Movin slow today

 Hello everyone!  It's been a week.  What am I saying it's been a month!  What topped off this stellar (not) month was this past early Sunday morning when I'm struck out of the blue with excruciating chest pain.  Greater than labor and that's saying something.  After taking my first nitro, nothing, took second nitro and called 911.  Husband goes out to meet them.  I'm taken to the hospital.  3 total nitros and nothing happens.  That is nothing gets better.  It took a shot of morphine to get the pain to subside.  3 hospital days, 1 (once again) clean cath, and just for fun a cardiac MRI later; I finally find out what's wrong with me:  Myocarditis.  Myocarditis is a viral inflammation of the heart.  This one was possibly brought on by my bout with Covid.  What this means is that while I was feeling this horrible pain, my heart was just beating away like nothing was wrong.  So no damage to my heart.  The inflammation was what I was feeling.  As an aside here...ahem.  My cholesterol was THE LOWEST IT'S EVER BEEN!  Sorry.  Just had to throw that in there.

This time I have answers at least.  I can hear the Pro-maskers, Pro-vaxers neener neening me from afar.  Here's the truth of it.  Do I regret not being vaccinated?  NOPE!  Do I wish I had never had Covid?  YEP!  I could have gone my entire life without dealing with this virus.  That isn't the way things went.  Like it or not, vaccines are failing; hence the need for booster shots FOR EVERYONE!  Yea.  I read today that PFizer has recommended boosters for all.  Big surprise, not!  Don't get me started on masks (eye roll).  The fact is, Thanks to China, politics, money, and the stupidity of leaders in general, this virus is out there now and I got a taste of it.  I still, thru this all, feel I made the right choice for me.  So!  I will contend with this too.  This means some changes in my future.  

1)  White sugar, white flour, white rice, processed foods, hydrogenated anything, etc, causes inflammation.  The first three of these are the only things we are still using.  They're now gone; from my diet at least.  Hopefully in the future I'll be posting recipes I can come up with using the alternatives of Whole wheat, Brown or Wild rice, Maple syrup, Raw honey, and Monk fruit.  I didn't eat anything from Sunday evening around 8P.M til Wednesday morning around 3 A.M.  In the beginning it was by Doctors order.  My cath was at 4 P.M.  Once that was over I was nauseous the rest of the time.  Since I've had my appetite back, though, it's been no sugar, flour, or white rice: as promised.  

So why this step?  These things are known to cause inflammation.  That's something I'm actively trying to get rid of.  So out they go so the inflammation doesn't have an ally.

Tried Monk Fruit today in my coffee.  Yes, all is right with my world if I get coffee.  It was good.  Now my taste buds aren't fully back yet, but not too bad.  It has potential.  I do think I'm going to stick with a tiny bit of real maple syrup in my coffee though, and save the Monk fruit for baking.  

2)  Before I even knew my diagnosis, I determined I was getting my life back this time.  I wasn't going to sulk and be afraid.  New eating, and moving!  I was more mad than afraid. I've known for a while I needed to get my health back, but it was on the back burner for a list of reasons (excuses).  Now it's top priority.  I need an outlet for stress.  I need to strengthen my heart.  It's as easy as that.  

So today I'm movin slow, but I'm moving.   I have to take things easy.  While no damage was done to my heart, I did have a tube stuck into it thru my veins sooooo there is that.   

I've been on the treadmill 30 minutes as of this posting; 2mph, no incline and in 7.5 minute intervals.  I also managed to can 7 quarts of potatoes with my son's help and sitting on a stool.  I covered my one lone cool weather crop garden bed with floating row cover.  Floating is the operative word.  It's very light weight.  I've puttered around the house doing little small things.  I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk.  So I keep that in mind.  When I start to feel tired I stop.  I have my follow up appointment in 2 weeks.  At that time I'm hopeful the doctor will okay more exertion.  In the mean time I'll just keep on keepin on.  I'm very grateful to still be here.