Laura A and walking....

OK MARCHers - be sure and read Laura A.'s reply to my post about our October walk-a-thon across America. Ladies and gentlemen....Laura wants to join in on our walk in between her chemo treatments. What a motivated wonderful woman. If Laura can walk with us, you MARCHers that haven't yet committed to our project - have NO excuse whatsoever. I am so proud of her just to think with all she is going through she will try to walk with us. I told her any miles she walked would be automatically doubled - from pure effort. Laura is definintely an inspiration to me and sure she is to you also. We are so lucky to have her as a MARCHer. So today and tomorrow ends September and beginning MONDAY - we start our walk across America. I have a new pair of shoes - for a reason other than walking! I have been having this hip pain off and on for several months and finally went to the orthopedic doctor. Seems this old lady has - of all things - bursitis in my left hip. Fortunately he thinks with physical therapy it should resolve itself. I have started PT and go 2-3 times a week for the next 6-8 weeks. The therapist did an ultrasound treatment with anti-inflammatory cream on the area and sent me for new shoes and then put some inserts into the shoes. She said walk on - if it didn't bother me and it doesn't seem to make the pain any worse. As WLS patients we can't take the anti-inflammatory medicine because it doesn't stay around - just leaves your system. But the treatment she did seemed to make my hip better yesterday. I hope you are getting fired up for our walk-a-thon. If you are going to walk, please send me your address through my email: [email protected] - so I can send your participation certificate to you and so I can have the winner's address to send the small gift!!!! GOOD LUCK MARCHers - let's WALK ACROSS AMERICA! Love and hugs to all....Barbara

can't tell we are sisters....i just posted Laura saying she was our inspiration and if she could do it I better get off my lazy butt! I hate to hear about your hip, but glad to hear you know what it is and are already working on taking care of it! I do hope this does not interfer with your walking. Now about NSAID's I was told I could not take them becasue they eat away at the linning of your stomach and we can't have that...but I've never heard becasue it doesn't stay in your system I am glad the cream worked for you!

Hi Laura and everyone else. Im back from Dallas and ready to walk as well. I did some running there and some biking. I too am inspired by Alice and would like to become more familiar with her as this is the first mention I have heard. Also appreciate the thread on "mood swings"/ depression regarding our journey. Hmm why woudl I think I was going through something terrible all alone. I sort of get tired of "faking happy" when I just don't feel like it I would simply leave. Work, church, gym, it didnt matter. Better to be alone and not hurt feeling or get unwanted sympathy. Do I recall a 5 mile a day average needed be each of us to get to or close to goal? I suppose also that running is countable. Since time is a restraining factor for me I figure two a days is the ticket and that revelation my be jsut what the doctor ordered. Id also like youse guys/y'all to name that pedometer you like so much. Mine is dysfunctional, hehe and I am used to having one on the shrinking hip. A budhist monk went to a hot dog vendor in New York and asked if he could make him one with everything?? bigoletriguy

Emil - here is a copy of Laura's Post: About 3 weeks ago, I felt a bump in my groin area and then a few days later felt another lump on the other side. I went to my PCP to have them checked.....maybe it was normal, just something I hadn't been able to feel all the years I had been obese. To make a long story short, I have been through many tests and scans and biopsies.......and yes, it is a stage 4 cancer......which really means the cancer they found in the inguinal lymph node in the groin is not where the cancer originated. Where it originated from the doctors are still not quite sure. The PET scan only pinpointed the lymph nodes. I am now seeing one of the leading gynocological oncologists around..... Dr Jeffery Skilling at Kaiser Sacramento. He will be doing surgery on me this afternoon to remove the lymph nodes and because of my family history, will also doing a total hysterectomy........ and whatever else he can find. Then about the first of July I will begin chemotherapy. She has been undergoing chemotherapy and is quite a wonderful person in our group of MARCHers. I think it is so admiral of her to want to walk with us and she gets double miles for her effort!!!! Rebeka put us on to the OMRON pedometers. I love mine - it measures miles, aerobic minutes and miles, counts calories burned...just a good and I think very accurate pedometer. Hope you had a fun time in Dallas and we look forward to starting our walk across America tomorrow!!!! Barbara

Emile, 5 miles would be a great target to shoot for. I'm sure Barbara will let you know which pedometer she uses or you could look at some of the older posts when you get a chance. I'm glad you are enjoying some of our posts. We all certainly hae those emotional swings. I guess it is just a part of life. I appreciate your humor about the monk. We can always use a little something that brings a smile to our face. I look forward to walking with you this next month. Have a great day, Rick