let's go over a few things that can get you started, or give you something different to try.

First, an exercise plan needs to be diverse.  It should incorporate cardiovascualar and resistance exercises.  Strength and endurance are both needed to accomplish most physical tasks.  Ignoring one or the other will create holes in your plan.

Exercise plans should be fitness goal driven.  Make a goal to run a marathon or half-marathon.  Don't think that's possible?  They do it on The Biggest Loser every season now.  Plan to do an Ironman, or make your own goal.  The goal should be something that's possible for physically fit people, but that you may think is impossible for you.  That's how you stretch yourself.

Next, find out where you are.  What are you comfortable with?  It may not be much at first, but that will change.  Remember the President's Fitness Test back in school?  That's a good measure of fitness, and a good place to start.  Test yourself on some of those.  These are basic exercises that could be done with little or no equipment, and that can be improved upon.

Then set some goals.  Plan a road map to where you want to be.  Maybe it's a stretch to do 20 push-ups.  Make that a goal.  Maybe you'd like to run a mile in under 8 minutes.  Make that a goal.

Every day is your chance to make a difference.  Plan on focusing on your main goal - whether cardio or strength, but include some of the other exercises.  Even if you're training for a marathon, do some push-ups and sit ups two or three times a week. 

Ultimately your ability to or failure to plan will make or break your exercise routine.  You are less likely to skip a workout if you've had it scheduled in since the beginning of the week.  Plan it out, plan on it, keep your commitments!