Susan's Quest for Good Health After a Celiac Diagnosis (comments greatly appreciated)

[AmyBeth68]

Good luck this weekend susan!!! I truly hope to meet you and give you a big hug!!!

 

[deekaypee]

I haven't heard the full details yet, but I HAVE heard that you did the 5k & did a great job! So I wanted to be sure I came over here right away and congratulated you! We all knew you could do it!!!

 

[AmyBeth68]

Was an honor and a pleasure to meet you and your family Susan. You are my hero, I'm so proud to call you a friend! I truly hope you are enjoying every second of your much deserved vacation!

 

[MIdanceMom]

Susan,

I hope you are having an awesome time. We would love to hear some details when you get a chance.

I am so proud of you! I think of you often.

Take care,
Beth

 

[sanilacjack]

Okay....I have spent most of my afternoon reading your journal and I'm dying to hear about the 5k.

Linda you are so inspiring!!!

-Kim

 

[postesf]

I am so, so, so proud of you!!!!

I won't spill the beans, but just wanted to tell you again how proud I am of you of your accomplishment!

Stacie

 

[ScoJo15]

Ahhh...I see that Stacie is back and posting....soo.....where the heck are you hiding???

It was a joy meeting you in person and I'm so proud of you and your accomplishment. I'll let you tell the tale yourself but just know that I'm very proud of you!

 

[toystoryduo]

Susan,

Congratulations!!! I saw Stacie's post in her journal and wanted to come over and give you a and a great big CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I can't wait to hear all about your trip and the race!

Hope you have a great week ahead!

 

[larry's girl]

I have finally managed to find the time to get in here and give you the details of the trip, the race and my life in general. I know my posts are usually long and turn into books, but this one will probably be long enough to produce a mini-series from it! I have SO MUCH to tell all of you - plus, there are lots of things that I want to type out for my own reference to see how I progress from this point forward!! So, for those of you brave enough (and with enough time) to read on from here, sit back, relax, kick off your shoes, grab a hot cup of coffee or a glass of wine (depending on the time of day and your personal preference) and settle in - we're going to be here for a while!

I will start with a trip report, entitled My First 5K (or, alternatively, Susan, Are You Alright???) - here we go!!

We were scheduled to leave from metro Atlanta in the wee hours of Friday morning, May 2, so I had a lot to do on Thursday. Work was absolutely insane, as it usually is these days, and everyone wanted me to get EVERYTHING finished before I left. So I didn't have time for lunch (I don't even think I went to the bathroom more than once all day), but I managed to get everybody's stuff done and get out the door at 5:00 p.m. I was so exhausted all I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for two days, but that wasn't happening - I had TONS to do to get ready for the trip. So in between laundry and packing, I prepared food for Tara to have while we were away and cleaned up the kitchen. Yes, I know she is 20 years old and is capable of feeding herself, but I also know that if I don't make something decent for her to eat in my absence, she will resort to Chinese take-out, frozen food and sandwiches because she doesn't like to cook. She might be okay with that for a whole week, but I'm not - I am her mother, after all!!! So I made a casserole for her and Larry made her a big pot of his gluten-free chicken noodle soup (which is to die for, by the way). I made sure she was all set for the week, got the last load of clothes dried and folded and finished packing about 10:00 p.m. I went to bed then and tried to sleep, but I was so exhausted and yet so keyed up about the trip that it was difficult to relax enough to drift off. I think I finally managed it after about an hour, so I slept from approximately 11:00 to 2:00 a.m. when Larry woke me up coming home from work (he had gone in early the night before so he could finish up early and we could get on the road). It took me about 30 minutes to make myself get up and get in the shower, then I had to pack up the cosmetic case and my CPAP machine, THEN we had to pack up the van and stop for gas. So we didn't leave home until close to 4:00 a.m. Of course Larry was tired from working all night, so I told him he could sleep while I drove. The only problem was that I was so tired, I was afraid I would fall asleep and make us wreck. So my solution was to turn the radio up and roll the window down. It was cold going down the highway - REALLY cold! Larry brought a blanket to wrap up in, but he was still cold. At one point, he told me that we needed to stop at a Wal-Mart so he could buy a coat! He went on to elaborate that he was in imminent danger of losing his male appendages from frostbite, and I told him he could choose between getting to WDW male appendage-less or dead from wrecking when I fell asleep!!! He said neither choice was appealing so when we made our first bathroom stop, I rolled the window up about half-way to try to save his manhood. Then he complained it was too hot, and I told him to stop complaining!! He was only joking, anyway, and soon fell asleep while I continued to drive. He took over when we got to the Florida Turnpike, and we were at Saratoga Springs soon thereafter.

When we were unpacking the luggage, it hit me that we were missing a seat in our van. It is a Dodge Caravan that has the two captain's seats in the front and two bench seats in the middle and rear. The rear seat can be removed, and when we travel with the three of us, Tara likes that space in the back to stretch out and nap or read in comfort. We had forgotten to put the third seat back in when we were getting ready to drive down!!! How we PACKED the luggage and didn't notice this is beyond me. My only excuse is that I was so tired I wasn't focusing on anything but getting everything thrown in the van and getting on the road. So now we had a problem - where was everyone going to sit? My parents and Stacie and Matt were flying in from NC, so we were the only ones with a car. We drove the van so there would be room for everyone to ride in it. And now we don't have our third seat!!! So once the rest of the family got there, I explained the situation to them and it was decided that Stacie and Matt would sit in the back on the floor while the rest of us sat in the front and middle of the van. When we got where we were going, we would pop open the back of the van and they would crawl out. First class all the way, when you travel with us!!! Anyway, I still feel horrible that this happened, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we just made the best of it.

After resolving the van dilemma, we headed over to Fulton's for lunch. The food was good, but I was terribly disappointed in the service. We won't be going back for a while, that's for sure. When we went over to pick up our race packets, I got to meet Scott and Amy for the first time - it was way cool to be able to meet these guys in person after they have been encouraging me on my journal for so long! Then we made a grocery store/drug store stop and headed back to the room for dinner and early bedtimes.

I tried to sleep, but I was nervous about the race and it was the first night of our trip away from home (when I notoriously don't sleep well, anyway), so I didn't rest well at all. When you combine that with working my butt off all day non-stop on Thursday and then getting three hours of sleep before driving for hours the day before, getting up at 4:30 on Saturday morning for the race was brutal. I was more tired than I have been in quite a while. By the time we got to the starting area for the race, I was questioning myself. I had not been able to train as I wanted to - I had not been able to do a 3-mile stint at home - so how did I think I could do one here when I was so exhausted I couldn't think straight? I almost backed out a couple of times - the only reason I didn't is that Larry was by my side and I knew he would be with me no matter what, so I just decided to do the best I could and be happy with that effort. We all had our bib numbers on, and I noticed that some of the folks there who looked like they were SERIOUS runners (as in, they were there to get qualifying times for later, bigger races) would give me a double take as they walked by, and I was sure they were thinking "Why is SHE here??" To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. As the crowd began to build, I looked around and saw NO ONE who looked as heavy and out of shape as I am. I was BY FAR the largest person I saw there, and that was very intimidating. Of course, it helped that there was a large contingent of WISH'ers there who were SO supportive and encouraging. It was cool to meet them (Stacy, really glad to meet you after chatting all these months!!) and I was glad for their presence, but when we lined up at the starting corral, I was thinking, "I do not belong here. Why am I doing this? No one would have looked down on me if I had said I wasn't ready to do this and that's what I should have done. This is going to be impossible." When the race started and I began to walk, I realized I was bone-tired and my low back and legs were hurting from standing around for an hour before the race. I truly didn't know how far I was going to get, but I was determined to do my best.

It quickly became apparent that I was going to be in the back of the pack, which was perfectly okay with me. Larry started out walking slightly behind me, and he stayed in that position for most of the race. (If you saw the pictures on Stacie's journal, you can see him walking behind me when I am almost at the finish line.) He didn't say so, but I know that one reason he did this was so I wouldn't be the last person to finish (or get swept). That truly would not have bothered me at all, but he was determined to stay behind me even though he could have gone faster if he had wanted to. The other reason he stayed behind me will become apparent later. As we got to Mile 1, I was thinking "It's only Mile 1?? How am I going to get through the rest of this?" And at that point it became about putting one foot in front of another - that was it. I decided to just put one foot in front of another for as long as I could. I was moving flat out for the whole race - just as fast as I could go for that whole hour - because I wanted to get as far as I could before I was swept. If I had looked at the entire race from Mile 1, as bad as I felt physically at that point, I never would have made it. So I just put one foot in front of another.

As I walked, I noticed that people pushing others in wheelchairs were passing me. People that were limping passed me. People passed me, made bathroom stops, and then passed me again. Before it was over, passing me became something almost everyone in that race did, but it was okay! I was still putting one foot in front of another. At Mile 2, I looked around and realized it was a LONG way back to the front of Epcot where the finish line was, and I also realized that this was as far as I had gotten in my training efforts. I had never walked past two miles, and my body was letting me know it. I started to slow down, and Larry saw it from his position behind me. So he walked up beside me and started talking to me, saying "Baby, we're two-thirds of the way there. We only have ONE MORE MILE to go. You know you want to finish this and see everybody at the finish line cheering for you. We can do this!" And he gave me the oomph to keep going. I said, "You're right. I'm going to make it!" And when he realized I had gotten back to my original pace, he dropped back behind me again. And that was his second reason for staying in that position - to make sure I had the encouragement I needed not to quit.

When I started up the hill between France and the UK, I looked over my shoulder and saw no one but Larry - I thought we were totally alone back there. It became obvious to me about then, though, that they weren't going to sweep us - and it was even more obvious when the volunteers went by me on a golf cart and waved! They were done before I was, but they were going to let me finish! The CM standing by the pin cart in front of the fountain started jumping up and down, clapping and yelling "Way to go! Good job! You're almost there!" Bless her heart - I guess I must have looked like I was about to collapse and fall over at her feet and she was trying to encourage me! When I rounded the corner and headed for the finish line, Matt was the first person I saw. He was standing there with a camera, took my picture and then fell into step beside me. He told me that he was very proud of me and that I had a medal waiting for me. My response was "Uh-huh" - I was pretty near complete exhaustion at this point. He asked me if I liked walking the race course, and I said "No!" which made him laugh. I just wanted it to be over by then. I saw the finish line and my legs went weak. I think my body was about to give up, but I decided that I was going to cross that finish line if I had to crawl to do it. Then I saw Stacie and my parents and heard them yelling at me - "You got it! You did it! Go, Susan!" and there was no way I was going to stop then. The next group I saw was the WISH'ers, many of whom I did not know, cheering their hearts out for me! What a great boost! I recognized Scott and Amy, having met them the day before and talked with them again that morning, and I heard them yelling my name. I looked at Amy and said "I did it!" and honestly, when I went across that finish line, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I can't adequately express what it meant to me, coming from such a long, sick and pain-filled road, to be able to complete this race. My heart was so full, and I was SO EXHAUSTED - it was a strange combination of feelings. And I knew Larry was right behind me, and he had to be tired since he hadn't had much sleep in the last two days, either, and he hadn't trained for this. But he was there, supporting me, just like he does in everything else!

So after I finished, I went over to the railing and sort of draped myself across it. There was nowhere to sit, and I knew if I got down on the ground I'd never get up, so I just leaned against the rail and put my head down on my arms. Stacie got to me first, saying "You did it!" I hugged her and then put my head back down. My mom got to me next, saying "Susan, are you okay? Here, drink some water." This is me: pant, pant, wheeze, splutter, pant pant. My mom: "Are you okay? Here, drink some more water." Me: pant, pant, wheeze, splutter, pant, pant. My mom: "Susan, are you alright??? Yes, Mama, I'm alright. I can't breathe, but I'm alright.

Once I recovered a little bit of my breathing capacity, I went over to get my medal. When they handed it to me and I put it around my neck, I was overcome with emotion and burst into tears. And I'm not talking a few, discreet tears. Oh, no, not me. I'm talking big, huge, boo-hoo sobs, like my heart was being torn out of my chest. I couldn't help it. It was too much to take in without some kind of emotional release, and that was mine. I heard my mom start to cry, and she said "Are you crying because you're hurting or are you crying because you're happy?" And I shook my head yes, to indicate I was crying because I was happy, because I wasn't capable of speech at that moment. So she reports to my family, and I hear my dad say, "Oh, good, she's crying because she's happy!" and then he kissed the top of my head (that was all he could reach because I had my face buried in my hands). I think they were both worried that I was injured or otherwise in medical trouble there for a minute, but I wasn't - I was just overcome for a bit. Just about the time I started to pull myself together, Scott and Amy walked up and gave me big hugs, and I started bawling again. I told them that I never could have finished it without Larry (which was absolutely true) and that now I've done this, I proved I can do it, and I never have to do it again! And that was how I felt at that moment. It was the toughest thing I've ever done physically, except for childbirth without pain medicine, and that was 20 years ago when I was younger and healthier than I am now. I have never before done 3 miles of walking as hard as I could go for a solid hour, and would never have believed I could do such a thing until I actually did it. It was an amazing accomplishment for me and it has totally changed how I see myself in terms of physical activity. I can do so much more than I thought I could - it's truly amazing to me!

We walked over to the awards area to get pictures and see the times. My dad said if they were giving out awards for courage, I would get one. I was so drained by that point, I just wanted to go back to the room and eventually we did. We hit the pool for a while, then I showered and went to bed. I still couldn't sleep because I was hurting a lot by now (I went through two bottles of Advil in the next four days), but at least I rested a bit and recuperated somewhat. Larry and I went to Flying Fish for dinner that night (our all time favorite restaurant at WDW) and I got to show Bob (our favorite server there) my medal. We split a gluten-free crab cake, the arugula salad, and the seafood panache (which was grilled salmon, shrimp and scallops and was TO DIE FOR - SO GOOD!!!) - we had a great time there, as always, and enjoyed ourselves very much.

The next day, my parents and I went over to the same finish line to watch Matt and Stacie finish the 15K. They did great, and we were all SUPER proud of them! When they were running towards the finish, my parents took off running with them (which I thought was very cute), but I couldn't have run if my life depended on it, so I just walked behind them and brought up the rear. Then I managed to get us back to Saratoga Springs without ending up back in Georgia, which is a feat in and of itself - I am the most directionally challenged person you will ever meet, so I was pretty proud of myself for that! My folks, Larry and I spent the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom, while Matt and Stacie did pool time and recovered a bit from their exertions of the last two days! We grilled at the room for dinner that night and it was GREAT! Lots of folks commented on how good it smelled when Larry and Daddy were cooking!

The next day we went to Hollywood Studios, where our folks rode Tower of Terror (which they said was okay) and I convinced my mom to ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster (which she hated - I felt really bad, because I thought she would like it, but sometimes you don't know until you try something). Matt and I rode a second time on RnRC, and when we came out to meet the others, Larry was having dizzy spells. I got worried about him and we ended up in First Aid. The nurse was concerned enough to call the medics, who examined him and said he was dehydrated. He had not been drinking enough water, before the race, after the race, or since the race, and his body was letting him know it. So we got some water into him, waited until he felt a bit better, and then headed over to Epcot for lunch at Marrakesh in Morocco. We were meeting Dan Murphy there, a long-time DIS'er and a friend of ours who was traveling solo for this trip, and we enjoyed seeing him again and introducing him to the rest of the family. He hung with us for a bit after lunch, and we rode the new Spaceship Earth together (which we all enjoyed a lot). Then we said our goodbyes and called it a day.

Stacie and Matt went to Narcoosee's for their anniversary dinner that night, so Larry and I took my parents to Turf Club at Saratoga Springs. We all enjoyed our dinner very much and we really liked the atmosphere, too - quiet, relaxed and a pretty view over the water.

The next day Matt, Stacie and I went to Typhoon Lagoon. I love water parks, but haven't been to one in many years, and no one in my family is interested (Tara doesn't like the water and Larry has no interest in water slides), so I was excited to do this with Matt and Stacie. We started out on Crush 'n Gusher and had an interesting experience there. There are two-person and three-person rafts available to use on this slide, but I was afraid if all three of us got in the three-person raft it would be too heavy to have a good ride (or to ride at all), so I told Matt and Stacie to ride a two-person raft together and I would ride a two-person raft by myself. When we got to the top of the slide (lots of steps, folks, but I did it), Matt and Stacie went down the slide with no problem, but the CM said I had to ride a different slide (there were three to choose from on Crush n' Gusher) because one person couldn't ride that particular slide safely. So I got in a different line (they didn't make me go through the line again, just moved me to the front of a different one) and I went down by myself on a different slide from Matt and Stacie. It was great fun and I had a blast! When we got to the bottom, they wanted to know why I came out of a different slide instead of behind them, so I explained what had happened. Matt asked if I wanted to ride with him so I could experience the slide they had just done because it was really cool, so I said "Sure!" Stacie didn't want to ride by herself, so she waited for us at the bottom. So we went up all those steps again, got to the top, got on the raft and started down the slide. We were about halfway down when we got flipped like an omelet. One minute we were yelling and screaming with glee, the next we flipped and got dropped on our heads. My face was squashed up against the side of the water slide with the raft on top of me. I couldn't see Matt, but I had to assume he was in a similar position. As we went barreling through the water slide UNDER the raft, I heard him say "Susan, are you okay?" Me: Glub, gulp, cough, sputter. Matt: "Susan, are you okay?" Me: Glub, gulp, cough, sputter, choke. Matt: "Susan, are you alright???? Yes, Matt, I'm alright. I just swallowed a ton of water and my head hurts like a son of a gun, but I'm alright. Matt also landed on his head, so he had a headache as well, plus he acted as a buffer for me because he was the first one out of the water slide, so I think he probably got the worst end of the deal between the two of us. Thanks for cushioning the blow, Matt-man! When we got down to the bottom, I realized that my prescription sunglasses were missing one lens. So Matt asked if someone could look for it, which they did and found not only my lens, but someone else's as well. Makes me think more than one person has wiped out on that water slide. That was it for Crush 'n Gusher for that day. I just didn't think I could deal with another trip down that sucker on my face.

We went on to do a couple more raft slides, which I really enjoyed (lost my sunglasses again, but another very nice CM retrieved them with Matt's help), and Matt did a couple of body slides. By then it was time for lunch, and I had an Itzakadoozie popsicle (which was wonderful - I will be getting more of these on my future WDW trips) and a turkey leg. Great gluten-free counter service food! My memory is fuzzy about what we did for the rest of that day - I am thinking we just hung out at the room and relaxed.

The next day we went to Epcot to ride Soarin' (my parents' favorite ride in all of WDW) and a couple of other things. We had lunch in Mexico, which was okay but not as good as the last time I was there. We were all getting tired by this point, so we went back to the room to rest that afternoon. Daddy treated all of us to dinner at California Grill that night as an anniversary present (Larry and I celebrated our 24th anniversary on April 21, and Matt and Stacie had their 7th on May 5). This was a lovely surprise and an awesome dinner! We were able to see the fireworks from the observation deck, which always makes me sentimental (When You Wish Upon a Star is something I sang to my daughter almost every night when she was little). It was a wonderful evening!

The next day, the guys went fishing (and apparently had a blast - they caught a lot of nice size fish and were all pretty jazzed about it that evening). The girls went on the Backstage Magic tour, which is a 7-hour tour that takes you behind the scenes through three parks: Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. We all thoroughly enjoyed this tour, which included lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe (where they made me my very own gluten and dairy-free skillet AND dessert), and at the end of the day, the tour guide pulled me aside as I was getting off the bus. She asked if I had ever considered working for Disney, which I truly hadn't (it's always been my happy place and my escape from the world, but never really thought seriously about working there). She said that I should think about it, because I would make an awesome tour guide! I did know a lot of what she told us on the tour (not all of it, by any means, but more than most people there) and she said it was obvious how much I love Disney - that I don't even have to say anything, it just shines from my face! I was very flattered that she took ME aside out of all those Disney fans in that tour - that was VERY cool!

We had dinner at Spoodles, where we met up with the guys and exchanged stories about our day. I think everyone enjoyed the Mediterranean fare, and all too soon it was time to go back to the room and pack up to go home.

That night we talked to Tara (we had spoken with her a couple of times through the week) and she said she had gotten sick that day at work, so I was a bit concerned about her. Larry and I had entertained the idea of staying a bit after breakfast on Friday to ride one or two more rides before going home, but decided we needed to head out right after breakfast to check on her and make sure she was okay. This would prove to be a good decision for a totally different reason.

We got up Friday, loaded our stuff in the van and drove over to Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast. This was excellent - the Jungle Juice is delicious - and I had the best gluten-free pancakes I ever tasted, which the chef made just for me. It was hard to say goodbye and leave everybody to go home. I am very close to my family and I always have a hard time parting from them, but this time it was especially difficult because we had such a good time and did so many new things together. Still, it had to be done, so we gassed the van up and started off about 10:30 a.m. I was driving and Larry promptly fell asleep (which is what usually happens to him when I drive). About two hours later, I was driving along I-75 without a care in the world when all of a sudden I hear this big BANG, felt the van swerve and realized something was very, very wrong. I managed to get it over on the side of the road without wrecking, but it was scary and the noise woke Larry from a sound sleep. He saw I was rattled and said, "Susan, are you alright??? Yes, Larry, I'm alright. My nerves are shot and I'm wondering what the deal is with this van, but I'm alright. Turns out we blew a tire - the right rear passenger side one - and when it tore up, it ripped the plastic part of the rear bumper completely off. We had a spare, but it wasn't designed to go 300 miles (which is how far we still had to get home), so we called AAA and they sent a tow truck to get us to the nearest tire store. We bought a new tire and were again on our way. Cost us two hours and some $$$, but could have been much worse, so we were happy. We finally got home about 7:30 and were both VERY glad to see our daughter (who was feeling a little better by the time we got home). So another great trip comes to an end. The next day, Larry is looking at the race pictures others have posted on the Events board, and he says to me, "Next time, we'll be faster."

Next time?

NEXT TIME????

What is this next time of which you speak, Kemosabe?

I'm not sure I want a next time!

But then, after I thought about it a bit, I realized that what I don't want is to do another race and be as unprepared for it as I was for this one. If I can manage to drop a little weight, keep walking and increase my stamina, and build up my immune system so I don't battle so much illness, there might be a next time. Stay tuned!

There are many people who helped me so much in my journey to get to this race. To my sister, Stacie, who started all this back last fall and who has supported me from the beginning - you rock, girl! Thank you for helping me not to give up when I was training and for supporting me so tirelessly. I am SO proud of you and Matt and I know you will be able to accomplish ANYTHING you decide you want to do from here on! To Scott, Amy, and all the other WISH'ers who supported and encouraged me so much, both here on my journal and at the race - you are all heroes in my book. You give of your time and energy so unselfishly so that someone like me can benefit from increased physical activity and feel such a great sense of accomplishment in what is a small achievement in the grand scheme of running events. Thanks to ALL of you for your help - you are a special group of people.

And to my husband, Larry, without whom I would never have been able to make it to the point of training for this race, much less actually completing it - your support and love is what I lean on EVERY DAY to get through the challenges life presents. Without your giving heart and generous spirit, I wouldn't have had the courage to try and ultimately succeed at this event. And I know that we will continue to do more of them together, the way we do everything else. I love you with all of my heart and soul, and that is why my DIS name is so appropriate - I will always be Larry's girl.

I have more to say about other stuff that is happening with me right now, but I need to take a break so I'll put that in another post later today. Thanks for staying with me this long, folks - later!

Susan

 

[Caitsmama]

Susan,
Your TR made me cry and laugh... I want to say, i was SO PROUD of you when you finished -- even my mom (whom you don't know) was constantly saying ---"Good for her!!!"

You did it,and that is something you can always be proud of -- can't wait to meet you again - the NEXT TIME..

 

[larry's girl]

So, as you all know, I'm a list maker. I need to make a new one so I can clarify what I want to do in my head. So here goes:

1. Purchase and start taking the new prescription meds and supplements my doctor recommends to kill the yeast issue and put the good bacteria back in my digestive tract. I am still having stomach issues (today is not a good day) and I am tired of battling them, so it's time to try to address that. I am also keenly feeling the need to bolster my immune system, so I am hoping the new vitamins my doctor wants me to take will do that effectively.

2. Buy a cheap MP3 player from overstock.com to load a few songs on from amazon.com. I don't think I can do the walking thing without music. It is just too boring walking up and down in front of my house at 5:00 a.m. without some help. But if I can get enough 80's music and Disney music happening, I think I can do it.

3. Make an appointment for a phone consultation with the nutritionist recommended by my doctor. She thinks it's time to get a little more structure into my diet, and I think I need the help. McScott, you recommended this a while back and I didn't think I could afford it, but I am just going to have to bite the bullet and get it done. I am very hopeful that she can help me figure out how to get on a weight reduction diet that is gluten and dairy free without being hungry all the time. I SO want to drop some of this excess weight - we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Well, gee, that was a pretty short list, but it's a start. I am not signing up for any more races until I see how these three steps are working for me. If I see and feel a positive difference in myself, then I may try to work towards doing a small local event or two. I would love to get to the point that I could do every race Disney offers, but that would get really expensive really fast, so I don't think that's going to be happening. Which brings me to my next bit of news.

I decided I needed to have a discussion with my HR manager about the excessive workload I am carrying. I can't do this amount of work going forward - the pace is killing me and leaving me no time for a personal life. Since I had a whole week with him, I ran this by my dad while we were in WDW. He worked in an administrative capacity before he retired and he is familiar with HR issues. He helped me clarify what my issues are and how to present them to my HR manager. I did that when I got home and she was already aware that I was swamped. She said the problem was she had asked one of the attorneys I support if he was willing to change secretaries several weeks ago and he said no! He was happy with the quality of my work and our working relationship and didn't want any part of changing things! But once I talked to her and explained that I can't physically do this much work anymore, she went to him again (because he is the junior of the people I work for) and let him know that I was overwhelmed and needed to make a change. He agreed that it was too much for one person and graciously agreed to change over to another secretary, with the understanding that I will assist her in learning how he does things and how he likes his work done. So over the next week or so, I will slowly be transferring my responsibilities for him over to her, plus I have another person who is leaving Atlanta and transferring to a different office, so that will bring me from supporting five people down to three. I think that will make a huge difference in what I am able to get done when I am at home - I hope so, anyway!

Even with that, I am still very much wanting a change in my professional life. I told all of you earlier that I was interested in going to court reporting school, but have put that off for a bit to recuperate more fully from the celiac damage. While it is true that court reporting interests me, it's not so much that I am dying to go to school and learn to do it - it's just that I want to do something different from what I am doing now. So when the tour guide at the Backstage Magic tour asked me if I had ever considered working for Disney and said that I SHOULD consider it, it struck a chord with me. I have been able to think of little else since then. How cool would it be to work at doing something that you LOVE instead of just what you are qualified to do and have done for most of your adult life? At first, I thought it was too impractical to even think about, because Disney is notorious for offering low pay for their employment positions (I know this because my daughter was offered one last fall and turned it down because the pay was so low). However, there are salaried positions that do pay more than the folks who run the food stands/attractions, do the janitorial work, etc. Larry has wanted to move to Florida forever, and he is a pest control technician, so you know he would find work there (they have LOTS of bugs). He LOVES the idea of working for Disney in their pest control department. But both of us would have to earn enough to make the bills, and the cost of living in Orlando isn't much different than here, so that's a definite issue. Plus we'd have to fix up and sell our house, not an easy proposition in today's real estate market. Tara also likes the idea of living in Florida, and says she would be willing to transfer with her company (they are a national vet hospital) or apply to work at Animal Kingdom since she works with animals now. Either way, she thinks it would be way cool. I am going to explore a bit to see if I could get my foot in the door by working in Disney's legal department supporting some of their attorneys, and then move into an area where I could share my love of Disney with guests, either in a tour guide capacity or in some other way, later on. None of this is set in stone, by any means - we are only in the very early "talking about it" stages - but wouldn't that be SUPER cool??? Stay tuned - I'll let you know how it develops!

Well, I think that's about it for me for now. Hopefully when my schedule calms down, I can get back to everybody else's journals and give you guys some of the support you have so generously given to me. Thanks for sticking with me through these last few months - it means the world to me, truly it does!

Have a great day, guys!

Susan

 

[Caitsmama]

Susan,
Check out Walmart for MP3's - got one for my dd there - 25.00 - and works great. Even the "good" one that i use, was only about 40.00 at WM too.

And yes, i think your long term plans are "super cool" too -- LOL I hope to retire in FL too with dh and work for the mouse!

 

[deekaypee]

Wow, what a great TR; I didn't need coffee or wine for it, because you had me at the title: Susan, Are You alright? Dang, girl, you were better than that--you're an inspiration. I just loved all the details, and I really feel like I know you and your family after reading your RR and TR. Congratulations on your medal--you earned it.

And a big shout-out to Larry. He's a one in a million, he is. Then again, so is your whole family. Stacie, whom I know, your mom, dad, Matt, and Tara (who sounds like one heck of a young woman). I'm so happy for you all!

And I love how you're feeling energized and looking into a Disney dream job. Moving to Orlando is DOOD's and my dream (okay, more mine than his) for retirement. I admire you for thinking of sooner rather than later.

 

[ScoJo15]

Wow Susan...what a great report! Like Debra, no coffee or wine needed (got our fill of that in wdw LOL) and my shoes are still kicked off

Just wanted to say once again that I'm proud of you and your accomplishment. You worked hard, battled through a lot of tough times and still got yourself to that finish line and received that hard earned medal (have you taken it off yet?? )

It was a pleasure to meet you and seeing you finish that race was a moment I won't soon forget. Job well done, Susan, job well done.

Kudos to Larry for being such a support system for you. You guys make a great team!

I think your future plans are well thought out and the WDW position is definitely something worth looking in to (could you see if they need any IT help? ) It kind of sounds like you are on a roll right now and I hope good things keep coming your way. Sorry about the tire blow out incident, though, I take partial responsibility for rubbing off some of my bad car luck on you :

I look forward to keeping up with you and your adventures and I have this sneaking suspicion that we'll be seeing you at another WDW event in the future.

Have a great day and thanks again for making my smile and laugh today with your wonderful trip report!

 

[larry's girl]

Thanks, Stacey, I will definitely check out Wal-Mart.

Yes, Debra, Tara is a great kid (excuse me, young lady), even if she is mine! She has been so wonderful through all of my illnesses, offering to help out with chores that I would normally do without being asked and just generally lifting my spirits when I am down. She gets that from her Dad! She has such a big heart and is always willing to do whatever she can to help others. I'm her biggest fan (well, next to Larry, that is)!!

You asked on Stacie's journal if Larry and Matt are camera shy. Matt isn't, he just takes lots of our pictures and therefore is not in them, but Larry is - BIG TIME!!! I think it's inherited - his mom was the same way. It used to upset me, but now I figure it's not worth arguing over something so small, so I don't try to force him to get in pictures if he doesn't want to. Stacie didn't post it, but she has a pic of the two of us before the 5K where he's trying to hide behind me and I'm laughing at him. I know I'm a big girl, honey, but I don't think you're going to be able to hide behind me! Anyway, that's why you won't see him in many of our pictures, but sometimes we manage to get him to be in one.

Yes, Scott, I have taken the medal off, but only to shower. I amused Tara greatly by wearing it to work on Monday, and everybody who has listened to me talk about this race for months was very excited about the fact that I finished it. Some even wanted to see the pictures!

And I forgive you for rubbing you bad car luck off on me. Forgot to mention that because I sat with my arm stuck out the driver's side window for longer than normal on this trip because of the tire incident, it got burned to a crisp. I am talking BURNED. No blisters, but it still hurts when I bump up against something and it's been almost a week. Nasty stuff, sunburn. Anyway, thanks again for reading all of my ramblings. TTFN!!

Susan

 

[toystoryduo]

Susan,

That was a wonderful trip/race report! Like Stacy said, you had me laughing and crying too. I am so super proud of you! I wish I could have been there in person to cheer you on and give you a !

I am so with you on the moving to Florida thing. My DH and I want to move there and work for Disney some day too. I think it would be an absolute blast!!!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

[deekaypee]

Thanks, Stacey, I will definitely check out Wal-Mart.

Yes, Debra, Tara is a great kid (excuse me, young lady), even if she is mine! She has been so wonderful through all of my illnesses, offering to help out with chores that I would normally do without being asked and just generally lifting my spirits when I am down. She gets that from her Dad! She has such a big heart and is always willing to do whatever she can to help others. I'm her biggest fan (well, next to Larry, that is)!!

You asked on Stacie's journal if Larry and Matt are camera shy. Matt isn't, he just takes lots of our pictures and therefore is not in them, but Larry is - BIG TIME!!! I think it's inherited - his mom was the same way. It used to upset me, but now I figure it's not worth arguing over something so small, so I don't try to force him to get in pictures if he doesn't want to. Stacie didn't post it, but she has a pic of the two of us before the 5K where he's trying to hide behind me and I'm laughing at him. I know I'm a big girl, honey, but I don't think you're going to be able to hide behind me! Anyway, that's why you won't see him in many of our pictures, but sometimes we manage to get him to be in one.

I totally understand Larry's position; I never, EVER have my picture taken. See my avatar--that's my huge concession to my life-changing moment. I admire you for not arguing with him, and wish I could get my ILs to behave the same way. He has your back, you have his. Love it.

Oh, and you should definitely wear that medal for a month. Heck, I say shower with it, too! (Wear it for a month, and you probably should.) What an accomplishment. Maybe it will convince Tara to come along on the next family race weekend. (I'm hoping there will be one!)

 

[larry's girl]

Thanks for the kind words, Debra! It's funny how life works sometimes. Back in the early years of our marriage, when Tara was an infant into her early childhood, Larry began suffering chronic health issues that no one could help with for a LONG time. By the time we found someone who could figure out how to help him, I had been doing my best to support him through the health, financial and emotional issues for several years. About the time he started feeling better and becoming more himself again, I began to have chronic health issues. And mine have gone on to this day, although I am seeing improvement now that the root cause of my problems has been identified. Anyway, my point is that all that support, encouragement and love that I did my best to give to him when he was so sick came back to me 100 fold from him when I got sick. And we realized along the way that we meant our vows, even when things were horrendously difficult (there were a couple of times there during his acute illness that we weren't sure if we were going to be able to keep it all together and provide for our daughter, but we managed), and we weren't willing to break up our partnership when times were tough. So now that things are better, we feel like we earned the right to enjoy them to the fullest - plus, we're really crazy about each other, even after 24 years, which is always a good thing when you're married! So I truly believe that what goes around comes around, and I feel I am very blessed to have such a supportive husband that I know is going to love me through the bad times AND the good times.

And if we DO have another family race weekend, Tara may come along to observe, but I'm not holding my breath on her participating. She is highly impressed that the rest of us have chosen to experience this "5K thing," but I don't see her getting out there doing it with us any time soon. She is at a different place in her life, expending lots of energy trying to make her way towards independence (one day - she says with the state of the economy being what it is, it's going to take her a lot longer than she thought!), so her focus is not the same as mine. But that's okay, she's still the greatest!

Just wanted to update you guys on a couple of things. I called the Disney Casting Center to get the details on how to apply for their administrative support positions and maintenance positions (which would put Larry and/or me in the fields we work in now). They gave me the application process details readily enough, but when I asked if they could give me ballpark ranges of salaries for those positions, I got shut down REALLY FAST!! I wasn't asking for specific dollars and cents, I just wanted some idea of what we were looking at to see if it was even practical to remotely consider the idea. But the casting person I talked with said they don't discuss salary in any way, shape or form unless they are making you an offer of employment. So that's problematic, because I don't see me taking the leap of faith needed to sell my house and move to Florida without knowing what I would be getting paid by Disney when I get there.

So now we have to decide what we really want - do we want to work at Disney specifically, do we just want to move to Florida and be close to Disney, or do we want to stay here? I admit I have been restless here over the last few months - not only tired of doing the same old thing day after day, year after year, but also tired of the Atlanta area. Don't get me wrong, it's a great place in a lot of ways, but I'm tired of the endless commute and the fact that with gas so high now, getting out and about to do anything on the weekends (which always involves lots of driving for us since we live in an Atlanta suburb) is pretty much too expensive to do any more except on rare occasions. We have spent so much money going to Florida over the last three or four years, and I am beginning to wonder if maybe we would be better served to just go down there and stay. It's not just about Disney, either, although that's one BIG reason we love it there. It's the atmosphere - it's so much more laid back and easygoing than here. I am getting to an age where laid back and easygoing is becoming more and more appealing to me. I don't know what we're going to do - we're still talking about it. Stay tuned!

I mentioned to Larry yesterday that I need to get cracking on getting an MP3 player to use to walk in the mornings. His response? "I thought we were going to walk together in the mornings before you go to work." We actually did say that when we were in WDW, but I didn't think he really MEANT it! So I said, "Well, you haven't been getting home from work early enough," because he has been coming in just before I leave for work. He says that is because the person who was supposed to take care of his route while we were gone on vacation didn't do the job at all (they actually fired him, I understand), so he is having to play catch up and that's why he is getting home a little later than normal. He said once this month is over, he will be back to his regular schedule (where he was getting home about 5:00 a.m.) and then we can walk. So I guess that's what we're going to do! Keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't lose his motivation between now and then. I can still walk without him, of course, but it would be SO good for him to get the exercise and I would love the extra time with him. So we'll see!

Well, that's about it from my world for now. Hope you guys have a fabulous weekend!

Susan

 

[postesf]

Hey Hey! I am so glad things seem to really be looking up for you workwise! I'm not suprised Disney wouldn't discuss pay. I guess the only way to find out would be to apply for the jobs and if they offer discuss it then. If it's too low you can always say No Thanks! Just being in FL wouldn't be bad either... I'd take it! I say Pack it up and Move to FL! Do something CRAZY! (Yes...this coming from the person who plans EVERYTHING!)

I hope Larry does decide to keep walking. It would be so good for his health. I see another race in the future! Definately. I would love to do Race for the Taste one day. Obviously, not this year, but maybe 2009??? 2010? Hopefully I'm still doing this racing thing that far in the future!

Thanks for very nice words in my journal! I'm so excited that everyone did the 5K! It was an awesome (healthy) family experience!!! I don't think Dad could have been any prouder!

We were in Wilson on Wed so I tried to express that it really meant a lot to me that they were there eventhough my emotions seemed lacking after the 15K. Mom did say it seemed strange how unexcited I seemed... I was glad I finished, but my emotions normally happen before the race. After the race I was just so intent on trying to get ice to help my leg. You are so worn out physically and emotionally just from the journey. I don't think I had enough energy to actually express it. It was a relief (for a lack of better terms) that we finished the 15K. I am probably more excited now that I've had time to process it, think about it, look at the pictures, talk about it... There is so much anxiety, anticipation leading up to the event that it seems even for days after you are just spent. I'm sure everyone is different, but so far that's how my experience has been.

WOW...Ok...this is much longer than I anticipated... Keep up your walking and get Larry out there. With the nutritionist, supplement, diet changes and the walking I know you'll be feeling much better really soon!!!

Hope you guys have a good weekend!
Stacie

 

[AmyBeth68]

Susan..your TR was so inspiring. I'm still really so thrilled that I got to be a part of your big accomplishment in some small way...seeing you cross that line was more exciting to me than crossing it myself. Again...it was such a pleasure to meet you and call you a friend.

I'm glad things are looking better in your job...you deserve it!!!

The words you wrote about Larry were so touching... . Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your journey.