Move Your Body

We try to keep this blog less about us and our lives and more about fitness and health tips for YOU as much as possible.  But sometimes things happen to us personally that seem to beg for a blog entry.

On Father’s Day as I was about to head to the suburbs to visit my family, I got a call that my cousin had been admitted to the hospital.  She had gone into the ER on Saturday with stomach pains and was admitted that afternoon.  When I went to visit, her skin and eyes were yellow – a tell tale sign of jaundice.  We quickly found out that her liver wasn’t functioning as a result of a rare genetic disorder that prevents your body from filtering copper properly.  Copper?!  You may be thinking, as we all were.  Well, turns out a small amount of copper in your body is healthy and necessary, and the mineral can be found in certain foods like avocados and other things.  But too much copper can be toxic, as was the case with my cousin and this genetic disorder.

When my cuz went into the hospital we weren’t quite sure how bad things were.  But we quickly realized how serious the situation was when we learned that she needed a liver transplant.  Her liver wasn’t functioning at all, and a day after she was admitted through the ER, she was in intensive care and on a dialysis machine.  My cuz was at the top of the transplant list for a number of reasons, and it sunk in quickly that if she was on the TOP of the list….well, she must be in pretty dire health.

It was an extremely emotional few days and every hour seemed to crawl by as we waited for a donor, and my cousin’s health got  worse.  The docs did the best they could to filter her blood and keep her in good condition as we waited for a match.  During this time she was coherent and cracking jokes as usual, but we could tell that she was in pain.

The drama reached its all time peak when the doctors informed us that it was possible that a donor may not be found in time.  Therefore someone in the family could be tested to see if they were a match.  My aunt volunteered immediately; what mother wouldn’t?  After all of the tests, we learned she was a perfect match.  Although relieved, we were all grappling with the fact that two important members of our family could potentially be undergoing major transplant surgery at the same time!

Just as my aunt was about to check in for surgery, a different donor was found.  This was the preferred method to go, and after air lifting the liver from Milwaukee to Chicago, my cousin underwent a 13 hour liver transplant surgery.  I’m happy to say that  the surgery was successful, and she is recovering quite well.  It’s amazing to see someone who was in the ICU hooked up to a hundred machines able to walk, talk and laugh like normal.  Only a few days after having major surgery, she is in good health and good spirits.

So how does all of this relate to this blog?  Well, this is about health and fitness.  We write about making your tummy flatter, and how to look better in your clothes, and working out.  Our goal is to open up a conversation with our readers about fitness.  After going through all of this with my cousin, who is like a little sister to me, I found it difficult to write.  She is 20 years old.  She’s in college, works out regularly and loves to dance.  She has a rockin bod and looks great in her clothes.  But she wasn’t healthy.  And for a second there, things got very very scary.

After spending day after day with her and my family in the hospital, and walking past all of the different people in the ICU, I had a totally different perspective on what being healthy and fit means.  Instead of looking in the mirror and wishing my stomach was tighter, or that my arms were toner, or that I could run 5 miles instead of 3…I should be happy, ecstatic even, that I am healthy.  That aside from the normal aches and pains, I have a healthy, functioning body.  Exercise is very important, of course, to maintain that health.  But after this ordeal I was able to take a step back and realize that it’s not all about being the sexiest one at the gym.   And sometimes it can feel that way.

My cuz got sick in the middle of a beautiful summer week.  Her hospital room overlooked the beach near Navy Pier.  We could see people swimming and laying out and running and biking.  But she was stuck.  It made me realize that every day that you get to walk or run or work out or dance….every day you get to enjoy your health, should be considered a gift.