Thursday, December 29, 2011

One Year Later (close enough!)



I have been on Albuterol for almost a year now. I think I sort of neglected my blog because I was feeling so good! But I will take a few minutes to share what the last year has been like.

I started noticing an improvement right away. After the first week or so of taking Albuterol, I was able to walk so much more. I was starting to feel normal! I was so excited that I planned a trip to Costa Rica, which would give me a chance to finally do some hiking. I went in March, about 6 weeks after starting Albuterol. I am proud to say I hiked 20 km (about 12 miles!) in one shot to get to the midst of Corcovado National Park. Unfortunately I ended up with massive blisters that later cost me some toenails! But it was very empowering, and I knew that the rest of my life would be different.

Because I started walking around so much, my legs were in constant pain. For a while I was worried I would be in pain for the rest of my life! But thankfully, it was just my muscles building up. They had been idle for so long, they weren't used to working so much! It took a few months, but eventually the pain went away.

I've also been able to start running. I can't believe it! When I was in elementary school, I was fairly mobile but a slow runner. I always hated having to run in gym class. I also hated playing games like Duck, Duck, Goose, because I was so slow I always ended up in the middle. I'm still not a fast runner, but I was able to run my first 5k on Thanksgiving Day this year. I'm hoping that in the new year I will be able to keep running and improve my speed.

One disappointment with the medicine has been that it does not improve the strength in my facial muscles. I still have droopy eyelids, a smile that often doesn't work, and my speech gets slurred after talking for a while. But I'm hoping that as more research is done on CMS, more effective treatments will come around. For now, I am so grateful that I can get around so easily. I never have weak days anymore. I no longer have to worry about whether my disease will keep me from doing something. It is truly amazing!

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