May 11th Part 2

Well, I'm still having a great time running up and down the stairs to the bathroom so I thought I'd continue on with my blog today.

More history - I talked last time how I started gaining weight around age 8. One of the catalysts for my weight gain was my knees. What I didn't know then, and I do know now, is that my hips/knees are not the same as everybody else's (I have to be unique!) Unique is good and makes one a bit more creative!!

Most woman's hip angle is around 12-13 degrees. My hip angle is over 22 degrees (figure that will come in handy when I go to birth children). That turned my legs outward (so I walk like a duck). My knees and all the muscles/tendons around them are not centered. In addition, my knee caps themselves are smaller then normal. I've had 3 surgeries, many orthotics and a couple of braces over the years. Arthritis has shown up in one knee. I was told eventually I MAY need a knee replacement. One way to avoid that is to loose weight.

Some "side affects" are that I can't wear high heals - actually I am unable to have any heal on a shoe - they all have to be flats! Now I don't mind that as an adult - but when I was 16 years old it was devastating! I remember trying on high healed shoes in the store with my friends, just a small heal and feeling the pain radiate up my body- couldn't even take one step forward - as a teenager, that meant not fitting in! As an adult, it means I'm always comfortable! (blessing in disguise).

Some other restrictions, I am not physcially designed to do activities such as jumping, going down hill, or down stairwells, no impact exercises, not able to jog or run (though I have my 30 second dash version of running), not able to put on ski's or skates (they are the same as high heal shoes). At times it was frustrating. When I was in public school they had this exercise called the endurance run through participaction. What every points you got in the endurance run, you got the prize. Top Prize Gold, Then Silver, then bronze and at the very bottom you got a participation pin. Due to my design, I could not really run (again I was not fully aware as to why until I was an adult in Toronto and a physio-therapist at Sunny Brooke Hospital sat down and went over my x-rays etc..) so I always got the pin. Once I found a bronze that somebody had dropped on their way home from school - I took it home and told my parents it was mine - but still, it wasn't. The worst part was they gave out these awards in front of the entire school by award level. So every year I'd go up to the front stage with the kindergarten class (including my grade 8 year) to receive my pin. Never fun facing my peers once I got back to my class after that ceremony!

With that said, my first injury was the summer before grade 3 (when I was 7) over that year I started putting on weight. My second injury was in January of Grade 5 (I was 9 almost 10), Third injury was in grade 9, turning quickly in Gym class to the right (another thing, can't turn my body quickly as my knees don't follow through LOL - when I'm dancing with a partner I always lead - I'm protecting my knees) - In Grade 11 I slipped in the bathroom while picking up the bath mat, had my first surgery - and brace - kept the brace on into my thirties (when I lost weight) - Slipped on water at work in grade 12, had my second surgery in grade 13, and my third surgery in my first year of university. On occassion I get temporarily imobolized, I've not had a major injury since 1988, and I've done that by protecting my knees and activities.

No aerobics class, no skating, no skiing, no jogging, no jumping, no tennis (quick moves to right or left sport) for me.

Now again, that doesn't mean I have to sit on my butt all day!
I can walk
I can use most gym equipment
I can swim
I can bowl (I like bowling)
I can dance (my way)
I can swing on a swing
I can slide down a slide

By no means does it stop me from being active - I just need to make choices.

I do see how I used food to get through all the injuries, surgeries, peer pressure.

The best thing for my health I can do is loose weight, so I can keep on walking!

I remember my physiotherapist telling me how much PSI (pressure per square inch) I put on my knees at various weights, and how loosing weight (even 5 pounds) reduces that pressure a lot. I can tell when I hit a critical weight gain as a sharp pain resonates from my arthritis knee like someone stabbed me from the inside. Another motivator to keep on going here!

Namaste
B.