SCAD Alliance | My Eyes Are Up Here

Our dear friends, Robin and Nate, were visiting from North Carolina recently. They asked a question about a parking sign they’d seen in Seattle, Robin had even taking a photo of it, “No Parking West of Here”. “We saw this weird parking sign. How do we know what direction is west?”

I thought immediately, “What’s weird about that sign? West is the direction of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains are to the east.”

My second thought was, “Oh yeah. I live here I know the landmarks.”

A life with without major landmarks is confusing. Disorientation is exhausting.

I am at a point in my life when I am establishing new landmarks. Actually, that’s not accurate. I am at a point of my life when I am mindful of the fact that I am in a perpetual state of landmark establishment.

I still think, every day, about the fact that I was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly 8 years ago.

I still think, every day, about the fact that I had my first heart attack (the second, 8 days later), nearly 2 years ago.

Despite this daily mindfulness, these landmarks have changed in my life.

I have been working hard on my mental and physical stamina. I am working hard to have a positive influence on my health. I meditate regularly. I do yoga twice a week now. I have increased my exercise and a couple of months ago, I tracked my 500th meal.

I am feeling healthier and more fit. I have had fitness testing and my cardiovascular health has improved a good deal in last last year or so.

Despite all of this, I am still considered, “obese” with my current body fat percentage, which was calculated in fancy ways. I actually think I look good. But that’s not what it is about, is it? I thought I looked good 25 pounds ago. I started working on my fitness so that I can do more of the things that I want to do and to reduce my body fat, because it raises my risk for disease.

I have used “looking good” as a landmark for so long. For so long, I didn’t think I looked good. For decades. Bit by by, I developed a better body image.

Looking good is not the same as health. I have improved my health in a great many ways. I can accept it if my current fitness doesn’t improve. I will work to see if I can improve it. I will hike, do yoga, and meditate.

I will do my best to enjoy the process, which does not require, at any time, looking in the mirror.

I will do my best to focus on what I can do right now.

Here are some photos from what I was able to do last week, hiking with John and our friends, who happen to be relatives, near Bend, OR. (Note: I appear in none of the photos because I was the photographer.)

I’m coming out of a dip in my mood that started yesterday. I’ve felt disappointed and ripped off. My husband is working a lot of hours right now, which is wearing on me. I miss him and honestly, overwork puts his brain in a different place. I remind myself that the reason I miss him is because he is so wonderful.

I also came to the realization that it is perhaps not a good idea for me to travel to rural areas, far from good hospitals, given that it hasn’t even been a month since my last heart attack. The week long do-it-yourself meditation retreat I was going to do on my own has now been cancelled. I just cancelled a weekend away that was coming up in about a week. This morning, I realized that the camping trip I was excited about going on next month, is a bad idea. This is not the time to be up in the mountains, gazing at the Milky Way, with no cell phone coverage.

I am, however, gaining in other ways. I made an appointment for a second opinion assessment and treatment review at the Mayo Clinic’s main campus in Minnesota. I am going there during what was to be my retreat week. I am getting pressure from people to take my husband with me. This was supposed to be my retreat week! I want to be by myself. I am just getting a bunch of scans done and talking to a cardiologist. I may change my mind but I am adamant that it is my decision to make. Take that, world!!!

I also had a follow-up appointment with my local cardiologist today. We had a nice chat. I got to keep my clothes on and everything. He was excited when I told him that I was going to the Mayo Clinic. I took that as a very good sign. Also, when I told him about the SCAD Alliance website, he immediately pulled up the site on his computer and started reading it. We reviewed my scans and he explained everything very well. He seems very bright and enthusiastic about his profession. He told me that SCAD was the likeliest cause of my heart attacks. The other possibilities are heart disease and spasm-ing of an artery.

Now that I’ve written about this, I am feeling a bit more upbeat.

I will keep you posted, friends.