Long time no type

I have not posted in a very long time. I ended up finishing 3/4 of the 100 mile bike ride. I was disappointed in myself but I just couldn't continue. I am very proud of myself, I have never gone that far on a bicycle and it was an amazing journey. I would like to do it again next year. The reflux cam right back and even worse so now I am on more meds. My ENT says I'm too young(haha) to be married to a pill but it feels like the pill is the only thing working right now. Oh well, I will try it for a few more months and we shall see what happens. Everything else in my life is simply lovely and it is crazy to me that one year ago today I was recovering from my surgery and starting a very long quiet summer. I'm continuing the vocal rest this year only because the boys are with their Dad and I'm all alone. I'm sure I'll make up for it one way or another ;)

Mel out!

one month into treatment

Well...one month after starting treatment for my acid reflux induced laryngitis I am a little better. I am still coughing a bit. It is much less than a month ago but it still doesn't feel quite right. I do not have as much heartburn as before and I have been riding a bit more this month. One more month of treatment to tell if there is any change. We shall see.

Another good reason NOT to exercise!

So you go through life trying to improve yourself. Push yourself. Try new things. Make strides. Raise money for charity. Be a good person. Hah! You train for a 100 mile bike race thinking "This is awesome, just think if you can really pull this off it will be a big accomplishment." A couple of months into training you come down with this weird cough. Metallic/blood like aftertaste in your mouth, hacking like a 40 year smoker etc. Not fun. So it scared me. With all the vocal chord trouble I have had I was getting really nervous. Excessive coughing is something to avoid if I can, along with clearing my throat, yelling and whispering. For the past 4 weeks I have had a lot of throat pain, many asthma issues, indigestion etc. I went to see the wonderful, fabulous Dr. Haben today. His conclusion..."you have acid reflux induced laryngitis which is a result of our recent cycling training(most likely)". It is apparently due to the position of your body as you ride your bike. Hmmmmmm good reason to bail on ride? NO! I AM NOT A QUITER! A complainer maybe, but no quitter. My throat is swollen, bumpy, and there are some slight calluses on the vocal chords but they are closing symmetrically so there is nothing to worry about as far as the surgery/recovery etc. Here's something TO WORRY about. NO MORE BEER! Yes you read correctly. I am not longer allowed to drink beer or soda and I have to take a pill everyday for the reflux. After his diagnosis was made he said, "by no means should you stop exercising, and you are too young to be married to a pill for the rest of your life but let's try this out for a few months and...I'll even sponsor you for the ride." Well, thank you very much Doc! I love that guy.

Mel OUT!

Been a looooong time

It has been a long time since I felt the need to blog. I figured I should at least type a few lines. I have been enjoying my "new" voice. The Dr. gave me some vocal exercises to try and I really think they are working. My voice is getting stronger each day and I do not have much vocal strain. I am still using all the alternative methods I can think of in class and the kids have been great! Jake heard me singing yesterday and said "Oooohh Mamma, sounding like a pro!" That was nice to hear, I'm pretty sure he is NOT tone deaf so I'm gonna take that compliment and run with it.

I look back on the past year(s) struggles and I think about all the emotion, fear, frustration I felt. Seems silly at times that I felt so "down and out" but I guess it was a grieving process that I needed to go through. Even though I know it wasn't "all that bad". I feel a little ashamed now. I wasn't given a death sentence, it wasn't cancer, I didn't have a limb removed. I could still eat, work, play with my kids, function with day to day tasks. It just took a little longer or some extra thought or time to do certain things. I felt such a loss when it first happened back in 2000 with the paralyzed chord and then again in Fall of 2008 when I was told I had the nodules. My voice has always been such a huge part of my life. It was such a huge part of my personality. Communication is and always has been so important to me. It's informative, it's social, it's comedic, it's melodic. I talk to myself most days(no I'm not crazy). It was just that...a LOSS. But that loss has now brought me some gains as well.

So now I'm grateful...I needed the time to change. I needed the change. I'm a much better listener now, I think. You will have to ask my friends to see if they think so. I try not to yell as much, you will have to ask my kids if they think that is true. I don't enjoy sporting events as much as I can't cheer the teams(or my kids) on the way I used to. (I have a pretty good whistle though) In general, I think I'm doing just fine and if the vocal chord problem is the biggest health issue I ever have...well I'm doing really, really, really great! And that's pretty darn good!

I will sing in moderation, read books aloud to children in moderation, converse with friends with moderation and keep on keepin' on...I hope you all do as well. Thanks for reading

Mel out!

YAHOOOOOOO!

Finally! After 10 years of suffering with this "condition" I have perfectly symmetrically moving vocal chords. My speech pathology friends are cheering with me. Wahoooooooooo! Yipppppeeee! They look great. Straight as an arrow, bump free, vibrating symmetrically and closing completely. I am thrilled. My doctor is thrilled. He even gave me some vocal exercises to do to build stamina so that I can work on my singing voice. This time of year is hard for me, I love to sing with the Christmas music and I have been sounding like a pubescent boy for the past few weeks when attempting to sing. It should get better with some practice. I hope so, I do love to sing. I survived parent teacher conferences and a wonderful trip to New Orleans where I met the most wonderful people and talked, danced and sang the weekend away. I wish I could rewind to there now. Aahhhhh....oh well.

Mel out!

The Record Still Stands

Cody has decided to assist me with my plan to not work a full work week. I picked his lifeless body up from daycare this afternoon to find out that he has a 102.00 temp. Can't go to school tomorrow, nope. That means I can't go to school tomorrow and that also means I have to cancel 6 parent teacher conferences too. 14 years of teaching and I have never had to do that before. I guess I will save my voice. That is a plus but that also means next week will be hard. I have to double up on the conferences Monday and Tuesday. That's how things go friends, you just deal with it cuz that's all you can do. I will be very thankful when Thanksgiving rolls around, day of rest? Nahhhhhhh turkey, talk, and tasty treats. (And throw in some huge balloons, musical numbers and Santa!-my favorite part of the day...yep, the parade)

Mel Out!

The Beat Goes On

If you know me at all, a little bit or inside out you know that eventually this blog was going to be just ramblings about my life in general. So I will share a tid-bit with you. Tonight I ran out of gas as I was taking 4 children home from Religious Ed. Yep, empty, nada, nuttin honey! I had just enough fumes and sense to coast to the side of the road during "rush hour" traffic on route 31 in Perinton.
My Daddy always told me "Do not go below 1/4 of a tank in good weather and 1/2 tank in the winter. Up until today, I had taken this advice to heart and used it wisely. Today, I obviously lost all senses. It won't happen again, 23 year record down the drain. I feel like a failed factory worker who just broke the "days since last injury on the job" counter and blew the bonus for the whole crew. Live and learn, AGAIN.
On Sunday, I was bound and determined to make sure we were at church. I was feeling so good about being in full voice I wanted to sing at church. The boys, however, had a different plan. They have decided that it is their goal in life to miss church as often as possible. They have made it a game. They try to "oversleep", fake sickness, even change the time on the clocks so that I think we don't have enough time to make it. (They are cunning, devilish little men...I love them.) While getting Cody(6) dressed for the big event, he says to me..."Hey Mom, ya know what? I was flipping through the channels and I saw church on TV. We could just watch it. We don't even have to leave the house!" Yeah...NO! We went to church. We were welcomed for the second week by a darling elderly woman named Sally who loves to announce how long it's been since she has seen us in church. (I'm trying lady, I really am.) I know she means no harm but I already have all the Catholic guilt I can stand right now. My penance, I'm sure, is teaching Kindergarten Religious Ed every Tuesday. I'm earning my place in Heaven, I hope. Anyway, we enjoyed Mass. At one point Jake even leaned over and said "Nice voice Mom, I think it's coming back. And they are playing all your favorites." He was right it wasn't bad. Wasn't up to snuff though either. My voice cracked like a pubescent boy at times, cut out completely at times and it was scratchy afterwards. Baby steps people...I'm taking baby steps. A call to the Dr. will go in tomorrow.

Mel out!