JOE’S JOURNEY

JAN.17,2016

THE CHALLENGE NO DAY IS THE SAME!

Greetings everyone!  I’m never sure how my body will feel from one day to the next.  I just take it one day at a time. Some days my pain medication works and other days the hip pain is so over whelming, even medication doesn’t help.  The weekend was tough.  I had a hard time during my walk.  It felt like my one hip bone socket was rubbing together.  Every step I took was painful.  I’m sure my hip was inflamed, but I managed to finish my walk.

Sunday.  I asked God to heal me so I wouldn’t have to go through the surgery.  My surgery date is getting closer. The very thought of surgeries and hospitals makes me nervous.  Gets me to thinking about my past surgeries. I experienced problems with past heart and hip surgeries.  l will continue to pray to my Lord. He knows what I’m going through and that I’m nervous.

Monday was a decent day so I took my dog Angel for a walk around the lake.  She really enjoys seeing the other dogs along the path.  She always cries when she sees another dog.  It’s her way of communicating with them.  After walking the dog I went to my gym for a workout. I had to lift my bad leg over the exercise bench with both hands. The pain from my hip drains me of my energy and so I get tired pretty quick. I used to go crazy on all my machines and now I struggle. That’s why I need my Lord!

Tuesday I felt pretty good.  I actually had a good night sleep. Angel and I took a nice walk around the lake.  Later I did my workout. My diet is going great. I used to enjoy a few beers before my hip problems started.  I’ve quit beer drinking permanently and I feel great. I’m happy about that and don’t even miss it.

Wednesday, wasn’t a good night for sleeping as it was on Tuesday.  I started the day limping, the pressure on my hip was so bad.  I think the hip was inflamed. But I walked and worked out. Jesus is always by my side.

Thursday, I was planning on staying home.  But my dog gave me those sad puppy dog eyes, and so off we went for our walk. At least my hips weren’t hurting, that made me happy 🙂  I am a whole different person when I’m pain free. I did my workout when I got home. Thank you God for all the help!

Friday. Our lake walk was shorter today. The wind was blowing pretty strong which made it feel colder than it really was. Poor Angel, she was trying to run as I limped behind her, trying to keep up with the little rascal. We were a sight to see. I went right to my gym after I got home knowing my hip was hurting and I probably wouldn’t last much longer.  I decided I wasn’t going to take any pain medicine. I was in a lot of pain Friday night.

Saturday, I was smart I stayed in the house and did some bench presses and worked out on the crunch machine.

Sunday, I went to church to thank Jesus for all his help!  I’m so thankful. Without my Lord I’m a lost sheep. My workout was good!  When I am finally pain free I will look back on all this and smile 🙂  Pain is no friend of mine.

Thank you God for hearing my prayers for the sick.  I pray for all the poor homeless and abused animals.  I love you God!

JOE’S JOURNEY

JAN.7-2016

I WILL HAVE A GREAT 2016!!

I started the weekend off thanking GOD for helping me get through 2015. If you read my blog I talk about my Lord a lot. No matter how many times I wanted to quit, I knew my Lord was right there! I always ask God to help me get through the day.  I know I have to pray in the name of Jesus to get to GOD!

I have been angry, sad and even tough on myself. I pray everyday asking for help.  I love talking to GOD!  But, I’m no angel. I just want to tell God how much I love him! My life has been tough and I’ve had a lot of setbacks, big deal, we all go through some kind of pain. As I get closer to my surgery I ask God to please watch over me during the operation. I want to make sure I wake up 🙂  I promised I would give 100% into getting back into the shape I was in before all this happened.

This is why I ask Jesus to help me. Hip pain is so hard to deal with. The pain radiates in my groin then goes down into the inside of my leg, my knee or my lower back.  I am not sure where it’s going to go. That’s why I take one day at a time!

JESUS IS MY TRAINER!

For the next two months this will be my program.  I started on Dec. 26 and it will end on March 1 2016 as surgery is March 2. One hour everyday pain or no pain, just do it. I’m excited about getting a new hip and losing the cane and the limp. OH YES!!

My goal is to start with the universal gym, than move onto the abs machine. From there work out on the crunch machine. Than do some reps on the second universal machine (I have two machines), than finish with bench pressing. Hey, no more pain just do it!!  I’m unable to run or use the treadmill. I am that crazy, I love to workout.

I can’t estimate my recovery time after my surgery. That’s why I have to work hard now! I have been watching my diet so my health should be good going into surgery. Feel free to say a prayer for me if you like. Thank you in advance!  I always seem to have problems when I have surgery.

I am sorry to say I went back on the pain medicine. That’s so I can walk my dog and walk for my health. I’ve been walking everyday. It hurts but the pain medicine helps diminish the sharp pain. I decided to start walking around the lake again and wow did I have a smile on my face. I ran into running and walking friends. Boy did I get a lot of hugs, it made me very happy. I had stayed away from the lake because I was embarrassed to be seen walking with a cane. I am so silly. Everyone was so happy to see me.  They said a lot of nice things and that they would see me on the course when I get healthy.

JOE’S JOURNEY

DEC. 27-2015

LOOKING BACK!

I am happy that I can sit and write my blog.  This was a tough year for me dealing with all the discomforts in my body.  I will never say why me.  I thank the Lord for being by my side and watching over me. Life is great!  I know we are on borrowed time. I’m thankful to God for giving me the ability to see, get out of bed each morning, run, workout, love life, and laugh.  What more can I ask for?  Hmm.

The struggles I go through just makes me tougher.  God is understanding. He knows the pain is there and he helps me to keep going.  I am so happy with myself. Yes, I limp like crazy and yes I fall occasionally but I pick myself up, dust myself off and continue on my journey.  Someday’s the pain is gruesome and I shed a few tears,but hey I’m only human.

I remember prior to my first hip surgery, I was out running one morning. No one was on the running course. My hip was hurting so bad I was ready to walk. As I approached the intersection I saw a broken down van. When I reached the corner this poor guy was trying to push his van and move it out of the way of traffic. No one would stop to help him.

Here I am, limping like crazy but I stopped and helped him push his van.  I had such a warm feeling inside myself knowing that I was able to help him out.  God was with me that day, because even though I was in pain, God gave me the strength I needed to help a fellow man in need. The person even commented after we moved his van, he noticed I could hardly stand and yet I was able to help him.  He was very thankful.

My week wasn’t so great.  I still walked my beautiful dog and worked out everyday. I was full of mixed emotions.  One day I’m sad, another day I’m happy. I’m not able to move around, makes me somewhat angry, but I am still fighting.  I will never give up.  I’m running, lifting weights, biking, smiling, drinking my coffee, loving myself. I remind myself of the one important thing in my life, Jesus loves me and allows me to stay strong on my journey. I need JESUS!!

I would like to express my love and compassion for all the sick people. I’ll never say I know how they feel or how sorry I am for them.  Because I don’t know how they feel!  I include the sick in my daily prayers and I always light a candle. I know God hears my prayers. Thank you God for bending down and listening.

DECEMBER 17-2015

IT HURTS, BUT IT’S OK..

I’M USED TO IT.

I made a tough decision the other day to stop taking my pain pills. I was getting bad headaches.  I’d rather deal with the hip pain then the headaches.  So I continue having problems walking and moving around, oh well.  My hip is bone-on-bone, the bone rubs together and it hurts so bad. On a scale of one to ten my pain rates a ten, not good.  I rested on Saturday hoping that taking a break might help.

I have problems walking my dog Angel and exercising. Sunday morning while walking Angel the pain came on fast but we finished our walk.  I went to church and asked God for help. The pain makes me angry. I couldn’t kneel in church to my Lord that’s how painful it was. God is still by my side, he knows how much pain I can handle.  I’m thankful when I wake up each day that I can still get up and walk even if it hurts and smile at the same time 🙂

I just can’t believe the pain, it’s worse than the first hip.  I’m fighting everyday just to do small things, like lifting my leg to get into the shower or getting in and out of the car.  I don’t even like going down to my gym to workout.  It hurts going down and up the stairs. I wish my surgery date was sooner.

Sunday night I was feeling sorry for myself so got up, put my workout  clothes on and went and kicked some butt in my gym.  It felt great!  I need to forget my stupid pain and just deal with it.  After my workout I had two glass of milk and said a prayer to my Lord!!

Monday  I decided to start using my cane, it takes the harsh pain away.  I’m just plain stubborn, I get embarrassed walking with a cane.  Makes me feel like an old man, even though I’m not!!  I used it on my walk with Angel today.  After our walk I went down to my gym and had a decent workout. The only bad thing is I have to take both hands and lift my leg over the seat in order to sit down on my workout machines.

Tuesday started off bad I had problems walking my dog Angel.  I used my cane and fell down. It was really embarrassing. My dog stared at me like “daddy are you okay”  I did my workout with my cane next to me. Now I know what a person goes through when the have hip problems.

Wednesday I asked God to help me get through the pain as I walked my dog. It hurts! As for the rest of the day I got my workout in and iced my hips.  I’m not sure if icing it really helps. When the hip bones start rubbing together the pain moves all over.  I find the best thing to do is lay down and don’t move around to much.  Moving around to much inflames it.  Bottom line, I made it through another day 🙂

Thursday. It’s starting to get cold and slippery and my walk with Angel is tough.  We always make it!  I think my problem is I feel embarrassed when I see my friends looking sadly at me as I walk down the frontage road with my cane. I did my exercises but it’s hard to get my mind in the game. I give GOD all the credit!!!

I would like to send a special thank you to Lisa Laskey who’s been right by my side. It’s friends like you that keep me going. When it gets tough I just read some of the nice comments that you send to me! You’re an awesome friend! Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR. I ask GOD to protect you and keep my friend healthy GOD BLESS YOU

To Mirna Morgan you have been so kind to me, sending nice words. I thank you from my heart….You’re a beautiful friend! Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.  I ask GOD to protect you and keep my friend healthy. GOD BLESS YOU

JOE’S JOURNEY

THURSDAY,DECEMBER 10

STRUGGLING ALONG…

My friends have  been asking what’s taking so long for my surgery.  I think it’s because they see I’m in a lot of pain. My surgeon is very busy, but at least they added my name to the wait list. Like everyone else, I have to wait my turn.

Before this all started, I never realized what a person with heart or hip problems went through. But now I know first hand and it’s no fun.  I had a very bad weekend. I had problems standing. Every time I moved I would have tremendous pain in my groin and hip.  I said “ouch” a lot this weekend.

I went on my machines which I love. But with all the discomfort I’ve been feeling, my heart was not into working out.  I promised myself I wouldn’t quit working out.  It’s hard to get on all the machines when you can hardly stand. Time to stop whining, my Lord will give me the strength I need to continue on.

I woke up and was ready to take my dog for her morning walk.  I had a problem walking and standing as it was putting pressure on my hips . I even used a cane which I hate. I feel using a cane is a cop out.  After we got home I was feeling pretty down. My injury has taken a lot out of me. I think they call that depression.

I’ve been taking a strong pain medication. I was trying to avoid doing so. I guess I need it, that sucks.  After I said a prayer to God,  limped down to the gym to work my but off.  I had a tough night sleeping. The pain was awful with every toss and turn.

Tuesday. I started my day off taking my pain medicine. Might as well get a jump start. I was able to walk my dog without that tremendous pain. I guess the pain pill helped. Afterwards, I went on my machines. I had a good day.  Boy, what a nice change.

Wednesday morning I took my dog for her morning walk.  It was enjoyable. It still hurts even after taking my pain pill, but we made it. I had another tough workout. Moving my body around wakes up my hip. I still smile when I am done.

Thursday. It’s so nice to start the day with a smile know matter what other problems I have.  I’ve been experiencing bad headaches which I found out is a side effect.  No more pain pills for me. I have a good aspirin that also does the trick and without getting a headache.  I better pray a little harder to my Lord.  I limped walking my dog, but that’s okay, at least I can walk. My workout was okay so it was a good day!

If you are reading my blog, you’re probably wondering why am I writing about everyday activities. I wanted to share with you what I go through each day.  Once I’m completely healed I will sit by the fireplace with a glass of wine and smile to myself. Maybe someone else that has the same problems will understand you can beat your injuries.

JOE’S JOURNEY

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

PREPARING FOR MY SURGERY

It’s been almost a year since my last blog entry.  I’ve missed all my readers.  I’m happy to report that my heart is strong and I’ve been adjusting to my new hip. It’s getting stronger everyday, still some discomfort, but I’m on the right track.  I’m able to sleep at night and get in and out of a car with no pain.  It’s a great feeling.  I can once again enjoy the things I love, running, working out and biking.  I have a new dog and we take daily walks.  She’s a great comfort to me.  I can cut the grass or do projects around the house without saying “ouch, ouch I hurt so bad” all the time.

I’m about to share another story with you.  It’s going to sound like an instant replay, going back to my first hip replacement.  I had a great summer.  I ran with fast runners and got my runners high, smiling the whole time.  I was actually thinking of running a half marathon this year, that’s how good I was running.

Then one beautiful morning I was running with some friends when I felt a sharp pain in my left groin.  I decided to stop and walk and I told my friends to continue without me. That night I iced my groin and took a couple days off from running.  I was feeling pretty good.  So I went to work out.  I could feel the pain as I lifted my leg over the weight bench, so I went back to icing my groin.  How exciting!

The following Monday I decided to run by myself, I didn’t want to hold anyone up.  I started off slow, about a mile into my run I felt a sharp pain in my groin and I mean a sharp pain. OUCH!!  As I continued with my training program I began to get tired from protecting my hip.  I wasn’t sure if it was my hip or maybe a pulled groin muscle.  The pain in my groin area was waking me up at night.  Once again it was painful to cut the grass or even sit down and get back up.  I thought with all the icing and hip exercise I could last another year, but wrong.  The pain was getting bad.

It was time to see my doctor.  He took x-rays which showed arthritis and bone on bone in the left hip.  My surgery is scheduled for March, so I’ve got a ways to go.  I will have ANTERIOR approach where they go through the groin area so my recovery time is shorter.

I stopped running as the pain is to much to handle.  It’s even tough walking my dog without limping.  I put together a nice easy workout program until my surgery. I need to keep in shape!!  I will continue training after my surgery.

Last night was a bad night, I had a lot of pain in my groin and hip.  When I walked my dog this morning I almost fell down from the sharp pain in my groin.  Every step I took was a struggle.  It’s going to be a long three months.  I will have to fight harder realizing it will take sometime to be the athlete I was before surgery.  Hey friends, I think I am pretty awesome – just kidding.  I will have eight stints and two new hips, that adds up to a new body, hmm…   But I won’t stop training.  I thank the Lord for being by my side, without God I would never be able to get through each day.

JOE’S JOURNEY

THURSDAY DECEMBER 18

FALLING FROM THE TOP

To all my good friends who follow my blog, thank you for your words of encouragement. My life had hit a bad time.  I was in a depressed time of my life.  It was sad, I seemed have fallen into a depressed mood.  I tried hard to be happy.  I set some positive goals for myself.  I’m lucky to have overcome that bad time in life on my own.  I prayed every day that I would stay healthy. So why did I get down on myself.  I have no clue.

I was in my gym working out and I just stopped my workouts.  I just wanted to quit.  My desire to continue with my workout programs was gone, just like that.   I worked so hard to recover from my injuries.  I just said to myself I don’t want to do this any more.  Why must we always have so many challenges on the road to staying healthy?  Sure, I could quit and let the dust cover my exercise equipment and let myself get out of shape, that would be easy to do.  I should be a shamed of myself.  I asked my Lord to give me the strength to fight my injuries so I could continue exercising, and the opportunity to get back on the running course again.  In return I just wanted to quit and get down on myself.  My name should not be Nokomis Joe it should be Quitter Joe.  I should be on my knees thanking God for what he has done for me and watching over me!

There are so many awesome people out there that wish they could just get around and smile.  And here I am, feeling sorry for myself and I don’t know why.  On my runs I stopped and asked God why am I feeling this way.  Am I not praying enough.  Did I start to get to prideful and think that I didn’t need my Lord.  I’m not sure what happened to me.

I was so scared when I was in the hospital for my heart attack.  I couldn’t sleep.  I was scared when I had my hip surgery last fall.  My depression had come back.  It would be sad if I threw all that training away.  I don’t think the Lord would be happy with me.  He could have helped somebody else.  After taking a good look at myself, getting some sleep at night and thanking God for staying with me,  I started coming out of my depressed mood.  I wanted to work out again so I could be healthy.  I will take one day at a time.  I love life and I need to understand that I will have down times.  Who doesn’t.

My goals for 2015 still stand.  I will continue praying, train smarter, hope my hips hold out and my health stays good.  I am doing an awesome job of training, loving it, laughing, fist pumping and saying to myself boy, you are kicking some ass.  All my training was right on track!  Nothing can go wrong.  Just keep on training and thanking the Lord for giving me the strength and the will to show myself that I can do it and no injury can stop me. Running with speed and doing my push-ups during and after my runs.  Working out on all my equipment and no pain. I was feeling great.

Then all of a sudden I started to get sharp pains running around in my groin area, in my hips, in my lower back and down to my knee cap.  I have a saying, take one day at a time and never take anything for granted.  I was so sad when the pain returned and I quit training.  I started feeling sorry for myself.  I would look at my equipment and just shake my head.  Yes,I was a quitter and I’m not going to lie about it.  I quit!

I was sitting by myself one day trying to figure out how I was going to deal with this problem.  I started getting emails from friends asking me about my hips.  Hearing from friends that are also sick and can’t do what I can do, hit me right in the heart.  I looked upwards and asked the Lord to forgive me for quitting when he had helped me through all my tough times.  I’m not going to lie, I’m scared that my body is in trouble again. There is no way that I will have hip surgery again!  The first surgery was tough on me.  I started training again!  Yes I hurt but I think of all the people who wish they could train and can’t.  So I say to myself, get off your butt and get back in the gym.  Stop saying I hurt or I’m sad.  No more pity parties.  My Lord will get me through all of this.  Hey maybe the Lord is just challenging me?  Maybe I started to get a big head who knows.  I better get on my knees and thank the Lord for all his help.

I will stop running for now and put my full energy in my gym.  Thank you God for hearing my prayers for all the sick!  I hope that they all get healed.  AMEN

   .

JOE’S JOURNEY

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26

GREAT FEELING AND NOT LOOKING BACK

My blog has taught me so much about myself.  I had to fight my way back to feeling normal.  It was a tough time, but hey, life is tough.  We don’t know from one day to the next what’s in store for us.  I’m happy that I made it through.  On one of my recent runs I was laughing to myself and thinking what if I would have quit back then.  I said to myself what if I hadn’t put in all that hard work, would I have been okay.  Injures can teach us so much about ourself.  What a great wake up call when you have a new friend (pain) that becomes part of your daily life, the one friend you could easily do without.

I set some tough goals for myself to show that anything is possible. I put a lot of pressure on myself trying to get back that awesome feeling I once had, which only added to my injuries. My fault for being ignorant.  I’m more flexible now that my body’s healthy, it’s a great feeling.  I’m not sure why I had to go down that road, but it has shown me never take anything for granted.  It helped me get back to GOD!  I still have a long road ahead I just have to remember that it’s not always easy but it can be done.

I still have problems lifting my legs while running.  I feel like I’m dragging my new hip, my right shoe shows it.  I’ll have to work harder on that.  I feel blessed to get a second chance at being able to  run, which I love to do, and to have a normal life.  I still can’t run with the best of them, but I figure by spring I should be right with them.  When I’m done running I always get down on one knee and say a prayer.  When people I know drive by (I’m not far from the street) and they see me bent over (I’m praying) they stop and ask if I’m okay.  I feel a little weird when that happens.

Friday I took a nice run, then worked out on the universal gym for ninety minutes. I was pleased with my workout!

Saturday I ran hills and steps, what a workout. I then spent one hour on the exercise bike. This is what I mean when I say I’m on the right track.

Sunday I went on the elliptical machine, then the crunch machine. After that I went to the floor and jammed on push-ups.  This body was tired.

Monday I took a nice run but I was slow, not up to my standards.  After finishing I did my push-ups.  That night I rode the exercise bike and did a light workout.

Tuesday I had a good run.  I was stiff during my run, my body wouldn’t loosen up.  I threw in some speed running being careful not to pull any muscles.  That evening I worked all my muscle groups, it was a nice workout.

Wednesday was good.  I ran steps and hills and did a lot of different exercises at the lake. I worked out thirty minutes on the crunch machine and forty-five minutes on the exercise bike.  It was a good workout.

Thursday no run. I decided to play in my gym. I rode the exercise bike, did the universal gym and went on the crunch machine. By then I had worked up a good sweat.  After the crunch machine I went to floor and did push-ups, finishing with some leg lifts.

Friday I took a nice run, did the stairs, then finished on this special hill at the lake.  It was a good workout.  At home I worked out with my medicine ball, then went to the universal machine, working all my muscle groups.  I finished with push-ups.  I had a great training week!

My Lord, I thank you for helping all the sick and I thank you for giving me a second chance.

JOE’S JOURNEY

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18

WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T WIN THE BATTLE OVER PAIN

I GIVE GOD ALL THE CREDIT!!!

I’m so happy that it’s even hard to write my blog. The pain has left me.  I can get in and out of the car, walk my dog, go to the stores, go out to eat and guess what NO PAIN. What an awesome feeling.  As I’ve said before, I’m just a regular person who ran into medical problems that I had to over come.  I did it and I’m pretty happy with myself.  It’s true, when you’re hurting, it’s so hard to be happy. I’m always thinking on how I’m going to beat this pain.  The first step was to put God into my life, that was number one!

It was up to me to get myself back in physical shape and yet knowing I’d be in pain. YES. I think I’m a little crazy.  But,I refused to let all my pain beat me.  I’ve been through some awesome battles with my pain.  Some days the pain won, other day’s I won.  I can laugh now, but it wasn’t funny then.  It’s easy to be funny when your body is running on all cylinders.  I think to myself, is this just a time out.  If I’m walking or running and the pain comes back how am I going to handle it.  I don’t take anything for granted. When I go on my weight bench I have to lift my leg over the bench.  Before my hip surgery I couldn’t lift my leg over the bench and now it’s not a problem. I felt like I was never in pain.

Thank you God from the bottom of my heart.  You touch my life in so many wonderful ways.  I have my hand on my heart my Lord. I had no faith back then but look at me now. I’m so happy things worked out for me.  I realize now I need to be smart when it comes to training and the pain can come back at anytime.  I know that one day you can be on top of  the mountain and the next day flat on your face.  I just need to be patient and keep the faith.

My friends, you should have seen me when I had all my pain.  I had tears in my eyes, the pain was so fierce.  I’d keep telling myself you’re getting better.  Then I’d ask myself why do I hurt so bad, why can’t I walk, why do I stay awake all night, why do I have so much angina.  I was in a different world back then living with bad pain. I can honestly tell you I never thought I would win this battle. I prayed hard to God asking for help! If he could help me get through the pain then  I could do all the physical work.  It don’t bother me to work up a sweat. while working out.

To all those in pain it’s up to you how you deal with it.   While you are still healthy, you can get in shape.  Have a goal, set your pace and please don’t quit.  It’s hard to start over again if you quit. Find a good friend, someone who knows what you’re going through. I don’t mean someone who will feel sorry for you, but someone who can you get over the hump of pain.  If I can get through all my health issues, imagine what you can do, my friend!!

I decided to work on my sports room.  In the beginning I was scared that bending over or going up and down the stairs would cause me to ice my pain. Good news everyone! NO PAIN.  I was able to finish my project feeling awesome.  A special thank you to all the nice friends who say nice thing about me.  It’s good to know there are great people out there, who we don’t even know.  I’m slowly running, not as far as I’d like to go, but at least I’m out there.  I’ve received many e-mail asking me to continue my blog as it’s helping other people .  And so, I’ll continue my blog.

Friday I rode my exercise bike for ninety  minutes, then I worked the hips for about thirty minutes.   I even tried some new exercises at the end of my program.  What a good way to end the day.

Saturday I started on the elliptical machine.  My legs were tired, but what a good exercise. Then I went on the crunch machine and finished with those loveable push-ups.

Monday I ran some small hills, my hips felt a little sore.  Then I climb some stairs, that woke up my lower body.  That night I went on the universal gym for an hour and then finished with the medicine ball.  I was very happy with my workout.

Tuesday, no run today.  Instead I went on the exercise bike for ninety minutes, then to the crunch machine, finishing my routine with some stair climbing.  Except for a little minor pain, I felt great.  I’m so lucky.

Wednesday I went all out and did some speed training.  I ran up this one special hill that I came across on my run.  When I reached the top I trotted down.  I did this for 20 minutes. Then I finished my run.  I was exhausted, that takes a lot out of a person.  That evening I hit my gym, went on the crunch machine, rode the exercise bike and then did some push-ups.   Afterwards, I iced my hips.

Thursday, I took a nice run so I could see some of my friends.  Later at home, I worked on the universal gym, did a light workout on the crunch machine, then finished on the eliptical.  What a great workout.  After my workout I send some e-mails to my friends. Thank you God!

To all the sick people and those in pain I get down on my knees and pray that the Lord heals you! I will never stop praying for you. My heart goes out to you.  So please hang in their everyone, God will come through for us.  He knows when we’re in pain.

JOE’S JOURNEY

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 11

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY IS RIGHT ON TRACK

ALL MY READERS THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ME

THE AWESOME FEELING OF GETTING AROUND WITHOUT PAIN WOW

My love for life was so bad that I now know what a person with injuries or sickness goes through. You might ask where is Joe going with this. Well, I’m going right to the heart. I was so angry at the doctors, but the worst thing for me was I questioned my Lord.  What a stupid move on my part. First of all God allowed me to live when I went down with my heart attack. I’m not going to lie, right after my heart attack I went into depression.  I would sit and feel sorry for myself.  I felt lost and scared.  I had never been sick before this.  After my heart attack I had ten surgeries in my right groin to keep the artery open to my heart.  That right there is a lot of pain to go through.  Then I was told my artery was full of scar tissue. That’s why I had so much pain in my groin. The bottom line was I needed help.  It took my depression to get me back to the Lord.

When my heart started getting strong I decided to train for a marathon to show myself that with determination I could do it.  I finished in four hours.  I wasn’t satisfied with the time but I did finish.  I walked for thirty minutes on the route because I was scared I would have another heart attack.  I was still getting sick with my heart so it was so hard to put the miles in.

I was training for another marathon and started to have tremendous pain in my inner right thigh and bad pain in my lower back.  I did run the marathon but I finished with a bad time and my hip was in so much pain. I continued training but the hip got worse. The doctors said it was from all the surgeries in my groin. I suffered and could hardly walk. I went to the doctor and found out my hip was bone on bone.  Boy, there were no pain pills that helped when it became inflamed.  Wow, I could hardly stand.  I would use anything to hold myself up the pain was that bad.  I was now talking to the Lord more strongly. My prayers were more to the point.

I knew I was in deep trouble mentally and physical. The surgery was tough on me and it didn’t go well.  I had internal bleeding and I went through tremendous pain.  I thought the pain would never leave, that’s how much pain I went through after my surgery. It’s been a war but I’m finally on the right track. Please don’t take me wrong. We need doctors.  I just had some bad luck with them. Hey they do a great job and have so much stress. The bottom line is they are not you and they don’t know what a person’s body is going through. All you can do is tell the doctor how much pain you are in.  To my readers, I’m doing great but I could still fall on my face. That’s why I don’t take anything for granted.  I’m only running three miles a day.  I will try to up it in October.

Friday I had a good run and I ran stairs for the first time since my hip surgery. I did some sprinting today.  I was scared I was not going to be able to walk on Saturday.  I only had minor pain. I was so happy. I only worked out on the crunch machine.

Saturday I decided not to run but hit my gym instead.  I had an awesome workout. My body was pretty tired when I finished all the machines. I’m so lucky that I get another chance to get this body in great shape.

Sunday no run again.  I decided to play it smart, my gym is awesome. I love getting my butt downstairs and hitting the machines. Turning up the music and sweating to the beat. Hey this sounds like more fun than running, ha ha. I had a very good workout today. I added a few more exercises into my program. Great workout!

Monday I had that high to get out and run. I started out easy than about a mile into my run I stopped and ran some stairs for about five minutes. I got tired.  I still had to finish my run, my legs felt a little rubbery but I finished. I did my push-ups and felt pretty good. That night I worked out on the machines. Very good Monday!

Tuesday I started out with some pain, I think it came from running the stairs the day before. It’s going to take some time and I’m in no hurry.  I’ll just relax and run my three miles. I will stay at three miles until I get my wind and my hip gets stronger.  I must have patience or I will hurt myself.  For the second part of my workout I went an hour on the universal gym, it felt awesome!

Wednesday I was back on the running course.  What a morning.  It was raining hard and the wind was blowing, makes for a tough run.  But I finished and went right home. I went thirty minutes on the exercise bike than to the crunch machine. I’ve been adding more new exercises into my program.

Thursday I was feeling sick, so yes I decided not to run today.  That was a smart move on my part. I went on the exercise bike for ninety minutes, then did my push-ups. Afterwards I took a short break.  After the break, I started on the crunch machine, did the medicine ball, then jumped on the universal gym for ninety minutes working all my muscle groups.  That was one good workout and not bad on the pain.

I felt I had a good week of working out. Love it

I say a special prayer for all the sick asking God to heal the sick. Thank you Lord!!!