Back to Work!

Today is Sunday, July 23, 2023 and I have a full week ahead of me. The good thing is my spirits have soared with the return of the kids so I’m pumped and ready for the work this week. The long weekend was great and of course the highlight was the kids’ arrival on Thursday! Having them back has been unreal…Part of me feels like they never left to begin with and another part of me feels like they’ve grown so much in the past 6 weeks, who are these kids! They’ve been so excited since they go to back, sharing details about their trip, showing us pictures, telling us stories of things that happened…I’m so grateful they had a blast and enjoyed their time there surrounded by so much love, care and attention. I can tell they truly had a fantastic summer vacation and made memories that will last a lifetime. عليهم بالف عافية.

Back to today…I was up at 7:00 am (it was nice sleeping in for a change!) and out of the house by 8:30. First up, my weekly bloodwork at Amiri Hospital. Once that was over we headed to the second floor to pick up my ultra sound results from last week. Then we headed to the ground floor where I requested a summary report of my case…something I’ve been wanting to do since I was discharged but I just never seemed to get around to it. We left Amiri by 9:15 and headed to straight to PMR.

Both my PT and OT noticed that my energy levels were up this week compared to last week. We started with PT first at 10:00 and today the new challenge was adding ankle weights as I did all my lower body exercises. And it was definitely challenging! I also did a 15-minute walk on the treadmill and 10-minute cycling with the weights on. I wasn’t extremely fatigued when the session was over but I could definitely feel my muscles working. Next up was OT and today’s focus was on stretching my lower body and strengthening my upper body. As always, the stretches are grueling at the moment but then my body feels amazing once we’re done. I definitely noticed a change in my flexibility and movement from when I first started at PMR compared to today. My muscles have loosened up and the tension in them has subsided. I still have a way to go but slowly, slowly I’ll get there. We attempted to do a push-up during my OT session but I couldn’t…Instead I did my usual push-ups standing against the wall. We’ll get to the laying down push-ups eventually…Overall, both sessions were great today and both my therapists were happy with my performance so yay!

Once I got home my doctor messaged me with my results from this morning’s bloodwork. I’m very happy to report that my CK levels have gone down more this week! ألف الحمد لله! Unfortunately my protein levels have gone down slightly but my doctor said this is normal given my condition…My muscles are recovering from the inflammation, and to do so they have to consume and restore a lot of protein to go back to their normal status. So it’s expected during the course of treatment to see low levels of protein. Hopefully the double dose of protein powder I’ve been taking should start making a difference soon.

اللهم اجعلنا أسعد خلقك بك ، وأقرب عبادك إليك، اللهم اغفر لنا ما مضى, وأصلح لنا ما بقى, اللهم .اكتب لنا رضاك وعفوك والجنه