Still Kicking

I’ve made a decision. The other day I got a phone call from a place I’d never heard of before that had received a referral for me to continue my balance and strength rehab with them. This new place is very local, and does indeed have the equipment for balance exercises. So I cancelled an appointment with my GP to fill out forms for the Strength for Life and instead went for the initial interview for the new place. It was a ‘good’ interview but as I left there was something in the back of my mind that was troubling me. It’s taken a few days to come to the surface and it’s done so in typical Gaelyne fashion. I’ve found myself ranting about stuff with people I know understand me. Not ranting verbally, but in writing, which makes sense because that’s how I tend to work through things that bug me.

I’ve just rescheduled the appointment with the GP to fill out the permission forms for the Strength for Life program at Noarlunga. I’ve decided to keep my options open and only make any further decisions about any program after being able to compare the choices available in person. The current choices are continue driving to the Repat Rehab gym twice a week, The local place (ECH) which is local to me, Strength for Life at Noarlunga Leisure Centre, or a membership with a gym such as Anytime Fitness.

So what is it that was bothering me about my interview the other day? Well. ECH is for people who are basically about 15yrs older than me. The girl doing the interview kept trying to play detective to “figure out” why I have issues that most people don’t deal with until they’re over 65. At the time I was too polite, and too surprised by the questions to put words to it, but since then it’s been mulling in my brain and found voice in my private rants with friends. The answer to the question boils down to having had breast cancer when I was 40. My cancer thrived on estrogen, so I had to take Tamoxifen for 5yrs to keep estrogen at bay from my system so any residual cancer cells wouldnt be able to take hold. This in turn caused early menopause and my bones and joints responded to the lack of estrogen by pushing me into early osteoporosis and worsening osteoarthritis. So there we have it – premature ageing.

For a very long time I’ve been feeling frustrated and angry about this whole premature ageing thing but I realised today that it’s a bonus. Yes that’s right, a bonus. If I hadn’t had the tamoxifen and had plenty of that youth elixir estrogen in my system, I’d probably be dead. Given that alternative, coping with all the stuff I do seems like a worthwhile trade off. Better yet, I can still do something about the ravages of age by continuing on this path of rehabilitating myself, strengthening my bones and muscles, learning better balance techniques and improving my well being.

20130222-114109.jpgNext week I have a one to one session with the girl at ECH to learn how to use the equipment and so she can evaluate what my exercises will be. I’ll keep the appointment and probably attend at least one session so I can meet the person who will actually be running the sessions and of course the other people going through their paces. The girl I see initially isn’t someone I’ll be dealing with regularly so I will withhold judgement on whether their programs are acceptable or not until I see what a session is really like. I’ll do the same with the Strength for Life program, and see if I can get a tour for the Anytime Fitness gym before making a final decision.

Visits: 3

Other Posts

Instagram Pics

11Feb23 Lunch Group at the Mt Compass Hotel.  This was the Fish Platter and I couldn't finish it.  I took what was left home and had it for my dinner.  It was really good.  I even took Per's salt & pepper calamari home too!  We plan to return as everything was lovely - the food AND the service.  @MtCompassHotel #2023pad #lunchgroup #lunch #MtCompass #mtcompasstavern #fishplatter
11Sep22  I take a photo of these whenever I do a test because with catarachts I don't trust my eyes.  It's easier to see for sure if there's a bottom line from the camera.  Then I let them hang around so I know the date I last checked.  Anyone else do that? This is called a RAT test in Australia.  #2022pad #covidnegative #justchecking #covidrattest #rat
A little 44 seconds of the beach.  Enjoy.
10Feb23 My Pink Tigger!  The pink is from my nightlight, which makes everything pink when it's bright when I first come to bed and it slowly fades to very dim through the night.  But isn't GaliLEO so cute stretched out and about as conked out as you can get?  #2023pad #catsofinstagram #pinkcat #sleepingcatsofinstagram
9Feb23  I thought I had possibly broke my arm, so got a ride to the hospital to get it x-rayed.  It wasn't broke (phew!), but it was badly sprained.  The day before I had, for 10 full minutes, stood at my boxing bag and beat the heck out of it.  That didn't help - so I had muscle soreness from that, but then I was carrying a water reservoir from my dryer and bumped into a wall, wobbled or otherwise was carrying it awkwardly, and that's when it started really hurting.  The dryer is self contained (no vents), so I have to drain the water that it removed from the clothes, when I'm done washing for the week.  #arm #fracture #hospital #sprain #2023pad #dryer #wobble
09Feb22 A bit red and sweaty after a rowing session.  I spent six consecutive days rowing in order to complete this year's Concept 2 Valentine's Day Challenge.  And yes, I rowed more than 14,000 km and completed the challenge.  #2022pad #rowing #darkhorserowing #homegymlife #keepmoving #iamadarkhorse  #latergram #selfie #rowingselfie
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: Connected account for the user flitterbyg does not have permission to use this feed type.

Add a comment if you wish