Road to Wellness, Recovering from Pulmonary Embolism

The past three years have been a struggle for me health-wise. I was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism back in 2018. I was lucky because my respiratory doctor found the issue after a lot of tests and scans. It took a year before they found the cause - May Thurner Syndrome. My body issues have always been mechanical, but despite that I'm still blessed because I'm still alive and able to contribute to my community.

I kinda lived a normal life post-heart surgery seven years ago. I didn't get sick for almost five years. I didn't have any maintenance meds. My weight was acceptable (depends on which of my doctors you talk to). I traveled a lot. I may not have been able to do my favorite activities anymore like riding ziplines, roller coasters. I wanted to do para-gliding and other adventurous stuff. It's okay, I'm just happy to be alive.

Going through all of these challenges have not been easy. There are days when things go dark for me. You'd know I'm okay when you see I'm busy with my hobbies - I sew, I bake, I cook, I vlog, I blog, I nag my boys, I nag my Mom. I become unproductive when I'm unwell. Having body issues is just half the battle, the other half is pulling myself out of feeling unwell.

The battle to get well from PE was followed by severe asthma from the haze and crazy backaches. My doctor advised me to do physiotherapy and I have been doing that since November last year. It has helped me a lot. My back has been okay and I feel my lungs are working better now. I only feel unwell when my asthma is triggered from haze and when I get too tired. The key to avoid getting triggered is understanding my body and avoiding stress!

Clean air to keep my lungs healthy!

I'm so grateful that I have an amazing set of doctors who really show they care for me. My physiotherapist really tries to understand what my body can and cannot do. She makes sure I don't overdo things so I can make it to my next session. And because of their support I am inspired to become better. 

I'm happy to share that my doctor has removed one of the inhalers I had been taking for almost two years. My goal is to remove all my maintenance meds because it's been making me bloated. Hopefully soon my cardiovascular surgeon will remove my daily dose of blood thinners soon. Then my next target is to get rid of my daily inhaler.

To balance all the medical requirements I also do meditation, diffuse oils and pray for healing. I'm able to share this today because I've just gotten out of a health rut which lasted a few weeks. I need to stay in this state so my physiotherapy sessions can progress to my favorite exercise -- biking! Ahhh, we can all hope and pray.

Happy Monday everyone!


CB//139 #StuckAtHomeDay/169 #WFH99  #StayHome #BeKind