Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

I went to the podiatrist yesterday and after an examination and an ultrasound the diagnosis is Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. It's like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome only instead of happening in the wrist it happens in the foot/ankle area. It is somewhat due to the Plantar Fasciitis but is actually a different thing. It is due to the flattening of my foot and is also considered an overuse injury.

After I was treated for the Plantar Fasciitis and was feeling better I really stepped up the workouts for the ladies at Curves. I was like a Richard Simmons clone. I would crank up the music and make them work really hard but in order to make the ladies work hard I was working hard too. I was bouncing around, doing lots of leg lifts and jumping and had cranked the aerobics up from low impact to high impact. The next thing you know, Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. Ouch!

Dr Tanner sprayed my foot with a numbing agent and gave me a cortisone shot in the side of my heel. Surprisingly enough it didn't hurt at the time but started aching late in the afternoon yesterday. Today it is screaming so I'll be taking it easy. Thank god for my big screen TV and the French Open Tennis match. If I get bored with that theres always Paul McCartney dvds to be watched and drooled over.

Once I am feeling better I have to go shopping for some new shoes with, get this, heels. Dr T wants me in 2 inch heels to take the pressure off the Tarsal Tendon. In going though my shoes I realized that I only own one pair of shoes with heels this high. I live in sneakers or flats. I wish Kerry was home to go shopping with me. It would make it fun instead of work.

I'm trying to figure out some exercise for today. No aerobics but maybe some upper body weight lifting which I can do in a chair. Oy vey! Exercising in a chair. If I didn't feel like an old lady before I'm feeling it now.

If all this doesn't work and we do all of the allowed shots then I have to think about the S word. Yes, surgery. I'm thinking that before I do that I will find another pediatrist and get a second opinion. Foot surgery has the possibilities or ruining my life but I'm not going there yet. I am going to stay as positive as possible and hope it doesn't come to that.

Wednesday Check In

I kept my promise to Laura and called my podiatrist Dr Tanner for an appointment. My heel pain is back in a big way and it's getting in the way of my life again. I can't walk, run or do one of Richard's videos because the pain is too much to bear. It's frustrating and depressing. I'll never lose the 15 pounds if I can't exercise. I have enough trouble losing weight when I'm feeling well and not in pain. I will welcome the cortisone shot that is probably coming. Anything that will allow me to get back to the track and back ON track is on my list of things to love.

Today I am starting my day with Joy's Hatha class at the Yoga Source. I can do most asanas without foot pain. Note I said most. Pushing back into down dog is painful as is plank and some others. I'm hoping most of the class will be laying down or sitting. That I can do. I can aways do yoga.

Downward facing dog in Juliana's studio

I'm off from work today so after yogaI think I will crank up my Ipod and do some strength training. I can sit and lift weights. Yeah, I can do that. Maybe a good weight lifting session will help me with my motivation which has left the builiding now that I can't exercise. If nothing else it will give my metabolism a needed boost. I'm busy needing boosts and kicks in the butt. Please... feel free to take aim....rear back....and kick me in the butt.

Hey Ang, thanks for making me your blogger of the week. I am honored that you feel I actually have something to give to the world. That helps. You are the best.

Saturday Afternoon Date

Usually Pat plays golf on both Saturdays and Sundays especially now that summer is here and the rates have gone down but not today. We woke up to rainy skies and some thunder too. The weather station says we will have rain all day today and possibly tomorrow too so we decided to go on a date today. We are going to the movies to see the new Star Trek flick which I hear is really good. Pat and I are trekkies so I'm sure we will both enjoy it. What could be better than Spock on a rainy afternoon? Well, Paul would be better but this is almost as good.

Paul in 1990 in Miami-Yep, I took this picture.

Spock in the 60's-Live Long and Prosper

Geez, I can't even remember the last time I went to the movies. I'm thinking it might have been the last Lord Of The Rings movie and that was a long time ago. Years ago. Movies have become so pricey lately that we are very picky about what we go to see. It's easy to spend a lot of money especially if you hit the candy counter. NOT!!

I will not buy any popcorn or candy at the movies. Not only would that ruin my healthy food plan but it would also put a hole in my pocket. Movies have gotten expensive lately. $9.50 just to get in. I will throw a bottle of water in my pocketbook so I won't spend money on that either.

We are planning to go to the 4:15 show which will put us out right around dinner time. Pat will probably want to go to Tijuana Flats for dinner. I can get a black bean burrito made "power light" which means they change out the full fat cheese and sour cream for fat free and they make it on a wheat tortilla instead of flour. That burrito weighs in at 288 calories which isn't bad. It's the chips and guacamole that's the killer so I just won't order that. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Sounds like a fun Saturday afternoon date with my honey. Donncha think?

Never Give Up

Well, it's started. Kerry left on Monday afternoon and I haven't stopped eating since. It's actually amazing the amount of food that I can consume without really thinking about it. I let the loneliness I felt for my daughter overwhelm me and started eating. And it's the worst kind of eating. Emotional. What gets me is that I am aware of it. I know I'm doing it but don't or can't stop. What's up with that? Huh?

Breakfast is good. It's always good. I always have either a half of a bagel with one tablespoon of whipped cream cheese and an orange or a bowl of oatmeal with berries. Sometimes I even go all the way and make myself a mixture of Egg Beaters with onion, mushrooms and any other kind of veggie and a piece of toast. All of these are pretty good choices for a healthy breakfast. I do indulge in too much coffee in the morning but as for as food goes I think my breakfast choices are pretty good. After that I am screwed.

I don't really eat lunch. I start my grazing and it doesn't stop until I start getting ready for work. Now I have to ask myself is it grazing or binging? Does it really matter? All I know is that I don't really eat a real lunch. I just go for whatever is around. Fruit, cheese, almonds, lots of bread and rolls. Sometimes, every now and then, I'll have some soup or leftovers from the night before but I never stop there. I just keep going, eating until I get ready for work which is usually about 2:30. I've tried to change this but I keep going back to my bad habits.

Now looking at this a little closer it seems that I have food difficulties from lunch time to dinner time. OK, now that's about 4 hours or so. Maybe I need to find something to do during this time of day so that my head doesn't end up in the fridge looking for something that isn't even there. I wish I was more like my unbelievably talented and crafty friend Laura who makes beautiful jewelry. I've tried knitting, crocheting, painting by numbers and many other things. I'm just not very crafty so I always struggle and finally lose interest. I guess I need to find something interesting I can do during the time when I usually end up looking for food. I need to change things up. Not something that comes easily to me, change. I will try though. It's all about trying. Right? Like Richard always says "Never give up".

The Coldplay Concert.

Kerry is leaving to go back up to Gainesville this afternoon. Once again it was totally fantastic to have her home. We had a lot of fun as usual most of it either in front of the big screen TV or shopping. Yeah, we did lots of shopping.

The highlight was definitely the ColdPlay concert at the West Palm Beach Amphitheater. It was really an amazing show. They are a very talanted, british and somewhat Beatlesque (which is a true compliment coming from me) band. There are four of them just like The Beatles. The very cute frontman, Chris Martin is a vegetarian like Paul and is married to Gwyneth Paltrow. Lucky Gwyneth Paltrow.



We had really great seats. They were located in the front row of the second section right behind the private boxes so we could really see and had leg room to boot. At one point in the concert the boys ran up to a small stage setup very near us and we were able to get VERY close. It was very exciting and brought me back to the last time I saw Paul. Yes, my Paul. I snuck up to the third row and was very close. Very close. I saw him and he saw me....well, back to Coldplay.

This is Paul McCartney in 1993

OK...back to Coldplay

They played my two favorite songs which are Fix You and The Scientist so I was happy. Kerry was totally ecstatic during the entire concert. We stood and danced and sang for two hours. Kerry lost her voice (strangely familiar). They even sang I'm A Believer which was a fun
addition for us old folks.

When the concert was over Coldplay had a new fan (me) and we were each given a free CD which contains 9 live songs that they played at our concert. It is a very nice souvenir and I am playing it as I write this blog. Getting out of the venue was a total nightmare but looking back on it, being stuck in traffic for 2 hours with Kerry was just another chance for us to be together. For me, that's the only thing that matters.

Frontman Chris Martin

Loneliness And Eating

Kerry got home on Friday night and it is soooo good to have her home for a little while. It makes me realize that a lot of my eating issues have to do with her not being here aka loneliness. Thinking back on my life that is a recurring theme. Hmmm. Very interesting.

When I was a kid I would come home from school and my mom would be there waiting for me. She was always so happy to see me. She would have milk and cookies or some fruit waiting for me because she knew I would be hungry. We would sit and talk for hours. We would laugh about things that had happened during the day to me at school and her at home. She adored the ground that I walked on and I loved her more than anyone. I remember those times like it was yesterday.

When I got to be about 9 years old my dad opened up his own business. He needed my mom to help out in the office so she went to work every day and couldn't be there waiting for me when I got home anymore. My grandmother lived upstairs from us in a separate apartment but it wasn't the same as having my mom there with me. I was lonely and I started to eat.

It didn't take very long for me to gain weight and by the time I was in 6th grade I was overweight and taking crap from the other kids. I remember that I would come home and eat until my parents got home from work. Then we would eat dinner and dinner was always a heavy meal of meat and potatoes and when I say meat I don't mean chicken. I'm talking steak, lamb chops, briskit, beef stew, flanken. I think you get the idea. So that meant that I ate for hours while I sat by myself watching TV.

I stayed overweight until I was 40 years old. A few years after having Kerry I found Richard Simmons and with his help I was able to lose my weight. He became my weight loss guru and friend. I don't think I could have done it without his help and attention.

Richard and me last March

Kerry was a kid and there was so much to do. She took piano lessons. She became a girl scout. She started playing soccer. She joined the band. She kept me very busy and was there as the best company anyone could ask for. We would sit at the kitchen table and talk for hours just like I did with my mom. I kept my weight off without even really having to think about it. It was easy.

Kerry left for college in 2005 and I cried for three weeks. She had a boyfriend here so she started coming home every other weekend. I loved that. She also called me 5 times a day so it was almost as if she hadn't really left at all. I kept kept my weight off easily during this time.

Kerry and me at Hoover Dam

She broke up with her boyfriend 2 years later and stopped making those weekend trips home. I found myself sitting in front of the TV eating and my weight started to escalate. My beloved Lhasa Apso Mac also died around this time. This is something I still haven't gotten over.

Mac and me

I found Richard's online clubhouse and was able to get back on track and keep my weight down. I got a lot of support from the webbies and also met some of my very best friends. They are always there for me when I need them but they all live so far away. I wish they lived closer.

Fast forward to now. Kerry is up in Gainesville most of the time. I still hear from her 5 times a day but feel lonely most of the time. I miss having her here, in person to talk to and to be with. I find myself struggling with my weight. Here I am sitting in front of the TV eating again. It's just like it was when I was a kid and my mom went to work. Lonely and eating. I wish I could get over all of this but the struggle continues.

Shopping with the kid

Kerry is home for the rest of the week and since she got home my eating has been great. My eating was great when I went to LA to hang with my fellow fabbies also. I need to get a grip on this. If I don't I'll be just like I was in 6th grade. Overweight and taking crap from people.

The Fabs in LA a month ago

Now It's My Turn

I was working at Curves last Tuesday and I was telling the ladies about Pat and how sick he had gotten. I told them that I took care of him, gave him his medicine, made chicken soup and keep an eye on him. I also said that I was very happy that I had been lucky and not caught whatever it was that he had. One of the ladies, Betsy, said "Well, it's not over yet. You still could be incubating something." Well, guess what? She was right. I was incubating something. Now I am full blown sick. Whaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, that was me whining!!

I feel like crap and I have to work tonight anyway. One of my co-workers is out of town and Lisa will not care that I am sick. She will tell me to stay behind the desk and tell everyone that I am trying not to get them sick. Lisa doesn't work double shifts and she is working this morning so I am not even going to bother calling in sick. I also have to work tomorrow morning. I just hope I am feeling better then.

On a happier note, Kerry is coming home tomorrow for about 10 days and I can't wait. We are going to the Coldplay concert In West Palm Beach on May 15th and I am really looking forward to that. We will also go window shopping. Note I said window shopping. Money is tight and the days of frivolous spending are gone. I'm sure Kerry will talk me into something. :)

The face I can't say no to. The kid!

I Have A Sick Little Boy On My Hands

Pat came home sick yesterday. He doesn't get sick often but when he does it's usually a doozie. He can be very stubborn and usually won't give into the symptoms of whatever he may have. He also never admits to being sick unless he really feels terrible.

I got home from work last night before Pat got home. He was visiting his mother who came down to her condo in Delray for a little vacation. She has been down for two weeks and is catching her flight back home this morning so last night was Pat's last chance to spend time with her. She's 86 years old now so you never know if the last time you see her will the the LAST time you see her so even though he was sick he went to see her. He was sure to stay away from her and not infect her. No hugs, no kisses, no human contact.

When he came home, I took one look at him and I knew he was sick. I asked him how he was doing and he answered "I feel terrible. I am as sick as a dog". At that moment I knew he was really really sick. I ran to Walgreens and got him some Nyquil. I got him into bed, tucked him in and gave him his medicine. Just like he was a little kid and I was his mommy.

Pat and his mommy :)

We turned on the big screen TV and switched between Tiger Woods (go Tiger!!) on the Golf Channel and Game 6 and a must win game for the Miami Heat (go Heat!!). Pat fell asleep right after half time. I fell asleep hoping he would be feeling better but that did not happen. He woke up feeling horrible and is laying in bed sleeping as we speak.

I am going to go food shopping today to get the nessary ingredients to make my mother's chicken soup. It always made me feel better when I was a sick kid which is how Pat is feeling right now. A little jewish penicillin may be just what he needs. I hope so because it's looking like it's going to be a very long weekend.

So far I am feeling good. If what Pat has is just a regular old form of the flu I should stay well because I got a flu shot this year and Pat didn't. If what Pat has is just a regular cold I'm on a slippery slope. If it's the Swine Flu we are both screwed.