A Leaf That Just HAD To Be Turned Over!

Back in December I was driving with my sister Cory telling her how much pain I was in from this RA and that I no longer was taking my medicine and didn't know what I was going to do. The medicine made my hair fall out and it was making me go crazy. I knew that I needed to do something but I was tired of going to doctors and taking medicine that gave me side effects that were often worse then what I started with!
Cory has been telling me for a while now that I needed to go to her friend who is a "VooDoo" Doctor, she is not really a "VooDoo" doctor but I call her that.  I sort of believe in alternative medicine but wasn't really in the mood to have someone wave a magic stick over me and tell me I was going to be healed, or tell me to take some vitamins and it would fix everything! Cory this time wouldn't take no for an answer so she called up right then and made me an appointment for the next day! I decided if I was going to go do this I would legitimately give her a chance so that I could tell Cory I tried it and see no one can fix me! I decided that I would give this "VooDoo" a month to work it's magic, because lets be realistic no one can fix you magically in ONE secession!
I went to see Judy at Ideal Bodyworks in Pleasant Grove. I'll be honest I wasn't all fixed after the first time in fact I didn't know how I felt about the whole thing. But I had said that I would give it a month and that is what I did.  At first I would only give her one problem at a time, after a while I started just laying out ALL of my many problems and telling her ok fix them! After the first month I noticed that I started feeling better. So much so that I started have energy to work out.
By January I made my new years resolution to start getting into shape. You know those moments that everything just clicks in your head. I realized that if I didn't do everything I could do to help this body then it is as much my fault as it is genetics! So I started changing my mind set. I realized that I HAVE to keep moving if I want to be able to move. It's one of those, if you don't use it you will lose it things. I really hate it when these old says have merit, because it is a double edged sword. It hurts to move so you don't move but if you don't move it hurts more!  I know myself so I needed a goal to work towards. So I decided that I wanted to run a 5k! I figured that I could probably make it 3 miles.
I use to be a runner and found joy in running. It of course has been a LONG time since that feeling has been in my life, but since going to Judy I have had the energy to get up and start. I am now training to run a 5K this summer. I am up to 2 miles of straight "running". Now I say "running" but lets just face it, it's more like jogging, but hey it's more then what I could do a few months ago! And I am kind of excited to accomplish this, it has always been on my bucket list and I honestly thought it was one of those that I was NEVER going to get to.
Now I'm not saying that I am perfect. I still have bad days that the thought of getting out of bed brings tears to my eyes because of the pain shouting throughout my body. And most mornings the simple act of doing my girls hair makes me want to cut off my fingers, but my good days are starting to overshadow these bad days! I have found when I just listen to Judy and do what she tells me to do, yes there is ALWAYS homework, that I sleep better, my joints work better, I have energy (ALMOST as much as a normal person, or what I think a normal person has!), and I can function daily! Josh doesn't always agree with me that I am having more good days but he also doesn't think I'm going to run this 5k so what's a girl going to do....I suppose that it is hard to hear your wife tell you every year that this is the year I'm not going to be sick, or go to the hospital, or have a major surgery. And I suppose that after the first few years you stop believing that her body will ever work perfectly, but I am just as stubborn as ANY Tippetts and am determined to do what I can to accomplish my goals.
I have had some set backs and have had to start going to Judy more often lately, apparently when the doctor tells you that you CAN NOT go on roller coasters he is serious! While down in California on our vacation yes I was stupid and went on a few roller coasters and yes now I am paying the price. I have had to learn this lesson the HARD way. When I start feeling better I start to forget that I still have limitations, and have to realize that I still can't do all the things I think I can in my mind! And I often times forget what the pain feels like that I had been going through, until it comes back!
I realize that I have turned over this leaf before right after Abby was born and I did good for awhile and then came the tornado of problems into my life that sent me back to square one! So I am not saying that I will never have major health problems again, I really don't know what challenges I have ahead of me. But I do know that I am kind of at peace with it. It is what it is and I can only control what I can do to help myself. I figure that as long as I'm doing everything in my power to take care of this body then what ever comes next is just part of His plan for me.