Hanging on to Hope

It’s been about a month from my last post, and while nothing much has happened in terms of my legs, it’s been a wild month so I figure I’d do an update. I’m still waiting for my EMG (October 4th) but I’ve been trying to stay active and motivated in the meantime. Some days I just want to forget the whole thing and pretend I never was an athlete and never knew the feeling of wind in my hair on a crisp fall morning… but as fall creeps in and I see runners out and about… I’m back to hoping by some miracle my patience is going to pay off… that “behind the scenes” the Botox is still working and that my nerves are slowly regenerating. Only time will tell… and maybe that EMG.

News Worthy Updates

So this week I’m just going to summarize a few newsworthy updates that happened this week. Some related to my legs, others just personal things that I like to share.

Homeschooling
The first major change this year was our decision to homeschool Raea and have her repeat “kindergarten”…. Raea did most of last year remotely, and while I am an advocate for remote learning through the pandemic (not saying it’s better than in person… just that the year being interrupted by quarantines and isolations isn’t normal in person-and I feel the quality of teaching is better when there aren’t so many changes to expectations. Remote is consistent) Raea certainly didn’t get out of it what I wanted. I always intended for her to repeat kindergarten because of her late birthday— but the kindergarten classes are packed since many people opted to not do it last year, and she was getting moved onto first. Academically she was pretty close to ready… but maturity wise? I wanted her to have that extra year of play, public school kindergarten in a pandemic is not play, cases were rising, classes were jam packed, and she just got her adenoids out which has altered her speech.plus, maebel wasn’t eligible for school and she was home anyway. So I spent the last few weeks of the summer going over all the curriculum standards, assessing Raea, and prepping materials to last the year. Every morning I get her set up, my husband works from home while managing their assignment and then when I come home we finish up. Lots and lots of quality playtime sprinkled in! But needless to say, we’re tired, and working out has been even harder to prioritize!

Back to school
Well, Im back to school in person now…. It’s been three weeks and low and behold! Four kids from what would have been Raeas class are in quarantine since someone in that class tested positive. TBD how many more will isolate, but I was feeling good about my decision to homeschool for sure! Students from my own class have all been sick. None tested positive yet, but two were quarantined from being close contact with someone else that tested positive. Some of these kids haven’t been in the building for well over a year so since Im in a highly intensive behavioral needs class… the transition has been hard. It’s physically very demanding. I’m very sore, and some days question if my legs have had any improvement at all or did it just feel that way because I had to sit more last year while remote or hybrid teaching. Im anticipating us going back to remote learning soon, sadly… but it’s so much better for my legs…. And all around safer. I wish people would follow guidelines on the community so our spread wasn’t so high. I read so many things saying “cases are going up anyway! Why mask, why bother!”… and it’s those people that don’t bother that perpetuate the pandemic. They don’t realize they are the reason this stuff is not working. Meanwhile I’m literally teaching in masks and (sometimes a shield) and homeschooling my kids simultaneously to try to do my part. It’s so frustrating! But anyway-what I like about remote in terms of my legs, is that getting to choose my level of exertion is beneficial for me… when a kid runs from me down the hall Im not left with much choice but to sprint… and I’ve had a few twinges of pain reminding me of my reality… ugh…

Rock Climbing
​I officially purchased a rock climbing training plan. Not necessarily because I want to become some amazing climber… or even because I’m very serious… but more because exercise in itself doesn’t motivate me. I have a goal of sending a v5, and learning and passing the lead climb test, and it’s easier for me to workout according to a plan when it’s targeting a more specific goal. Weight loss and even general health doesn’t motivate me. Most of what I do climbing is already similar to what the gym climbing days are, the big changes are that I’m going to force myself to do more specific work like hangboard exercises. I purchased one and will be able to do some from home soon. There’s also a TON of core work that I should have been doing all along but again-checking it off a plan that targets a specific goal is easier for me than checking it off because “it’s the healthy thing to do”… sighhhh… so many excuses for my laziness!

So maybe by next update I’ll actually have some actual… updates… I’m not sure the EMG will find anything. I’ve heard they don’t pick up everything… I think I’ll try to run before to irritate it real good in hopes that the results are accurate… then I’ll set a goal to get money to get back to Wyoming. My insurance still hasn’t reimbursed me for the two CTAs, but that money could really help. If anything, by next month I should at least have that.