As soon as I posted that I was back I disappeared again.  So what the heck happened?  The last time I was here I was talking about how I was going to get back into the game and we were going to be talking a lot more.  Well, that didn’t go as planned.  I guess that happens sometimes, life’s plans get interrupted and we have to do the best we can to cope.

I had two health issues late last year.  The first was a questionable chest x-ray.  As part of what I do for a living I have to undergo medical surveillance.  I went for a routine physical and x-ray and the clinic thought they saw a shadow on one of my lungs.  They were very careful to tell me that it was probably nothing but I should get it checked by my primary care physician.  That caused a fair amount of sleepless nights but thankfully turned out to be operator error on the part of the clinic that performed the x-ray.  Two more x-rays later and there is nothing there.

The second health issue was much more real.  My gall bladder had to come out.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was very sick.  It had started back in the previous winter.  I was tired and my metabolism was very slow.  No matter how often I worked out I could never feel right.  I went for a checkup and the doctor did an ultrasound.  She told me that it would probably have to come out at some point, but not to be overly worried about it.  She could see stones, but they might not be an issue.  By November I was feeling worse and worse and went back for my final x-ray for my chest.  I had changed doctors and my new doctor sent me for another ultrasound.  She sent me to a surgeon who scheduled me for surgery a week later.  My gall bladder came out two days before Thanksgiving.

The surgery went slightly less than perfectly and I can’t thank my wife and family enough for taking time away from their holiday to help me recover.  I had to go back to the doctor over the long weekend because I was having trouble healing.  There were a few complications in surgery and after but I am happy to report that by Christmas I was almost feeling back to normal.

The largest change was in my energy levels.  I finally felt like I could function again.  I hadn’t realized how sick I was before the surgery because I had become used to how I was feeling.  I had been sick for so long that it became my new normal.  Once I started feeling better I realized just how bad it had been.  I started to count down to the day I could go back to training.  The surgeon had told me to wait six weeks and at first I couldn’t imagine getting back on the trainer or treadmill.  Once I started to feel better I couldn’t wait.

This ambition caused me to sign up for a new gym that was opening near my house.  I can’t wait to talk about that next week!

I also learned a few lessons through all of this.  The first and biggest is that if something doesn’t feel right, get it checked out.  You know your body better than anyone else; if a doctor tells you that nothing is wrong or to wait but you still feel that something is wrong, get a new doctor or second opinion.  If a doctor tells you to take care of something, do it.  You might not realize how bad you really feel.  Take care of yourself, you are the only one who can.

Finally, it’s really great to feel pretty good again.  While nothing is perfect, I sure feel better now than I have in a long time.  I am back to training and back to planning the next season of runs, rides, and OCRs!  It’s also great to finally feel like I have something positive to share with everyone and to get back to writing.  See you soon!