Dancing with My Disabilities!

Title: Dancing with My Disabilities! I had my shoulder and both hips replaced, and I am changing things up a bit on this blog! I began belly dancing in 2010! Yes, you read that correctly!! I am going to be blogging about my experience as a woman with several joint diseases and conditions who had her shoulder and both hips replaced who now belly dances, dances hip hop, performs, teaches dance to children of all ages and abilities, teaches belly dance fitness classes to adult women, teaches chair belly dance movement classes to people with mobility issues and disabilities, and takes a Pure Barre class as well! I still have pain, but I want to blog about how I have fun too! Please read Chronically Mommy (chronicallymommy.blogspot.com) for info on health/pain and being a mom to a 13-year-old son. I have avascular necrosis in my shoulders, hips, and knees, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondylitis, Sjogren's, fibromyalgia, hEDS, POTS, MCAS, vascular/ocular/hemiplegic migraines, pseudotumor cerebri, trigeminal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, endometriosis, and chronic shingles. I found out that I have autoimmune arthritis in my cervical spine and a bulging disk in my lumbar spine. Fourteen years ago, my spine orthopedic surgeon told me I had a small amount of inflammatory arthritis in my SI joint. The question was if the spinal involvement was due to Psoriatic Spondylitis, which is a more severe form of Psoriatic Arthritis or is it a new diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis? Now, they have an updated term, Axial Spondylitis, which fits my symptoms and diagnostic proof. Whatever the diagnosis, the treatment will remain the same. I had my left hip replaced in 2003; my right shoulder replaced in March of 2010. I gave my right arm to be ambidextrous! LOL! Lastly, I had my right hip replaced on May 10th, 2012, and I began belly dancing two years prior to my right hip replacement surgery. Yes that's correct! I began belly dancing in 2010, just after my shoulder replacement, before my son was born. I performed for the first time in 2012, five days prior to my right hip replacement surgery. Pain is still another part of my life. It is just a question of when, where, and how much, but I would like to use this blog to write about my experience as a woman with several joint diseases and conditions who had both hips and a shoulder replaced and now spends her free time dancing, teaching, and performing! I began dancing with a troupe in February of 2014, Seshambeh Dance Company. I now take a Pure Barre class on Monday mornings, teach ballet, tap, and creative movement on Monday evenings to children of all ages and abilities, take a hip hop class with all adult women on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, teach a belly dance fitness class on Thursdays to all adult women, and teach a chair belly dance movement class to people with mobility issues and disabilities as often as I possibly can. Join me in my journey! At times, I take 16 to 20 pills a day. I give myself an injection each week on Fridays for my autoimmune/autoinflammatory arthritis diseases. Just when one thing is doing better, something else goes downhill! My attitude, however, is always going uphill! I am 49 years old, have been married for 24 years, and my husband and I adopted Mick in Dec. of 2010! I have a lot on my plate right now, but I take it one moment at a time. I believe that God will never give me more than I can handle. However, I do need to learn to ask for help sometimes instead of always doing it by myself!

Blog Title: Dancing with My Disablities!

Formerly Now Read My HIPS, and before that, I Already Gave My Right Arm to Be Ambidextrous.
Help, I need somebody,
Help, not just anybody,
Help, you know I need someone, help.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these daya are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh.

Dancing with My Disabilities

Dancing with My Disabilities
Asmara "Beautiful Butterfly"

Blog with Integrity

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Visitors...

I just have to say that my parents left yesterday after staying with us for 3 nights. My mother-in-law had been here for 5 nights prior to my parents coming as well. She came 3 days before my surgery, and left when I got home from the hospital.  I had our place totally clean and organized, ready for people to visit as well as for me to come home, knowing that it will be a while before I can really clean like that. She was wonderful!  She helped with the dogs, did the laundry, the dishes, and cleaned the entire house until it was spotless!  When I returned from the hospital, she helped me to change into comfy PJ's and made sure everything was ready for me while I was home since she was leaving that afternoon. She even had already washed and folded her sheets that she slept on.  While I was in the hospital, she took the dogs out every 2 hours, made sure they always had water, cleaned everything (even what was already clean), went into our bedroom and looked for clothes to wash and did loads of laundry and folded or hung them up, so like I said before, she left our place sparkling clean. I really have to thank her lots and lots. I wish she could come back, actually.

My parents came then. My parents had so much fun while visiting. They enjoyed their vacation. They had us take pictures of them in front of our flowering tree outside that they just fell in love with.  But they were only here from Friday at 3:30 p.m. to Monday at 9:30 a.m.  They were really only here 2 full days!
We went out to eat for almost every meal, went to every shopping center/mall, went out for ice cream, and we drove all over showing them around the area where we live. I went back on my chemotherapy medication that I take on Sundays, so I'm back to watching what I eat so I don't get sick.

Yes, I was able to do all those things with them, but I believe if no one came at all, I wouldn't have gone out to those places at all. I am so exhausted that yesterday and today all I've done is lay around and rest or sleep.  Since I have psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia besides the avascular necrosis that led to my shoulder replacement, now I am totally flaring. I overdid it. There is no other way to put it. I can't even put it any simpler. My parents don't see me but maybe a couple times a year though.  So they don't realize how sick I am. They don't understand that with chronic illnesses, we don't complain because it is what we live with day in and day out. So yes, a lot of times I will push myself even harder around people that don't see me as often. For my mom especially, everytime she sees me, she thinks I'm doing great and tells that to anyone and everyone.

I need to just stop and rest now.

So my mom said thanks for making her trip so enjoyable. When they were packing their car to leave yesterday morning, my mom said that she didn't think they ended up being much help. She said that she thought they were a good "distraction" from the pain and the side effects from the pain meds.  I didn't change out of my PJ's. I lay on the couch while Jim walked them out to the car.

I just wanted to cry.

I have been trying to get some laundry done today--8 days since surgery--but I have to do very small loads since I can only use one arm.


I sit here trying so hard to keep from.................................................................... CRYING!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yikes! I thought your shoulder was going to look way worse, and that you be be bandaged head to toe! Those bruises are wicked and I am so glad the pain meds are working for you. Can't believe you did so much so soon after surgery. Your body is going to pay you back now, but it sounds like you had a lovely time with all your visitors! Rest now and get strong.

2012

2012
Performance 5 days before my Hip Replacement Surgery!

2012

2012
Performance 5 Days Prior to my Hip Replacement Surgery.

Belly Dance

Belly Dance
Before the Performance 5/6/12
Watch live streaming video from arthritisfoundation at livestream.com