I go a walkin....

Yesterday, my five year old daughter, said "Mommy, you're getting a little bit fat." Thanks a lot! "Just a little bit", she said as she held her thumb and forefinger together. To be honest, this is nothing I didn't already know. I'm not up a size after the long Winter but some of my clothes are just a weeeee bit too tight. The other day, I had to lay down on the floor of the bathroom to button a pair of jeans. Though I eat mostly greens and fruits, they still have some calories and me being an out of shape office worker, I excercise my index mouse clicking finger and not much else. As a matter of fact, I've excercised my mouse clickin index finger so much, it became swollen and sore. So last week at the Dr. office, I asked my Oncologist if a little mild excercise is OK. Of course it is! Running is out of the question. The tumor was located in my upper thigh/lower pelvis. When the Dr. removed the baseball size sucker, it left a huge huge hole. TO prevent my organs from falling into my leg, the Dr. installed some mesh which is screwed in to my hip bone. I also lost one of my quads, numerous lymph nodes, and a nerve. My right thigh is numb and I also have lymphedema so I have to apply compression to manage swelling. WIthout my quad, my right leg is not as flexible or strong as the left. Running or jogging is no easy feat. So, I have decided to start walking. Seems easy enough, a nice brisk mile walk. The first time out was not too bad and consisted of a simple mile walk to the park. Then, I stepped it up a bit. I walked through the neighborhood, enjoyed the sunshine, looked at flowers, landscaping, watched kids play, counted houses that were on sale or abandoned, looked at airplanes overhead and people watched. I arrived home sweaty but felt OK....until I sat down, did some more work, and stood up again only to experience achey muscles, especially in my calves and challenged leg. In the evening, Emily wanted to go to the park again. So I figured, what the hey and walked another mile, 2 miles round trip. My challenged leg was screaming at me by the time I got home. I had a one day reprieve due to rain but went for a nice brisk walk in between grocery ailes and worked my retail job so I did not feel too guilty. My next time out was more of a challenge because my muscles were achey, tight and sore and yelled at me. Just to spite them, I took a different route and did about 2 miles maybe three. Arrived home sweaty and hot. This time, my stomach was knotty and I could feel lots of heat radiating from my skin. I took a nice long shower and sat down long enough for my muscles to tighten and complain at any movement. Holy Moses! I did not realize how out of shape I am! I feel like a total wimp! They are lucky it's pouring rain today or I would go do 4 miles. THat'll learn em.
My hopes are that by the end of the Summer, I won't have to lie on the floor anymore to get those jeans buttoned and that I'll have more flexibility and strength in the challenged leg. Despite the pain, I feel I did something good for myself and am now trying to come up with different routes so I can see different things and maybe add a few more hills and dips to affect each whiney ol muscle so there is less whining and more strenghtening. My mere three days out has resulted in subtle changes, less bloating around the middle, more trips to the bathroom, a little more energy and slightly less Lymphedema swelling. I'll keep it up. My brother has a 5 mile walking route that he does at our summer home. This will be good training to accompany him. I absolutely cannot wait!!