Reviewing last year

I was just on my way home from Whole Foods and was thinking about how I feel this year vs. last year. It's really amazing to me that I have even progressed farther from where I was a year ago!!

Last year, I was well. I was infection-free and living normally. I had just gotten certified as a pilates instructor and finished a demanding training. It was difficult for me from many perspectives. One, it was physically demanding. We had to put in a lot of hours working out so we learned the material in our own bodies. You can't very well teach pilates when you can't do pilates! Two, it was demanding, given all the memory problems I had, to learn the material for the written test. I had so much trouble with word recall and with my short term memory, that learning the new terms was quite challenging.

I remember at my test out, I didn't even know the names of the 7 other people who went through training with me for four months. I remember looking at one of them at test out and thinking, "Who is that, have I ever seen her before?" So, even though I was feeling better, my brain still had a lot of healing to do.

A year later, I still feel great! It's my brain that has healed over the past year. I knew I needed to work on some kind of puzzles or something to work my brain, to exercise it. Teaching pilates has been a huge help in this regard on many levels. When someone has to come to class, I have to recognize their face and remember their name. When I was sick, I didn't even recognize my own neighbor!!! At my test out, I didn't even recognize all my classmates!!! Now, if person comes to one class or sometimes it takes two classes, I can remember who they are! HUGE improvement!! In the beginning it would take two months to remember their name!

Another challenging aspect of teaching is remembering the choreography of the class. There is a basic structure, but when you teach, you have to remember the order of that structure, what exercises you've selected, all while you're counting how many repetitions they've done in your head while you're verbally giving them cues and physically adjusting them when needed. There is a LOT going on at one time. For someone who had trouble taking a thought and putting it into words, this was a huge challenge for me. I had to write down my choreography for a couple months. Now I do it all in my head. I can teach the same class for a week with no notes. An amazing change for me.

I started playing Scrabble (actually, "Words for Friends") on my iPhone recently. My mom is one of those Scrabble buffs who does crossword puzzles in pen because she could write a dictionary she knows so many words. Great idea playing her, LOL!! The first time she beat me by about a hundred points. Then only by 40 points. Last game, SIX points!!! I was ahead at one point, but she had a "Q" as one of her last letters. Yes, "qi" is a word, so she got ahead with that. Anyway, that is how fast I notice my brain healing, going from being happy to find words to play to being a formidable opponent.

Yesterday, we watched a movie that I swear I have never even heard of before. All my family tells me I have watched it before. Obviously it was when I was sick because I have no recollection of it whatsoever. Back when I was sick, I'd have to have my family pause movies every 15 minutes or so to tell me what was happening because I'd keep forgetting. Now I can remember what a movie is about after it's over. I watched that movie yesterday, followed it, and still remember it today. That's progress.

I also find that I want to visit with people. I used to tend to be a little to myself, but now I'm back to the social person I used to be. I really need to work on meeting people over the next year. We moved here when I was sick, and I've only been well for a year, so even though I've lived here five years now, I don't really know that many people. I need, and finally want, to work on building friendships.

Physically the changes aren't so noticeable from last year. I have been working on detox, detox, and detox!!!! Recently, I've been working on skin brushing, as I mentioned in my last post. I'm still working on it and probably always will. It's been amazing. One of my clients even said today she could see a difference around my eyes. I said the same thing yesterday. I have a face brush, so have been brushing my face. My eyes are less puffy and noticeably tighter.

Today is my monthly Bionic 880 day, and I plan on using homeopathics to detoxify heavy metals and chemicals. The first time I did that one it threw me for a loop, but I'm not quite that toxic anymore.

I always know when I hit toxins I haven't hit before because I get a bit tired. Right now I'm having some really annoying shortness of breath. It's been driving me crazy. Other than the shortness of breath, I am feeling great and feeling better all the time ... still. Since healing reactions always occur in reverse order of the way the symptoms came on, I'm starting to think this shortness of breath might be a healing reaction. It was my first symptom I went to the doctor for. I must finally be healing enough to heal that last thing.

If it's not, I'll have to look for other causes. It was my first symptom and is the only one still lingering even though I am negative now for babesia. It's not dramatic like the air hunger for babesia was. Could be bathroom mold .... we're having our bathroom redone this spring, so I'll find out soon enough.

That's my review of my last year. I am actually quite shocked that it is possible to feel better than I did a year ago, but I do!!! For those of you with Lyme, KEEP FIGHTING!!!