Fiercely Independent Pam

Tag: Don’t Let the Hard Days Win!

  • Why Not Me? A Very Rough Ten-Year Plan

    I am a big follower of Mel Robbins (Think the “Let Them Theory”) and her podcasts. Recently she has had 3 different episodes that truly spoke to me, especially right now, as I try to plan and determine, what is next!

    The first was Debbie Millman, a designer who gave a step-by-step process to designing the life you want. This piqued my interest as someone who is trying to recreate myself. She suggested an exercise of imagining what your life will look like in ten years.

    The second was Morgan Housel, author of several works, including The Psychology of Money. Morgan spoke about how he equates managing money in terms of independence. He offered short vignettes into various people’s lives and how money affected them. I went on to read his book, The Psychology of Money.

    The third was astronaut, Kellie Gerardi. Kellie gave a step-by-step process to building the life you want. As a mom, researcher, influencer, and goal setter, she inspired me to think about what’s next. She always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, and when she achieved her goal, she needed to set new goals and dreams. I have taken a deep dive into her online presence.

    The “take-away” from all three consisted of hard work, dreaming, luck, and the need to make your goals tangible by putting them out into the universe. Each had their own way of doing this, but I realized it was time to put my thoughts, dreams, and prayers into the universe, even if they are in rough form. I want to transform this bulleted list into something much more visual and creative, but for now, I offer you my very rough ten -year plan.

    • Financial Independence
      o Non dependent on SS benefits
      o Savings for “retirement” and emergencies
      o No debts
      o Good credit rating
      o Able to meet my medical needs
    • Attain/Befriend my Service Dog
    • Attain/Maintain a healthy weight
    • Able to travel
      o Disney
      o Cruise
      o Reunion 2026
    • Return to driving/ Transportation independence
    • Own my own home
    • Medical Stability
    • Create & Manage a Non-Profit
    • Blog/Social Media Reach of over 25K

  • Health Update: A Setback or Reboot? My Latest Adventure

    A setback is just another word for reboot. I could say it is something negative, as it seems like everything is against me at times, but I am choosing to see it as an opportunity to reboot. That is, my cardiac rehab plan was going so well, but something unseen must have been wrong.

    Last Tuesday night, when I was getting ready to go to bed, I stood up from my wheelchair to place an insulin needle in my sharps container. I remember that I didn’t “feel well” aka, my blood pressure was dropping, and next thing I know, I was waking up on the floor. I was fairly confident that nothing super emergent was going on, but I had incredible pain in my hip, neck and back. I knew this meant that I needed to go to the ER and get checked out. So, I called the ambulance to help me get up and bring me to the ER.

    The ER ran scans of my head and neck, as well as X-rays of my pelvis. Nothing was out of the normal range for me, so they sent me home. I knew this fall would be a setback for my progress, but resolved to continue to trust the process. I got home around 1:30am and had a very uncomfortable night.

    The next morning, I planned on having a quiet day to recover. I made up my mind that I wanted to follow up with my orthopedic doctor about my hip. I was excited to get an appointment for the next day. Not a setback, but progress… My appointment was with a PA that works with my hip orthopedic doctor. He was wonderful but had unfortunate news- he was fairly certain that I fractured my hip and need to be completely non-weight bearing until I could get an MRI and figure out next steps. Another setback for sure, as if there is a fracture, I will require surgery!

    So, I am mastering transferring from my wheelchair without putting weight on my left hip/leg. This “setback” has reminded me of how grateful I am for my wonderful power wheelchair that gives me freedom, even in unknown times. I am also in a holding pattern, waiting for an appointment for my MRI, with several implanted medical devices, clearance for a MRI takes some time!

  • A Floppy Bladder and a Super Early Start-

    My arrival time for being at MUSC was 6:30am. I live over 2 hours away from MUSC and hired a new driver service for this trip. Meaning we got our day started around 4, earlier to get dressed and stuff. I was scheduled for a Cystoscopy, biopsies, and urethral dilation to help determine what is going on with my bladder and why it has stopped functioning correctly.

    The good news is that all of this was accomplished under anesthesia; if you have ever been told you need to be dilated, don’t allow them to do it without sedation- Trust me! The timing was impeccable, like a well oiled machine. Quick change and wipe down, followed by consults with the urology resident, and anesthesiologist. I met my doctor in the operating room and he was exactly as I remembered him to be, caring, detail oriented , and ready to figure out my lovely, stupid bladder. For more details about my “stupid bladder,” click on the link.

    I was quickly asleep (the way I like it!) and my wonderful doctor examined my bladder and urethra. Biopsies were taken and I was dilated to a 30 French, and a foley catheter was placed (surprise)!

    The doctor shared his results with my wonderful friend, Yvonne, who made the trip with me. I also appreciated that the doctor’s notes were already in MyChart when I checked on the way home. He is addressing my bladder as “floppy.” It is one form of neurogenic bladder dysfunction. I am intrigued to find out more information from the doctor when I have my follow up. It could be from diabetes or neurological issues (and we all know i have plenty of those).

    It looks like my floppy bladder and I are going to continue to bond over self-catherization. I am glad that I have gotten past the learning curve for this process. Now, I just need a little good luck when ordering the catheters, as they seem to get lost in the mail and everyone points a finger at someone else. More supplies to keep track of and ensure I don’t run out.

    Not sure exactly what the future holds for this uncooperative, floppy bladder. I am eager to figure it out so that I can accept what needs to be done and move on. It’s the waiting that bothers me. Well that, and the fear of running over my foley again!