Almost Normal

First, let me say that I debated whether to blog about this. While there have been other activities and events that have impacted my life in the time since I started this blog, I've tried to be selective in which were actually blog-worthy. Meaning (more or less) that I've chosen to stick to those activities which are directly related to checking an item off the list, rather than things that just happened to occur in the year before I turned 30. Hence, why I have not nor do I intend to publish any work or romance related activities here. Sure, they happen, but they're not really a part of my Operation 30 journey.

After some debate I've convinced myself to share this personal topic based on the fact that this one has most definitely had an impact on my journey as I come into the homestretch on my Operation 30 adventure. So here goes...

FACT: Today was the first day in 2012 that I've worked out.

FACT: Yesterday was the first day since January 3rd that I've seen my actual ankles.

FACT: In the last two months I've been to the doctors' office more times than in the past three years combined. I've had blood drawn five times, three urine tests, a liver ultrasound, echocardiogram and chest x-ray. There was a trip to the ER in there somewhere, but that was over a month ago...

For those who know me (and are not among the less than a handful who know my situation already), the above is likely a bit surprising. I'm not the type of person who goes for two consecutive days without working out if I can avoid it, so a two month hiatus is beyond abnormal. I'm also not the type to go to the doctor unless I absolutely have to (thinking stubbornly that I have the mental and physical strength to tough things out and "get over it" most of the time). And oh - if you knew my deep hatred for needles, you'd know how each time I knew more blood would be drawn I'd cringe and think about what I could distract myself with on my phone so I didn't look at the needle for fear of passing out.

So - what was the deal? Much of December I had been feeling run down and sluggish. It didn't really seem major, as holiday parties were in full swing and things were generally busy. I chalked it up to the holiday season and me being a bit out of my routine. Then the holidays actually hit and I felt a bit worse...chills and fever most nights and achy joints. I felt like I had aged ten years in two weeks! So when I noticed how swollen my ankles were after returning to work following the New Year, I knew I had to see my doctor.

What followed was the parade of tests described above to try to pinpoint potential causes of the swelling and nightly fevers. Meanwhile my pain was increasing daily. I learned that if I took two Ibuprofen as soon as I started feeling the chills coming on (about 3:30pm), that I could somewhat control my fever symptoms. It didn't quite keep me from feeling achy and weak each night, but it helped. Unfortunately, I couldn't control the swelling and would get to the point most days when walking became an issue and I was moving with pain at about half speed - literally. Stairs were my enemy. I spent every weekend and free moment I could with my legs elevated. This new "normal" was excruciating, as I hardly had the strength to do normal, daily activities like fixing dinner and changing into my pajamas.

Luckily, my doctor was able to rule out a bacterial infection in time for my trip to Costa Rica and prescribed steroids to help with the pain and swelling. (I had begged him to make me feel better or I'd have to cancel my trip.) Thank goodness for Prednisone. Unfortunately, my symptoms returned almost as soon as my prescription ran out.

Although my doctor had ruled out a series of potential causes for my symptoms, I still had no diagnosis of what was going on and no prognosis of how I was going to get any better. That was early February and not at all how I had hoped to start 2012 and come into the homestretch of my Operation 30 list. I mean, I barely had the energy to get brush my teeth before bed each night! It was time to go to the rheumatologist.

Enter Dr. Lauter. One visit to his office and he told me he thought he knew the cause of my symptoms and could make me feel better. Of course, more tests had to be run to confirm for sure, but I would have let them draw blood 20 times if it meant I'd know what was wrong with me. Fast forward to today and I have a diagnosis and a plan to hopefully get my body back to "normal" in the short to medium term. Hooray!

What was the mystery issue? Lupus. Drug-Induced Lupus, that is. Dr. Lauter found that the Minocycline I'd been taking for mild acne the past five years had actually triggered this response by my immune system. (I couldn't believe it. This whole issue was in a way self-induced?!) Apparently I'm one of the rare percentage of people who react this way over time when exposed to the drug. Despite my anger in reflecting on my true need to take Minocycline, I was happy to at least have a definitive answer on what was causing my symptoms and how I might eventually get to feeling better.

So what now? I've obviously stopped taking the Minocycline and am on steroids again which has helped significantly to address my aches and pains while my immune system adjusts back to normal. (I still get a chuckle out of saying that I'm on 'roids. I feel like a shamed baseball star.) The swelling has gradually gone down, which has blissfully reunited me with my ankles. I had forgotten what they looked like! (In fact, now they look so thin that I'm wondering how much they've atrophied from lack of exercise!)

Check out the before and after...

Mid-January (Ew!) compared with today

Early February vs Today

So the fact of the matter is that aside from my trip to Costa Rica, 2012 has officially sucked so far having to deal with Lupus. (And for anyone who has to deal with this autoimmune disease on a regular basis, I empathize with you as I know what I've experienced is only a fraction of what those who suffer from the systemic disease actually have to go through.) What's been the worst for me is being low on energy and not feeling like myself. My wardrobe has suffered too as I haven't been able to wear skirts or high heels for two months!

It's hard to say what normal actually is for me anymore, but I'm optimistic that I'm on my way to the light at the end of the tunnel. (Yet another reason I felt like sharing this story.) Working out for the first time today was my first step in establishing my new normal. I know I'll have to ease my body back into things and that just because I can see my ankles doesn't mean that things are altogether normal. But I'm hopeful. Hopeful that I can get back to feeling like myself again sometime in the near future. For now I'll settle for a hiatus from needles versus exercise and regularly admiring the way my ankles look when not significantly inflamed.

Almost there. Almost normal.

And just in time for the last two months!

Pura Vida

Where to start?! I can't believe that it was only about two and a half weeks ago that I was enjoying the sites and culture of the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Any chance that in the ten days I was gone someone has invented a time machine and I can go back? Anyone....? :-)

*Sigh. If not, then I suppose I can settle for sharing all of my wonderful experiences with my blog followers. I'm so glad that my work and ZTA schedule has finally settled down to allow me the time to get it documented with the proper attention in a blog post.

This trip was a huge one: first solo vacation and an opportunity to cross three items off my Operation 30 list, which I proudly did:

#2. Go kayaking - check!

#18. Go on a total immersion Spanish trip - check!

#22. Go zip-lining - check!

I could easily go into extended detail on the things I did during my trip, but for the purposes of keeping a leisurely blog read I'll do my best to be concise...

Day #1 - Thursday, January 26th. I spent most of the day traveling from St. Louis through Miami to Liberia airport in Costa Rica. From there it was a two hour cab ride to Samara Beach where my poor cab driver was victim to my first attempts to "immerse" myself in the Spanish language. I'm afraid what came out was a lot of Spanglish, but he was patient with my lapse in vocabulary and we had a pleasant conversation as he navigated what I believe was the single paved road between the airport and my hotel.

Day #2 - Having experienced the nightlife of the small town of Samara the night before (a la DJ Freak at Club Arriba), I was ready for the kayak tour I had arranged with my hotel the week before arriving. It took some finagling by the hotel to arrange a tour that would fit my schedule, particularly given the high tide that would delay an early start time, but it all worked out. At about 9am on my first day there I was on a kayak leaving from the mainland to a small island about an hour away. The weather was beautiful! Once we got to the island, we went snorkeling for about an hour before feeding pineapple to some of the resident iguanas and then kayaking back. The time spent face down in the water earned me a healthy sun burn on my back despite having applied sun block beforehand, but it was totally worth it for the overall experience of that first morning. It was awesome!

Kayaking in the Pacific Ocean!

Strict to my arranged schedule (and detailed TripIt itinerary), I was able to get back to my hotel, pack and get to the School of Interculture by 1pm to meet my tour group that would be going to Arenal Volcano and Monteverde that afternoon. My next five hours were spent in a van with various fellow students from the US, Quebec and Switzerland. We had good Spanish and English conversation on the way down (yes - I was finally starting to warm up and loosen my Spanish tongue), and enjoyed the scenery and natural hot springs at Baldi as we go into the La Fortuna area.

Lake Arenal and Volcano Arenal

Day #3 - I had another unexpected first, as we spent the morning at a river near La Fortuna that just happened to have a rope swing. The water wasn't extremely warm or deep, but it was nice enough that I was one of few in the group to take the plunge....not just once, but twice. So fun. :-) Later that day we were able to explore the town center of La Fortuna and take a scenic hike to view the Arenal Volcano. In a word, it was breathtaking. We were so lucky that the clouds were sparse that day and we were actually able to see the peak, as many are not as fortunate.

Rope Adventures

Day #4 - Sunday in Monteverde: the last day of my weekend excursion through the school. I was 1000% on board for the optional activity of zip lining, and had particularly chosen that excursion based on that possibility. I was not disappointed. The "Extremo Canopy" tour we went to had a variety of long and short jaunts. The longer ones were especially amazing, as the scenery was spectacular. The last 900m section we had the ability to fly like Superman and travel harnessed by our back and feet rather than our front or waist. I can't say I felt heroic, but the view and the ride was a-ma-zing.

Alas, on Sunday afternoon it was time to return from my weekend trip. However, rather than heading back to the beach I had arranged to spend the week ahead closer to downtown San Jose in the town of Heredia. If I wanted the total "immersion" experience, then I couldn't be distracted by the beach but chose instead to drown myself in the city environment. In hindsight- great decision. I loved Heredia!

Jannette (my Mama Tica) and me

Day #5-8: What a great experience. Sunday through Saturday I lived in Heredia with Jannette, my Mama Tica who cooked amazing meals for breakfast and dinner and provided a great living environment as she opened up her home to me. I spent each day at the school in classes from 8:30am-12:30pm. After a verbal interview on Monday morning, I was thankful to be placed in the first level advanced class, which made me confident that I had not forgotten all of the Spanish I had learned on my quest to a minor in college. My class was perfect, as it was focused on conversation which was exactly what I needed the most practice with. I had two fun classmates, Jane from Indiannapolis and Gaston from Montreal. Our teacher, Vanessa, did a great job making class interesting for us.

Each afternoon was spent doing something different...taking dance and cooking lessons, watching a spanish movie, taking private spanish lessons, drinking cervezas (mmm... Imperial y Budweiser), shopping, and even touring a local coffee plantation (or at least doing my homework there and taking tons of pictures). It's hard to describe the overall experience of a week immersed in the Costa Rican culture in Heredia, but I can say with certainty that I got a ton out of it and only wish that I had more vacation to burn and could have stayed longer.

Day #9: Graduation! I completed my class and officially graduated from the school. Hooray! I'm proud of my diploma and the symbol of what it means to me - taking a chance on something that was new and very unfamiliar to me that I wasn't sure I would be successful with, doing it solo, and surprising myself with just how well I adapted and how much I enjoyed the overall experience.

My school and diploma!

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that on my last night in Costa Rica I was able to take advantage of a rare occurrence in San Jose - an Elton John concert! When I found out through the school that he would be in town, I decided I had to do everything I could to go. Don't get my wrong, I'm not a huge Elton John fan and would likely never see him in the States, but the fact that he was in the same Central American country at the same time as me was a coincidence I knew I had to take full advantage of. Lucky (again) for me, Jannette's son David was game for the concert as well and willing to make an evening of it before he headed into work at the hospital that night. It was a great show and I'm glad I went. And if anyone would like the full 8 minute video I took of him performing Rocket Man, just say the word. :-)

Day #10 - Last day! I was able to work in yet another mini-excursion before my afternoon flight. This time it was a trip to the local Poas Volcano and Botos Lagoon near Heredia. It was a sort of a scenic walking tour and well worth the extra coordination to make it happen in the last hours of my trip.

Poas Volcano and Botos Lagoon

I would also be leaving out one of the best parts of my trips if I didn't at least mention how awesome the food was. Everything was so fresh - sweet, sweet fruit and nummy plantains. And the portions - huge! Each plate had hearty servings of arroz y frijoles (rice & beans), with flavorful bistec, pescada o pollo. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Breakfast in Samara - Dinner in Samara

Phew - what a trip! I'm not sure how successful I was in keeping this to an abbreviated version of my trip, but I really feel that this is only the highlights. I was able to do so much! Now to find a local intercambio for me to keep up my Spanish...

Whoa - getting close.