What is your definition of THE GOOD LIFE?

I was reading this article on 100 things that are changing for the better and I thought I would share some of my favorites with you, to start you thinking about what is changing for the better in your life?

I put in the link to read the whole article at the end, but the following are ones that truly stood out to me and made me think, yeah!

Definition of the good life
It used to mean ostentatious designer bags, stock options, and second homes; now we’re spending $11 billion annually on goods and services that champion self-improvement. Voluntourism and spending time with the family are up, and socially responsible investing—in communities and eco-friendly companies that don’t profit from tobacco, oil, or sweatshop labor—is at an all-time high, totaling about $2.7 trillion. The good life just got better.

Our lungs
This just in from the CDC: The number of American adults who smoke has dropped from 24.7 percent in 1997 to 20.6 percent in 2008; at last count, 38 states, the District of Columbia, and 360 cities have banned cigarettes in workplaces, bars, or restaurants—which means no more unintentionally smoked salmon.

Oak Street, New Orleans
Ransacked by looters during Katrina, historic Oak Street is back in action. Businesses like Ace Hardware, the Maple Leaf Bar, and the legendary Jacques-Imo’s Café have reopened, and new ones are popping up: Blue Cypress Books, two yoga studios, and a day spa for pets (nothing says “We’re back!” like a day spa for pets). A $5.4 million overhaul helped, as has the annual Po-Boy Preservation Festival.

Dry Cleaning
According to a survey, only half the dry cleaners in the USA still use the once ubiquitous toxic chemical perchloroethylene on your clothes.

Paint
Benjamin Moore’s Natura line is eco-friendly and stink-free. Gorgeous, durable, low-maintenance…maybe it’s time Benjamin Moore started making a line of men.

Dads
The aloof breadwinners of yesteryear have been replaced by full participants in the diapering, the disciplining, the chauffeuring, and the loving; currently 143,000 dads are stay-at-home, versus 98,000 just seven years ago. Downside: Now, many a dad’s homemade snickerdoodles on Snack Day will put yours to shame.

Marriage
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reports that the American divorce rate has dropped every year since 2006, bringing it down to its lowest point since 1970 (although hogging of the remote and dirty socks landing near—not in—the laundry basket remain an issue).

Crayola crayons
No longer is burnt sienna the most exotic one in the box: Preschool Picassos can now color their worlds with silly scent crayons, glitter crayons, two-different-shades-of-on

e-color-built-into-a-single-crayon crayons, washable crayons, egg-shaped crayons.…

Wind power
Change is in the air: We now produce enough wind power to run seven million homes. The goal is to generate 20 percent of our power from wind by 2030, which would mean a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions.

Composting
Thanks to apartment-friendly composting bins (like the Happy Farmer Kitchen Composter Kit, $65; NaturalGoodLife.com ), last night’s dinner can now easily be turned into something good for Mother Earth.

Grassroots philanthropy
While corporate gifts may be in short supply during these lean times, individuals are dropping off groceries at the food bank, mailing checks for disaster relief, and making donations online. Feeling the itch? Through Heifer.org , your $20 sends a flock of chickens to a poor community.

Urban greenery
Trees are sprouting up everywhere in cities across the land—L.A. has planted more than 200,000 in the past three years, and New York City aims to plant one million across the five boroughs over the next decade. And look, up in the sky: More than six million square feet of green roofs were installed in U.S. cities in 2008. So much for the concrete jungle.

You
You’ve just got this glow about you—some combination of wisdom and inner peace, plus a lovely self-awareness. You’re not sweating the small stuff; you know what feels good, feels right, and you simply don’t muck around with the rest. You’re not a kid anymore, and we mean that as a high compliment. There’s a new kind of lightness about you. And your hair has never looked better.

On the top of my list is ME! I am getting better every moment, every week, every month! I love the person who looks back at me in the morning!
Next I think I am going to say, is the people I am surrounded by is definitely changing for the better. Just look who’s tagged in this note!
Which leads me to the collective consciousness I see. Reminiscent of the 70′s in Berkeley, when people really cared about the environment, each other and the opportunities of entrepreneurship.These, right here right now, are the great times and I see them changing for the better everyday. Awareness, Passion, Eco-consciousness, Love, Faith, all strong action words to live by and grow by.
TODAY is my definition of THE GOOD LIFE!

Address to original article:

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/100-Things-That-Are-Getting-Better/1

Blessings To All,
Cher Till

Patella Klunk What??????

First of all a thank you, to those of you who have been following me. It has been such an inspiration to me to know that so many have sent love and support during this journey I have been on.

You all know that I had expected to be dancing in Las Vegas in September. I made the trip, but to visit with friends who had wanted to be dancing there with me. The friends, some old and some new, Kat and Reed, Deb, Denise and Phil were all there and so incredibly supportive.  I am so blessed to have such amazing people who are my friends, and even though no dancing went on, the cherished moments of conversation and time and the sharing of a meal were worth their weight in gold.  I have learned over the years to hold on to memories such as these, for those are the times in which you can draw strength, and courage and laughter, when the other days appear, ones that try to discourage you from living that life you so richly deserve.

November came , and I hit the 5 month mark for the second knee surgery. Instead of getting better I felt like I was getting worse.  I was needing the assistance of the cane more and more, due to imbalance and the need of support.  I had been working out at the gym on the bike as instructed by my surgeon 5 days a week, only to get home with my knees swollen and the pain so excruciating, it was so unbearable.

My appointment was coming up the first of December with the QME, which is a Qualified Medical Examiner, agreed upon by both parties, so I knew a solution would be delivered very soon.   My day at the QME comes and to my surprise he explains all that Gov. Swartzenegger has done in changing the laws to be on the side of the insurance companies. My fate is to be determined by a numbers rating systems where points are given and points are taken away and now they can go all the way back to childhood injuries to determine my fate.  Well, that’s for another post, now I want to talk about the QME’s exam.

In his office,  there were autographed pictures of famous athletes, and pleasant colors and furniture.  On the wall were his accolades of  having been the orthopedic surgeon for the Olympics for 2002 and 2004,  that in itself,  gave me a sense of confidence that this Dr. could possibly be over qualified to evaluate my circumstances, and definitely knows his orthopedics.

The first order of business is to review the injury from the beginning, so starting with 5.7.07, the day of the accident, until present day, we went through every painstaking detail of my healing. We had to discuss some of  my past medical history, in order to identify if any pre-existing conditions were contributing factors to my current status.

Then the Dr. had me climb onto the table to do a physical examination of the knees and their limitations.  The first thing out of his mouth was, “Wow those are really big scars!” I haven’t had the chance to look at others who have had total knee replacements, so I asked “How long should the scars be?” And he replied,  “About 6 inches, and yours are between 8 and 9 inches each”. Now, I had really been convincing myself the scars were necessary, which of course they are, just not that big. My legs have always been one area of my body in which I have received compliments all of my life, so my ego really had to disappear when the choice was surgery, and my legs would be scared for life. Here an expert is telling me I didn’t have to have the large scars I have, and all I could do is close my eyes and give myself a huge breath and think,”  Oh well, it is what it is, lets continue with this exam.”  The next thing the Dr. did was to lift the knees and move them back and forth, and around rotating the knee in several different positions. I explained to him my surgeon had told me to get on a bicycle at least 3 times a week to strengthen my muscles and to deal with the click I was hearing in my knee joints. He rotated my knees again and listened to the click, and asked how I felt after the workout.  Now I’m a good patient, the Dr. tells me to do something and I do it, full out, so I had been working my knees  6 times a week, riding the bike and going home swollen and in really horrid pain.

This QME Dr. tells me this is not normal, I should not be clicking , I needed to stop the bicycle. I’m sitting there thinking to myself this is direct conflict to my surgeon to whom I have entrusted my legs to for the last two and one half years. He hasn’t steered me wrong yet, why would he give me such bad advice?  Conflict of opinions, ughh! I ask this Dr. what harm could be done by continuing the bicycle, at which he replied, “Not only could you wear down your brand new parts, but if something breaks off and travels through your body it could harm you.” (And um, maybe kill me if it traveled to my heart, please no spare parts traveling for me).  He is recommending more xrays, an MRI is out of the question with chrome parts, and orthoscopic surgery to determine if the patella, knee cap parts, are positioned correctly. It would be difficult, other than going in there, to determine visually the placement of the parts.  There is also the possibility of the knees not being installed properly the first time, so if that is the case they will need to be replaced properly.

Confused, angry and feeling also a bit betrayed I go home and await my next apt, the following week with my surgeon. I now have some answers why I am still in pain, and still unbalanced, and  fighting a feeling of incompleteness. At this point I was suppose to be dancing and return to a life full of choices. I understand that karate is now out of the question, the type I study had dances and moves and kicks that use the knees extensively. No one realizes just how much you use your knees until you don’t have full use of them. My new life will not include running, yoga (bending is practically impossible and so is getting up and down off the floor) basketball, water skiing, surfing, etc.,etc,.etc. This could get very depressing if I start to get into all the things I won’t be able to do anymore, so I’m not going to go there. I have the ability to do so much and I am walking, swimming and so many other things though some may be limited.

The  appointment with the surgeon who has been my doctor throughout this entire ordeal, the one I trusted, with doing it right the first time comes and not soon enough. I have had a week to digest all that has been told to me.  I  discuss with him the diagnosis given to me by the QME, and he reassured me my knees have been installed correctly, and informs me I have developed a condition called, get this, Patella Klunk Syndrome. No I did not make this up! What happens is, scar tissue develops and grows sometimes getting lodged in between the patella and the new knee parts causing the clicking and the pain. Well I’ll be a……

He still wants me to cycle, but my instincts are telling me not to. I decided to low impact bicycle in the pool and walk with less resistance, until I see him again, or my lawyer makes me change doctors, seriously a lot of these decisions are in what I call  lawyerland now. I just want to continue healing, and if it means going back under the knife to get it right, then that’s what I’ll do.

Some days I wake up and can barely move. I’m stiff ,swollen, and in pain barely capable of walking to the bathroom. Usually after about an hour and the unfortunate pain pills, I am moving with a mission. I support my positive attitude because I choose to. I will get through this and I do consider this whole experience a blessing. God has other plans for me and each day I am challenged he reveals a little more to me.

My vision is to run a Bed & Breakfast on the Mendocino Coast, a spiritual retreat, named Coastal Gables. Everyday I envision it more and more in my dreams. This dream and my volunteer work is what keeps me going.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. –”Strength to Love”, Martin Luther King

Till next post, Blessings~Cher

Personal Trauma or Opportunity?

There have been times in my life, when I wonder how I got through the day, the week, the month. I will tell my stories each in a short story, only to share some of the more intimate parts of my life , that show you, my client, my reader, my friends, that You can come back if you believe in you!  For outside every depth of trauma or drama, there is hope.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and no matter the challenge, tomorrow is another day.

 

If you continue to read you must know that these are very intimate descriptions of times in my life that could upset or make some feel uncomfortable. The topics included here are about child abuse, rape and cancer, and while they are not intensely graphic, they do contain descriptions that will be honest and therefore may be offensive to some. It is your choice to read on.

 

MY CHILDHOOD OF CHILD ABUSE

While growing up I was the child of an alcoholic and drug addict.  I was beaten so badly I landed in the hospital on more than 10 occasions before the age of twelve.  The belt was still a form of punishment that was accepted by society when used on the buttocks, during the 1950′s and 60′s.  But at the age of 6 or 7, I had learned to control my crying and screaming so not to receive extra licks on my behind, and that made my mother very mad, so she got sloppy and started beating my back and the backs of my legs. She would “spank me” with the belt, and I cried silently, careful not to let out any screams.  Then when I didn’t cry out, she became even madder. I just didn’t seem to win in this situation, what was a 7 year old to do?  There were many reasons my mother would get mad enough to beat me, I had left my clothes on the floor after changing, I didn’t finish my cereal at breakfast (she would save it for me to eat when I got home from school, it was usually cheerios and soggy cheerios were gross, so by refusing to eat it or gagging it down would mean a spanking).  There was a day when my back was beaten so bad at recess at school my back started bleeding through my t-shirt, and I was sent to the nurse’s office, where I begged the nurse not to call my mom, or I would get in trouble.  The times have drastically changed since then, and that behavior would not be tolerated today, but back then somehow I knew it would be ok one day. Call it faith (I was a catholic back then), my need for prayer was done several times a day, or just my need for a relationship with God, I just knew he/she was there and I would live to see better days.  The last incident with my mother, I was twelve years old, and I remember waking up in the hospital, I had been in a coma for 3 days.  At first I didn’t remember much, and then it came to me.  I had done the dishes after dinner, and one of the skillets, a cast iron one, had a piece of dried caked on cornbread on the side. I vaguely remember her yelling at me, and I had no answer for her, because I was afraid to say the wrong thing, and then across the head came the iron skillet, apparently so hard it gave me a concussion that left me unconscious for 3 days.  I did not return home to my mother. But the cycle of the victim continued through two marriages. Then I stopped the cycle, but that’s a story for another day

OH NO IT’S CANCER

At the age of 28, I started having trouble with menstruations, they would be very intense and I started bleeding for 3 weeks at a time.  I kept going to the doctor about every three months, trying to figure out what was wrong, until I was bleeding every day but 2 or so in a two month time period. I had to wear double pads and undergarments, and wherever I sat or laid there were plastic sheets.  It interfered with my entire life. Finally about a year and a half later, it is figured out that I have cervical cancer, and lesions that are causing the symptoms I have been suffering through. At the time my girls were young teens, and to have to look in those faces and tell them I had cancer, was probably one of the hardest things I had to deal with in the whole cancer experience. No one wants to hear the”C” word, and my girls were at such a changing point in their young lives, it really scared them. I had to get a total hysterectomy (it was the 80′s and that was the prescribed treatment), followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  My girls watching me go through the treatments were just as scary for them as it was for me. I gained weight instead of losing it, and the hair loss was a chunk of hair on the crown of my head falling out, but interesting enough I lost all the hair on my arms.  I experienced only a few side effects.  The hair on my arms never came back, and by the way neither has the cancer; I am celebrating 20 years cancer free!!

THE RAPE

I worked as a waitress/bartender for many years of the 80′s, at sports bars mostly, I loved the atmosphere, the football games, basketball games, cheering of the teams, the competition.  I knew a lot about sports and sports teams so it was a familiar atmosphere for me. It was 10pm the end of my shift, and the rent was due, so I needed to go to the bank and deposit my check and my tips for tonight so that particular check was covered. The bank was across the street where my car was parked and I wanted to go to the ATM.  Just before reaching the bank, someone came from behind and stuck a knife at my back. He told me not to scream or he would kill me. He walked me to a nearby truck that had a cover over the top of the bed.  In it contained some paint cans, and cloths in the back. He threw me on the bed of the truck and proceeded to rape me. It was dark and I didn’t see much of his face, but it did seem a bit familiar as did his smell. I listened and did what he told me to do, because I seemed to be in a daze, just wanting to stay alive. When he was finished I grabbed my clothes around me as he pushed me out of the truck to the ground. He told me again, if I looked up he would kill me. I laid there for a couple of minutes after he drove away. There was no one around, I got up put my clothes back on, and went to my car.  He had taken my cash, except what was in my shoes, I always kept money in my socks inside my shoes, and since they weren’t taken off me I still had them. The only thing I kept thinking about was that my girls were at home waiting to eat dinner, Taco Bell, oh yeah I had promised them a late dinner, oh my. In a daze I drove to Taco Bell, got their food and went home.  I was still in a state of shock, not telling anyone, I went to my room and did the one thing you are not suppose to do, shower.  The girls kept knocking on the door, hearing me cry and still in the shower 30 mins later, they finally got into the bathroom and I told them what had happened, they called the police. The details afterwards are fuzzy, the trip to the hospital, the sketch artist, the looking of mug shots. He was never caught. I couldn’t go back to work there. My world just got a whole lot harder. I sunk into a very scary place for awhile. I don’t think I came out of it completely until about 6 years ago, when I stopped drinking and hiding from the pain and the fear.

 I played a really good role, to the public I climbed the ladder in the corporate world, and was the over achiever always hiding the pain and the fear, at least from most.

 But the one common denominator in all that happened in my life, including these trauma/dramas, is I had faith.  I always had faith, and hope!  The hope of a better day, and the faith that life would bring happier times was always something I believed would happen.  I’ve grown these past 6 years in a spiritual direction and have found a better more improved version of the strong, intelligent, soft, sexy, giving, spiritual being that is Cheryl, Cher, CherBear. All of these are me.  There’s is more to all of my life than these specific incidents and I can help you find more also.  These have helped me to become the person I am, I look in the mirror every morning and love the woman that looks back at me.

 Things like these may be personal traumas, dramas or tragedies, OR are they opportunities to start over? Someone asked me if I would change anything that happened in my life. I thought for a fleeting moment and said no. Everything happened for a reason, and made me the person you see today. Today I can help others who face these fears, traumas/dramas, and I can look them in the eye and say “I came through it, so can you!”  Was it necessary to experience those things in my life? It’s just the way it was.  I take all that I learned and all the strength that I gathered and all the love that I have absorbed from others who were there for a moment or are still on this journey with me, and I bring it to you.

  Tomorrow is a new day. A chance to start fresh, take what we know, what we feel, what we learn and put it to work for us instead of against us. There are blessed days to come, let’s share them together!

  Love yourself, all that has happened has made you who you are and you are awesome!

Blessings,

Cher

Countdown days…..

Hi everyone, well its been six weeks now since my total knee replacement and I’ve been in physical therapy for 3. I am happy to report I saw my orthopedic surgeon yesterday, and I am healing fabulously!
For those who are not versed in how they measure your healing, there are two things they look for first. Number one is how far your leg goes down on the table, you lay your leg out just stretch it out and the back of your leg, behind your knee, needs to touch the table or they measure how far off the table it is. My last appointment I was 4 cm away from the table. Yesterday I hit the table, that’s right all the way down, no space betwen my leg and that table! All the way down!
The second thing they measure is your range of motion. At two weeks after surgery I was at an amazing 115 degrees( usually one is about 100 degrees that close after surgery) How they measure you is, you lie flat on your back and bring your leg up from lying flat to a bent leg, with your foot flat and as close to your rear end as you can, then when you get it there he says” no bring it in tighter, closer” then you are measured in degrees, a perfect bend is about 135 degrees. I am now at 130 degrees, WOOHOO!!
The other evaluations are can you walk unassisted? Can you stand unassisted? How’s your pain? Answers, yes, yes, and some days are better than others but on the whole scale of 1-10, about a ’3′. Unless I over do it like two hours at the farmers market( I love my organic fresh fruits and veggies!)

So after the xrays show that both knees are in good shape, I walk a little and I’m still walking crooked bumping my knees and dragging a little on the right, also I click(a sound my knee makes) on the knee cap on the right knee. Poor thing has carried the weight while the left has been dragging so its not in great shape. Suggestion, get a stationary bike, maybe a recumbant bike, to loosen up and strengthen up the muscles around the knee. So I am now on a search for a maybe not too used recumbant bike.
We also came up with a compromise in walking. I will walk without the cane in the mornings while I’m fresh and rested, then use the cane in the afternoons, unless I’m just around the house and not walking alot. I can now go to the track and start walking till it swells or hurts, and the plan; two weeks and the cane is gone. You heard it here first, August 25th is the date we have selected for me to walk all day unassisted, and we were shooting for a bonfire of some sorts to dismantle the cane.
Now, when I first got the cane some of my friends thought it would be cute if I decorated it or gave it some character, well I didn’t. I knew in my heart I did not want to get attached to something that would be so temporary, even if it was two years, in my mind it was to be temporary, so No I did not decorate it. While thinking about the bonfire, I instead thought of a way to recycle it and my other equipment, and they will all go to someone or ones that needs these items, so I have started looking into that.
An update on the physical therapy, on the bike I am still at 1.5 miles but at a higher level so from level 2 to level 6, the treadmill although I am still having a bit of trouble walking straight, I am up to 2.7 in speed from 2; leg press from 100lbs to 120 lbs, and I’m doing walk outs with weights, they strap you around the waist and it is attached to weights and you walk step by step with the resistance;(on a small note here when I started doing this walkout last winter I had to have the larger dark blue strap to wear around my waist, this time I got to wear the regular size one, very exciting!)
And so my friends, the countdown begins, 13 days from today I will walk unassisted, hands in the air, dancing a little step or two around the track in my park. I am going to video it so you all will be on the walk with me. Faith and perseverance carry me, as I get to the end of this particular chapter of my life and joy brings me forward to the next chapter.
Blessed days to come,
Thanx for listening,
Cher

MEET CHER

Meet Cher

 Hello everyone, My name is Cheryl Till, but everyone usually calls me Cher, or another nickname I’ve acquired CherBear. I have been on this planet for almost 54 years, and here’s a portion of my journey so far.

 I call California my home. My place is a mere 2 hours from the Napa vineyards, 2 hours from the ocean, 3 hours from the mountains, right on the delta, where we still have farms and orchards.  I have the best of all worlds right here in my backyard.

 Cristina, my oldest was born in Jacksonville Fla, and less than 2 years later Marlena was born in Berkeley, Ca. Yes, I am an original hippy that worked the co-ops in Berkeley in the 70’s. I was a licensed mid-wife and helped deliver over 200 babies during that time. My environmental consciousness came from those Berkeley days, and I’m glad they never left.

 Becoming a single mom, I gravitated to another type of service the restaurant business.  Working over 25 years in the restaurant business, I started off as a server and worked my way up to General Manager in several large corporations, and a few mom and pops along the way. In management they send you to their own “cooking school” so I had the pleasure of traveling and learning different cultures and techniques of food and food preparation.

 Being involved in the opening of several new restaurants, allowed me the opportunity to train hundreds of employees, and develop training strategies that became a part of the companies I worked with.  Along the way I was diagnosed with diabetes and started my studies in holistic nutrition, combining mind, body and soul education to live an optimum healthy life.  My creative outlet for my mind, body, soul became making jewelry. I started making earrings and necklaces using shells and silver, a calming hobby that also turned a small profit.

 Then an accident at work, which took out both my knees, lead me to the journey I am on now.  While working all those long hours in the restaurant business I realized I had lost touch with who I was and what I was here to do. 

I embraced life coaching as a natural evolutionary progression of my life, and while on my way to becoming a Master Coach, I realized people who were coaching were often not taking care of themselves.  I also recognized that many others had lost touch with the biggest vision of which they really are and since then, have helped over a hundred people now connect with their true self.

Education lately has taken me in many directions; I have studied different religions all my life, leading me to a Doctorate in the philosophy of theology and to become an ordained minister.  I have performed over 22 ceremonies of marriage/commitment, 18 of which were for Gay and Lesbians (for the short time it was legal here).  I continue to educate myself in coaching, having achieved a Master Coaching Certification; I am currently pursuing a Master Coaching level in Nuero Linguistic Programming, Consciousness Shifting, Hypnotherapy and Reiki.  I also have studied the teachings of some of our greatest humanitarians, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Deepak Chopra, and will continue to learn from those who make a difference in our world.

  Currently I volunteer in several different shelters and organizations in my community, keeping my life balanced by always giving back. I feel blessed to have had people in my life who were there for me and helped me thru some personal traumas, to read more about them you can go here  in my blog to” Personal Traumas or Opportunity?”

 My life now has grown to not only include my two beautiful daughters, Cristina and Marlena, but also two incredible grandchildren, Bayani 13 who is an honor roll student, brown belt in Karate, and MVP basketball player, and Malaya 10 who is also an honor roll student, artist, and MVP basketball player, and I can’t forget my love bug, a mix pup named Doodle.

 I am who I am because of Life.  Life has been my best teacher, my friends and family and all those along the journey have helped me get here. I come from a place of giving, I am honest (almost to a fault) and I sincerely care about people, the environment and quality of life. 

My style is direct, supportive and fun, and when you work with me you will experience many “aha moments”.

I would love to get to know you, and if I’m the kind of life coach you are looking for, one with real life experiences and a spirit of joy and enthusiasm, let’s talk.

Blessings,

Cher

Learning to walk again, didn’t realize I could forget how

Hi everyone, well I am at six weeks post op now. I have been assisted in walking for two years and 3 months, either by cane, walker or crutches always something to hold me up.

I started Physical therapy 3 weeks ago. My routine at home is a series of stretching, standing on my toes, sliding my leg up and down, pretty standard boring stretches. It always amazes me watching animals, cats and dogs in particular, how when they get up from almost any sitting or laying position, they stretch. Their legs, their backs, the torso, stretch stretch stretch. What we have forgotten as humans is that our bodies need that same stretch. Imagine if everytime you got up from a sitting or lying position we gave ourselves a great big stretch and a huge breath. How refreshing that would be, huh?

Back to Physical therapy, day one I start with a stationary bike ,in 10 mins I biked about a 1/4 mile. More hamstring stretching with a band around my foot; leg lifts without weights; steps, only one step high, 2 sets of 15; and then the leg press 60 lbs, 2 sets of 15. I knew I had alot of work to do to get these legs working properly again, but then she had me try to walk, just a few steps, without assistance to see how I would do. That was where I was shocked! I had been protecting my body, my knees, my feet every part of me, for so long. It was hard for me to realize, I had forgotten how to walk.

Those few steps I took on that first day of Physical therapy, told the story of two years of walking with assistance. I truly had forgotten how to walk, heal to toe, lift your knees that was what was suppose to happen. Instead I felt like a 10 month old that didn’t know how her feet worked. The outer sides of my foot on the left were on its side, making my big toe barely touching the ground. The right foot practically dragged behind coming off the ground by only an inch. My body leaned toward the left as I staggered almost falling down. That was day one.

Three weeks have gone by, with the physical therapy visits on Monday and Thursday every week. Today is Monday, and I am pleased to tell you of my progress as of today! I start at the stationary bike again for 10 mins, except today I go a mile and a half in those ten minutes. Next we go to the treadmill, so my therapist can watch me walk, and give me direction to walk properly. After 10 minutes of instruction on how to walk again, it reminds me of when I learned how to dance salsa for the first time, step by step what do I do, heal to toe, watch your gait, lift your knees, no dragging, watch your balance, try not to hold on, oops starting to fall stand up straight, even your weight out, there you go, now a little faster, try to let go again. Whew! 10 minutes now equals .3 of a mile. Next more stretches with the band and leg lifts except now I have 5 lb. weights on my ankles, and I do the 2 sets of 20 lifts each leg; then to on my toe stretches, followed by squats.
Other than walking unassited another area that has been slow in recovering is getting up and down, in and out of a sitting position, chairs and cars. My quads, the muscles on top of your thighs, are really weak and very sore. Even though my right knee was replaced in April 2008, my left knee was so deteriorated, the progression of exercise I have been able to do for the right knee was hampered. So even though recovery is strong for the right knee it is not the maximum strength it should be. Hence the squats, ughhh.
We move on to the leg press, three weeks ago I started at 60 lbs, I am now up to 120 lbs. Doubled!!!
The workout is always ended with ice, a great icing down is so comforting, and sometimes combined with an eletrical stimulation that triggers the nerves in my knees to decrease the pain.

The plan is, one to two more weeks. For what? To walk, unassited for the first time in two years and three plus months! I am dedicated to the workouts, so daily whether I’m at PT or at home, I work hard! My goal is my blessing, I get to walk again, dance again and for that I am so grateful, so why wouldn’t I work that hard?

So today or tomorrow, if you wake up and think I can’t do this, remember yes you can.Dig down and deep, pull out all the stops, and just do it. Because on the other side is more, to get something you’ve never had, you have to do things you’ve never done. Bionic knees will dance again. I will walk my dog that I’ve had since Christmas and never walked. I will be grateful for more!
Blessed days of walking and dancing to come!!!!

I can’t believe it’s been three weeks

BooBoo Bear

My apologies to everyone who has been following my story, for the delay in getting my story

continued. I don’t think I realized how difficult it would be for me to actually sit and write this

story through the surgery and recovery periods. Here is my story, from surgery to my current

recovery state.

The morning of the surgery came again, with some anxiety of the last visit when this surgery was

suppose to take place, but I knew today would be the day. In the pre-op room were nurses who

were there the first time around when I got my right knee replaced, and also the last time when

my surgery was postponed, and every one there was intent on making this a great experience for

me. I brought with me a small stuffed bear that I call “BooBoo bear”. He is who I squeeze when I

am participating in something uncomfortable like having blood drawn or and IV put in. I seem to

have veins that move so depending on the person drawing blood it can be a difficult experience for

me. One of the nurses saw BooBoo bear and asked if he was going into surgery with me, and I

said sure, so she said he needed to get ready. Well, I took the bait, so I gave him to her, and he

came back in about 15 min dressed for surgery, check out the picture below, he has his surgical

hat,a medical bracelet with my name on it, mask, and feet protectors on and they wrapped him in

a plastic bag and into surgery he went with me. A nurse going above and beyond creating joy and

laughter not just for a little kid, but for a big one, me!

Sugery went great, the Dr. said my knee was trashed, there were shards of bone where a knee used

to be, and no wonder I was in such pain. Now, without getting over technical or gross anyone out,

I will explain a little of what is involved so you can get an idea about the recovery of a total knee

replacement(then if you or anyone you know has one you can empathize). They take the bones

from the top leg and bottom leg and saw about and inch to inch and half off of them to make

room for the artificial cobalt chrome knee. The top and bottom part of the knee is fitted into the

bones and cemented in, then attached to the middle so it moves like an original. The incision that

is made is approximately a foot long and all nerves are sliced or moved aside with the blood

vessels and then sewn back together when the knee is installed, leaving a danger of blood clots

while the initial restoration is healing. My knee is numb in alot of places as well as the areas

around the knee. My right knee was replaced in April of 2008, and almost all of the feeling is

back in that leg, however there are a few places where there remains numbness, I can live with

that.

I’d like to take a minute and reflect on my hospital stay, and the people who did and didn’t take

great care of me. The first night after surgery was ok, I was hooked up to a machine where I was

capable of distributing medication to myself with a press of a button, and of course they have to

come in every two hours to check vitals and make sure I’m doing ok, so no worries the first day. I

was doing really well, so the Dr. decided to discontinue the self medication later the second day

and I was able to get up and use a toilet by the bed. I stayed on a machine that moved my leg

for me day and night so my leg wouldnt get stiff, that was my choice to stay on it almost 24

hours a day. My second nite was not so wonderful. The care that nite was not even up to par, I

was left alone on the side toilet for 15 minutes without help, and the nurse did not understand

when I tried to tell her I needed something different for pain, because the mannerism I chose was

to be kind about it, I just kept saying I’m still in alot of pain. My pain level is an 8. (My evil twin

sister Sybil was no where to be found SHE would have been medicatedat one roar) By morning I

was in tears from the pain, no help in moving or getting up, and the frustration of not being well

taken care of.

The morning nurse came in and saw me and my condition and immeidiately got on the phone to

the Dr. who was there in a matter of minutes with a shot that took the edge off of my intense

pain , then they got me in a comfortable position and I was once again calm and well taken care

of. I managed to sleep a little and then was ready for my first trip, up with a walker and to the

door and back. Woohoo! my first steps. The day staff continued my awesome care and by evening I

was ready to face that nursing staff again with better communication about my care.(It helped that

my day nurse gave them a tongue lashing). After a talk with the three of us it was understood

what went wrong and we all learned from this evening and was able to bring a better night for me

by clear communication. I thank the day nurse for helping me and helping the night nurse so we

had cleared the air, and a fresh start for a very peaceful and painfree evening.

The rest of the hospital stay was pretty on track, the following day I made a trip around the

nurses station, dazzling them with my walker skills, my ability to get myself to and from the

restroom was a plus, and voila , I came home after only 4 days.

The first two weeks home were an emotional rollercoaster ride, my body was detoxing from all the

drugs from the surgery and different drugs afterwards. So not only was I dealing with the emotion

of the pain, but all of the different feelings that detox takes you through.

Let’s move a little fast forward to the past two weeks. Mostly they have been about physical

therapy, toning down on the drugs, renewing my love for life in everyday I face. Finding the courage

to choose to be positive and move forward in all that I do in this healing process. Not to give in

to the pain and emotional state that can depress and immobolize you whenever you suffer a major

change in your life, such a a total knee replacement.

The bionic woman lives and breathes in love, joy and support from my beautiful friends and family.

I started outpatient physical therapy this week, and I’m driving again,which brings me some

freedom, woohoo! I am looking forward to that day, soon, when after two years of walking with a

walker, crutches or a cane, I will hold my hands and head up high and walk unassisted.
I WILL be dancing by September on my birthday, will you be there with me?

Blessed days to come,
Cher

And the Beat Goes On……

The journey of my knee continued…….

The day came for the stress test, very interesting procedure.The technicians in the cardilogists office were extremely nice and very sincere in their care of me during this procedure.The first tech started an IV in my arm, then he injected me with a nuclear dye, and I waited for 30 min. Then they took me into a different room where another technician, a very handsome one at that, had me sit on a chair that spins around while my head is rested on an arm rest crossed in front and above my heart, it turned in intervals while the xray takes pictures.I then waited another 30 mins and went back into another room where they injected a drug that stimulated my heart as if I were exercising. The side effects could be nausua, dizziness, headaches feeling like you’re exhausted and then like you are going to pass out. I had only one symptom, like I had been dancing for about two hours straight, that’s all! Then they gave me the antidote, and after 4 mins of recording my heart, it was over! I went back to take more pictures of my heart and stress test done!

Now a friend of my granddaughters had a suggestion, that I just had too much love in my heart and needed to give some more of it away. (Her intention was that I needed a boyfriend). I laughed, when he’s ready for me I’ll be here. Wherever he is.

The results in, nothing is wrong with my heart. It was all just great, no problems with this heart, so now I’m off to surgery tomorrow. Finally a new left knee to match the right one, bionic woman I will be!

I thank you all as you continue on this journey with me. Next step is an awesome recovery as I bring my new knee into this world and introduce it to the rest of my body. I will be working hard to walk in the next few weeks, and I will take you all with me as I continue on this journey.

I’ll be back home on Tuesday, so be good to yourselves, and all around you. Spread Blessings for me in my absence, everyone needs more blessings.

Love and Joy,
Blessed days to come,
Cher

Choices

Every morning when I wake up, I realize I have choices to make.  First one, do I even get out of bed?

Once you are out of bed, you have a choice, is it going to be a great day, or not. If you choose to have a great day then no matter what happens, you have made that choice to have a great day.  Let me share with you some things that you might find make it a little difficult to have a great day.
   Just as the first note was about people doing their jobs, this one kind of takes on that note as well.
Last Friday, I saw the cardiologist and in reviewing my EKG said it looked as if I had had a heart attack, although I explained at no time did Ihave any symptoms that would have comfirmed that diagnosis, so he explained that every once in awhile, something odd shows up on an EKG that cannot be explained, and its usually, in his experience, been on a womans EKG.  Go Figure, all of that enthusiasm for life contained, probably knocked the thing off whack,(I like that interpretation)! And it would figure that it would be me, with one of those whacky EKG’s.

The Doctor  is extremely careful and he wants me to get some tests done, a chemical stress test(because I can’t walk) and some pics of my heart.  Beautiful!
I go to the front desk to schedule it and the lady at the desk, says they have to have an approval from Workmans Comp, (this is an injury I recieved at work, that took out my knees) before she can schedule this.

No problem, at this point I have been on this journey for almost two years, trying to get my knees fixed, so I have all the direct connections, my case workers direct number, my case managers direct number so I make the phone calls telling them the request is coming, and they are thrilled and said they would  approve and send them off as soon as they get them.

Well, this is a holiday weekend and already almost 4 o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, but the lady from the Cardiologist’s office manages to send it while I’m still there. Super!

Tuesday comes in the afternoon, and still no phone call confirming my appointment.

I call, she says she hasn’t heard back from the approvals(my case people). So I decide I’ll wait one more day given it was a holiday.

Wednesday comes and still no appointment, I call back and she says she will look into it for me.

Meantime I call my surgeons office to see if maybe it got stuck on their desk, no she states it came there and she sent it directly to my case manager and worker, they immediately approved it and sent it back to her, and she forwarded it to the cardiologist office, ON FRIDAY! Now if that in itself , isn’t magic happening I don’t know what is!  Three people who know how important this surgeery is to me, have gotten to know me, and truly care about my well being, on a holiday Friday weekend, get approvals all signed and faxed off in a matter of 1 hour. Woohoo!

But wait a minute, if all that was done on Friday and this is Wednesday, and I stiil have no appointment who dropped the ball?

I call the cardiologist office, explain to them what I have just learned, and ask if they have the information and can they schedule me? They don’t have it, they will look around and call me back.

No one gets back to me on Wednesday. Thursday morning rolls around, I’m actually teaching in the morning and don’t have a moment to call until 11am.  Meanwhile I had left a message at my surgeons office explaining to them that the office didn’t receive the information sent Friday and could they please call.

First opportunity I get, I call the cardiologist to find out if they have my information. Trying every bit of my patience I get a recording to leave a message. It is now 11:30AM and they, like alot of Dr’s offices take lunch from 12-2pm.

I call my friend and I am so frustrated to know that out of the four people in charge of setting this appointment up, the three hardest ones to get ahold of and get going, did their job, and rather quickly. The one hold up is the one that should have been the easiest. So bravo to my surgeons nurse, my case worker, and my case manager for such a quick response and putting my care first!

Now back to the cardiologist office, my friend said call them again before lunch sometimes you can get thru. Hallelujah, I did, and I came to find out the fax machine was out of film and alot of papers were stuck in it.

Someone definetly wasn’t doing their job. No film, no approval and it sat there from Friday till Thursday till someone noticed. I laughed, what else could I do! I had no control over the situation I was under the control of a fax machine, that no one was paying attention to.

After explaining the importance of this stress test, and the ordeal I had already gone thru being prepped for surgery, IV in, leg scrubbed orange with beta-dine and then surgery canceled for a glitch in my EKG, she felt really bad that their office had dropped the ball on this.  Apology accepted.

Tests are scheduled for Wednesday 8:30am.

So the moral of this story is please do your job, no matter how small or insignificant it may be, such as making sure the fax machine has film in it, do your job, someones life may depend on it.

Remember each of those days I had a choice, to get angry, or stress out, I chose to let it go and let it happen in its time. Would I have preferred to have it happen in a more timely fashion, of course.

I’m reminded daily of the fact that we have so little control of some things, like the fax machine, and such a huge control over others, as how to maintain a positive attitude and realize that it is all going to happen, just maybe not in the time frame we had hoped! I always thought of myself as a patient person, now I know I am and I practice it daily along with the firm belief we are always where we are suppose to be, no matter what!

Tune in next week, for results of tests and hopefully knee surgery scheduled.  Make some great choices this week,  relax and live well.

Today’s Everyday Miracles and Tips

Have you ever woken up and been extremely grateful to be alive? That was me this morning, let me share with you my story.

Two years ago, 5/05/2007, Cinco de Mayo, I suffered an accident at work. While walking from the front of the restaurant to the back I passed the dish area and slipped on a wet piece of lettuce, sending my body going one way and my knees the other way.This was my first miracle, and a blessing in disguise!

You see I was working 60-70 hours a week, and though I loved my job, and the people whom I met everyday, it was taking its toll on my life and my body. I had just passed 50, and I felt a wind changing.

 I had torn my meniscus, cartiliage and left nothing but bone against bone. My right knee was replaced on 4/10/08. The left knee however, since not as injured as the right one originally , was not approved for surgery.

So started the long treck of red tape, and lawyers, to get my left knee replaced. While the right one was healing the left was taking all the responsibility of my weight and balance, deteriorating on a daily basis, until it also was bone on bone.
Pain was a daily reminder of the damage that was done, the reliance of a cane recently switched to the use of a walker, to minimize the damage of my lower back because of the unblalance.
When the news came I was estatic, finally approval to get my left knee replaced.

Yesterday I went into the hospital to finally get my surgery, I was scheduled for 7:30 am. I arrived at 5:30, the usual nothing to eat for 12 hours before surgery, I barely slept I was so excited. I jumped into the hospital gown, the iv’s were in, my knee scrubbed with betadine all nice and orange, the doctor had stopped by and put his initials on my knee mandatory for identification reasons. Next on the list is the anesthesiologist.

The anesthesiologist comes in, nice guy asks me a few questions, and says he would be right back, he wants to talk to my ortho doctor for a minute. I felt something was wrong in the short answers he was giving me. Then he proceeds to tell me he doesn’t feel comfortable putting me under during the surgery, we will have to cancel and do more testing. I’m completely confused, I had all my pre-op work done, had been checked out by another doctor and been given a clear bill of health for the surgery, what was wrong. Well, in the EKG done there was a small problem. How come no one told me about it? No one has an answer to that question. ” Here’s what we do know Cheryl, you are over 50, diabetic, slightly elevated cholesterol, 3 risks already. “There is an indicaton one of your arteries is not getting enough
oxygen, if we put you under for this surgery there could be complications, I will not take that risk. It could be an easy fix, but without a stress test, I’m not willing to take that risk on your life”

Well, thank you Doctor. I could have woken up in ICU this morning, or not at all. But because one very thorough doctor took a really good look at my EKG and realized a potential problem I’m here today and very grateful to be and feel alive today!
This was my miracle today, I woke up. Yeah, I’m going to have to wait a couple more weeks for my surgery and to get rid of the pain, the cane and be able to dance again, but I AM going to be able to do those things, thanks to a very responsible doctor, that just was doing his job.

The accident itself was a blessing to change my life and live the one that was meant for me now, Life Coaching is where I am meant to be now. Spiritual growth that is coming with this change and helping others to grow, that’s where I’m meant to be now.
 
Just as the people who were saved by Captain Sullenburger in the Hudson River, a guy just doing his job
How many other people out there just doing their jobs, and doing them the best they can.
This was my miracle today, do you have a story like mine? Who saved your life today? An everyday hero, just a guy or girl doing their job?
Tell me about it, we’ll say a special prayer and we will thank them together.

 If you look for the good in people you will find it!

Blessed Days To Come

Cher