So here I am, re-inventing myself for, oh, I don't know, maybe the 10th time, as a Wellness Coach. And I'm writing this from the couch in my living room, where I am on strict bed-rest with a sand bag on my groin to keep my right femoral artery from leaking following a cardiac catheterization. The irony in this is not lost on me.
I had been thinking about leaving my insanely hectic and crazy job with a major player in the telecommunications field, in large part because the stress was becoming pretty overwhelming. I don't plan to badmouth them, and I pray I can stick to my plan, because the company itself does a great job servicing it's customers, it just has a - shall we say, interesting disconnect about how it treats its employees. Enough said. The handwriting was on the wall, time to make plans to go.
I went to work for them about a year ago, in large part because it was a way to get decent, affordable health insurance. More irony. Before that I had been working in the wellness field for twenty years, mostly doing therapeutic massage and CranioSacral therapy. A failing economy and rising health care costs pushed me to make a pragmatic but joyless change, and I know I am not alone.
I suffer from migraines, and my this January, my employer's new health insurance provider announced to me that they were not willing to pay for the amount of expensive migraine medication I require unless I looked into (cheaper) migraine prevention medicines. My doctor suggested and prescribed a drug and we were off and running, right into the brick wall I hit two weeks ago when I walked up four flights of stairs and couldn't breathe. I won't bore you with all of the details, but 2 visits to the ER, one over night stay at the hospital, and many expensive medical tests later, here I am. I believe that my shortness of breath is a side effect of my medication...and seems to be getting better now that I am no longer taking it. So far, I can't get any of my medical consultants (doctors) to believe me, though they can't explain why I failed a cardiac stress test, but my coronary arteries are textbook pretty.
So I've been through a series of medical misadventures at the hands of a bunch of highly trained and well meaning doctors, and it has me more convinced than ever that wellness is the only thing that makes sense. Good nutrition, stress reduction, exercise, adequate rest, meaningful work, a sense of purpose, prayer, good relationships with others and a right relationship with God are the things I will be exploring and incorporating in my life to the extent of my imperfect human ability. I've learned a lot of stuff over the years in the business and it didn't save me from becoming unwell... I've got my own wellness journey to take, and you're welcome to come along for the ride.
Update: Just returned from Dr. M who is subbing for Dr. B who is in Europe for another couple of weeks. I am officially off the couch! Walking, yes, work, yes, sex, YES, lifting anything over 2 pounds, no. Woohoo, I feel like I pulled the get out of jail free card. Thank you, Jesus.
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