Pushing it or was it Shaking it - with OH visitor too ..

 It was just over 2 months ago I shared the pics of my daughter in the hospital bedridden - swollen and undergoing a battery of tests and biopsies leading up to the diagnosis of dermatomyositis.. 
I.DID.NOT.LEAVE. her bedside and at her request took pics for her to share with her friends on FB ... at the time we thought she was having an allergic reaction due to the horrible rash on her skin but were RUSHED to the hospital with a CPK of 17,000 ... She had NO muscle function .. could not pick her head up nor elevate her arms until a couple weeks ago.... She went from the above picture... thru steady working hard with lots of ups and downs in her condition .... to working with PT and with her fitness instructor friends from one of the gyms she works at to be able to do this last week... and she shed every single pound and ounce of the 57 lbs she gained by the treatment/infusions and medications she received 




 While her CPK remains elevated it is now barely under the 1,000 range and her medications have been tweaked accordingly with a decrease in Prednisone and an increase in Imuran ... She missed her life as it once was ... the young woman that NEVER called out sick ... that did not even ever get the flu or a bad cold ... Seeing her condition and her feeling her condition were devastating to her ... but thanks to the kindness of so many that reached out to her suffering and living with different illnesses in the same conglomerate of the myositis she felt reassured and determined to FIGHT ... and fight she did...

In remission now and not even at her 50% potential my daughter has been cleared to restart her fitness instructor routine (SLOWLY and I hope she listens to her body signals - so far she is) ... this time her first class conducted was a full 90 minute zumba workout from start to finish ... and although she was obviously (in my eyes) pushing it to ME who knows her ... her first full class went sooooo well ... WE EVEN HAD OH Visitors and Participants .... Check this out.... 

She did not do bad at all for being only at 50% of her full potential ... one would never know it by watching her... and yes she battles obesity with diet and exercise each and every day...

Here is my daughter Candice doing her thing ... ZUMBA FITNESS (also fitness instructor on kick-boxing, pilates, yoga and weigths ALL THESE ARE ON HOLD until cleared)  .... we all had awesome cardio dancing and FUN ... (I was watching her like a hawk)...
She pulled it off too ... although I could sense she was straining at times ...

The room was full and some were first time ever doing Zumba...

But who would ever tell that amongst those was one of our beautiful OH members MSW (the initials of her name) Will Not Settle! her name is Marcia and is member of my OH Group Share-it! Living Pretty (all are welcome to join link is in my siggy line) 

It was Marcia (MSW will not Settle) very first time doing zumba with what she calls her 'hit or miss' muscles ... MSW has advanced MS as she has shared many times on here and has been battling it for years never allowing her cir****tances to dictate her destiny ... after all she is a steel magnolia... determined to give it her best shot!

After a full 90 minute workout we cooled down ... Candice the instructor was as cheerful as ever...

We ALL stretched

Check the determination on Marcia - MSW will not SETTLE face... 

When it was over we did a group picture ... Marcia, her sister, myself and my DD Candie

We even fooled around for the camera ... picking up our thunder thighs LOL

And Marcia bought her sister along all the way from New York .. a first timer at Zumba she had fun too...

AND HERE GOES MARCIA ... THE LADY WITH THE HOLD MY FEET TO THE FIRE ACCOUNTABILITY THREADs .... CAN YOU IMAGINE THIS TINY OLE GAL IS SAYING SHE HAS EXTRA FAT .... I DID NOT SEE IT ... DYSMORPHIA MUCH?


WE had tons of fun ... DD was invigorated and so were all of us ... so we went to Chips in Orange for brunch and then I took Marcia to my favorite store in the whole wide world and I think I created another monster LOL....

WE HAD TONS OF FUN ... AND NOW I SHALL RELAX THE REST OF THE WEEKEND ... HOW? WITH MY BRUSHES.. MY SKETCH PAD AND MY CANVAS .... I WILL BE PAINTING OUR NEW SI MEMBERS.... SHARING ON SI ..

We all have shared our before and afters ... here I am with Marcia a couple months ago when we met for breakfast on her way up from South for treatment.. I had some stressors then and had dropped below maintenance
.
and this is my DD and my before and NOW that I shared last week...

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL ... THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE....

WE CAN DO THIS! IN WHATEVER MEASURE WE CAN ... EVEN IF IT IS SITTING ON THE CHAIR AND DANGLING OUR LEGS ..SHAKING IT A BIT TO GET THE BLOOD CIRCULATING ... ONE.DAY.AT.A.TIME one step at a time ... yes we will fall .. yes we will have challenges ... life is just not easy .. and the best we can do is GIVE IT OUR BEST SHOT ... in whatever measure we can...

Apologies in advance for any typos or grammar on the run...

Mi hermana Pana, you give me far too much credit.  I just do what we all gotta do.  Make that lemon into lemonade or use its astringent value to clean the grime outta life.  Live with what you've been handed or lay down and die. 

None of us have ever been stangers to intense cardio workouts; but, we are now three new zumba converts.  Myself, my sis, and my DD who is also an OH member and lives not very far away from class.   
We pushed it, pulled it, shaked it, and baked it.    A good time was had by all.  Variety keeps you working out.  Boredom kills the workout vibe. 

Candice is a high energy instructor even as she is recovering.  There she was, beautiful, energetic, motivating.  You would never guess what she's going through to see her leading this class. 

You keep doing it MsCandice.  Rememberr my OH peeps, you can do a lot more than you think you can.  If you are waiting for all your ducks to be in a row before living to the max its a wasted life.  Hopefully you have no lemons but if you do use them to your benefit. 

I am so glad and thankful to OH for that conference in Rye NY where I got to know you ... otherwise I would have missed the opportunity of meeting a wonderful sista like you who would hit the train/plane once a month all the way from GA to come up here to CT to Smilow with a wide smile on your face and a cheerful disposition at 4 in the morning ... will, perseverance and determination for days ... shoot I practically have to tie myself down for blood draws .... I am a hard stick and sooooooooooo do not like needles LOL ...  Life is not easy that's for sure ... I am hoping it holds the lemons at bay for a while though ... those jokers were coming at us so fast at one point I started throwing some back LOL ...

Your friend and my DD Candice took a bad fall on the stairs not too long ago ... tripped on her summer maxi dress as she stepped on it and could not catch her balance ... has a huge scrape on her arm but I checked her and made sure she got checked ... she will survive ... nothing is broken ... just a scare and the need to be more careful ... 

I painted these two sayings on posters ...

I guess you are heading back South tomorrow? I wish you godspeed ... take care of yourself and let us know on SI that you made it home okay....

OMG I did not know about that fall.  How'd I miss that?  Seems to be no lasting injuries thank God. 

Girl, those saying are no lie!  We come from a people who were raised not to whine and complain but to do.  I ***** and moan regularly but it will never stop me from doing.   

I'm home for a few more days then headed to Jax.  Its doubtful I'll be past Norwalk before leaving.  If I did not have to check on the house I'd end the monthly Southern excursions.  Its time for me to stay home but I've got to find a new place.   Not luv'n the place in CT or NY so often I'm a squatter with sis.  

 

 She is fine except for a long scrape under arm ... she stepped on the hem of her dress and went down kinda hard ... I told her ENOUGH ALREADY lol .. I don't know what she stepped in but we need to cut the cycle LOL