It has been a wonderful week with puppies getting chunky. I feel great joy in taking them back from almost not making it to having little chunkers romp in the yard. For those of you who don’t know, I do Golden Retriever Rescue and in April NM got a number of dogs from a puppy mill, I got the mom and 7 puppies. Last call for the Ireland Seminar. We are also planning a day seminar in the Denver/Boulder area in August (on the 12th). That signup will be posted soon. Click here if you want prenotice. I wanted to let you know that I am making a slight change in how I do the classes. The week classes are now going to run for 5 days. I will shift the lessons so you get all the material. They will start on Monday night and end on Friday. This is a change from the more relaxed pace we have had. This means you will need pay attention and engage on a different level. Remember that all the classes are ONLINE by email. You can live anywhere in the world and take them easily. When you sign up, please use the email you intend to use in the class. The two week classes will run for two units of 5 days. We will not be formally in class over the weekend, although you can continue to talk (smile). If you want to be in a class this week, do it today so you get in. After you sign up to pay for a class, expect an email with a link in it to the class. Make sure to click on the link to take you to the class to sign up. If we do not see you on the class roster, we will send you an invitation from yahoo to join the class. Accept the invitation to enter the class. Sometimes your SPAM filter may block either of these, so make sure to check for them. If we still do not see you in the class and we are getting ready to start, we may add you directly using the email you used to order the class. If you get stuck or have no idea how to do this, please email Gretel to let her know. There is an art to it but you will master it after the first class. We will be starting these new classes this week: Brain Chemistry Serotonin is a great way to learn more about the brain chemistry that is key for sugar sensitive people. If you just took Brain Chemistry 101, you will love this one. Step 2: Journal Skillful Use is a class that shows you how to *read* your journal. If you have mastered the *facts* come on over to learn meaning. Recovery from Alcoholism: A Beginning Roadmap is for those of you would like to explore if you have a problem with alcohol and what that might mean. And then if you do have a problem, this is the place to learn what to do. And we will be starting these classes the following week: [I have no idea why we didn’t think of this earlier, LOL] Step 3: Three Meals gives you a way to learn about the core transition to 3 meals. Step 3 is complex and difficult. Having a road map really, really helps. Using Community Resources is the regular guided tour we do for new people. I will be at the front of the bus and take you through how Radiant Recovery works. This class is free and you may take it as many times as you like. Back to Basics 2 Is the second in the series of returning to sanity for seven steppers who flounder. I have posted a new class schedule on line. Click here to see what is planned. I have made a change because I will be traveling the week of June 18, so there will be no classes then. A number of you have asked me how the classes work. Check the class list page for more information on this. The classes are done online with one lesson each day. You do not have to be at your computer at any set time. And please go read the questions and answers before you write to me. If you have trouble getting through the process, write the tech forum. Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see me cover. Be sure to visit our Radiant Recovery® website and Community Forum regularly. Warmly, Kathleen **********************************************************************
May 22, 2006 ** Quote From Kathleen **
As you keep your journal you can discover there is a direct correlation between what you are eating and how you are feeling. *********************************************************************
** Testimonial for the Week**
And something I thought I would never have the time for or use - meditation. I hear you on the work and kids, but I've worked my way up to 5 minutes now and it's like putting "Calm" into the bank. It sort of works all day I think - not the 5 mins I actually do. Mosiac ********************************************************************
**Recipe of the Week**
This recipe is from the Radiant Recovery Cookbook. And since I help out on the step 4 list, I thought I would mention that you can even use this recipe for your step 4 bedtime spud (smile). ROSEMARY COTTAGE FRIES
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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**
It’s funny. I do everything I can to explain a weight loss program that is about getting you to do everything to stop fretting about pounds. We have all this stuff to get you to think about healing. And now you are.... It is so incredible. And people are losing weight. It is so amazing to me. And I want to thank those of you who come to chats.. My oh my, the chats are the highlight of my week. I love it that you show up so diligently, that you are so honest and funny and authentic. You are my joy. If you are not a YLD member, come and join us. Click here if you are ready to change your life or just plain ole have fun. It is not too late to get into the classes if you come right now. ********************************************************* ***********
**David's Corner **
 Ok, update on the mugs. We cannot get the old white ones. I have translucent clear with aqua blue. They look sort of like Mac Mugs. Kathleen likes them. Of course she is a die hard Mac person. I just want you guys to know I LOVE running the store. You are so much fun to work with. The subscriptions are going really well. It has been a mathematical blast working out my *matrix*...send shake, flavors, journal to Margie in May, ProEpa, Dog Joint stuff, shake to Amanda in June, and so on. God Bless Excel. Please send questions and suggestions. I love hearing from you and truly want to help you do your program better. ********************************************************* ***********
**Our Online Groups**
Radiant Dog and Radiant Cat are two new working groups for people who want to do health problem solving for their cats and dogs. Separate groups for each, since we KNOW that dog people don't need to know about litter boxes and cat people don’t care about the Dog Whisperer. ********************************************************************
**Major Surgery From a Step 7 Perspective ** Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. One of our seasoned leaders recently had a hip replacedment. She was writing emails all the way through - almost from the recovery room. I asked her to put them together for all of us. I can think of no great testament to the program than this story. Print this and keep it for anyone who has to have surgery. I may even ask Vicki to do a class with me on *getting ready* for change. I hope you love this article as much as I do. Vicki is my role model. Kathleen About three months ago, I discovered that I was in need of a total hip replacement of my right hip. My initial reaction to my doctor’s news was a combination of disbelief and denial, I just did not like any of the options that were offered, and the only logical one was the surgery. So, rather than get depressed and pout, I got to work. I came home and got onto my computer and started to do some research about what my options might be as regards to both the kind of surgery and the type of prostheses that might be best for me. I discovered that they now have some ceramic prostheses that are supposed to last 50 years. That sounded really good to me. I figured that at 110 I wouldn’t be too worried if my hip gave out then. (grin) Gaining knowledge was important for me as I felt that I now had the right questions to ask. My next quest was to find the right doctor. I spoke with many people and also some nurses to get the names of the top hip surgeons in my area. I made appointments with a couple and selected the one who I was most comfortable with who offered me a new minimally invasive procedure and ceramic on ceramic prosthesis, which is what I had determined I wanted. His nurse followed up and gave me a surgery date of May 17th. This was perfect, as far as I was concerned, because I was going to Ranch the week of May 7th through the 13th. There was no way I was going to miss Ranch – this was my 6th one and a definite priority for me. Now, Kathleen made sure that I rented this cool little electric scooter to get around while at Ranch, and man, was that fun! This was a time for me to get filled up and to get lots of support sent to me from my friends around the world. Once all of this was decided, I started to work on me. I increased my meditation to 2 or 3 times a day and focused on preparing my body for the trauma that was to come followed by the healing. Kathleen then gave me a wonderful book called, "Prepare for Surgery and Heal Fasterz" by Peggy Huddleston. This is a fabulous guide to mind/body preparation for surgery. I highly recommend it. I also continued to go to the gym to work with a personal trainer three times a week to strengthen the muscles around that hip as much as I possibly could before the surgery. I took two of the suggestions from Peggy Huddleston’s book and quickly ran out to get myself an iPod, something I hadn’t thought I wanted before. I loaded some of my favorite relaxing music and my body just immediately went into a meditative state when I put it on. I also used some suggestions from the book about having the anesthesiologist (a classmate of my daughter in high school!) read some specific, positive statements to me both at the beginning of the procedure and also at the end. I was able to go into surgery totally relaxed with no fear or anxiety. I listened to my music before, during and after my surgery. I woke in the recovery room as relaxed and calm as I had gone into the operating room. I cannot believe the peace and confidence I felt. Now came the hard part – recovery. (smile) Of course, there were drugs in my system that I was not used to. I had tubes and wires in many parts of me as well. But, I felt great and was prepared for the work ahead. I knew that the first day I would be limited to clear liquids, so had some chicken broth and my favorite herbal tea waiting for me in my room. The next morning, I was able to get up and walk a little before sitting in a chair. I was doing well enough that they let me start to eat again. Pre-planning helped again. I had my almond milk, shake mix and travel mixer on hand. I used a small shake at each meal and had a little egg or other food that my family provided for me as well. I had listed dextrose as one of the allergies on my forms, so the nurses had to make sure that I only had IV’s without dextrose and had to order my antibiotics to be mixed in saline and not dextrose. Several of them asked me about this and I ended up giving out the Radiant Recovery website to about 3 or 4 of them. They were really intrigued with my attitude and how well I was doing. Guess I had some radiance shining through even then, especially compared to my roommate, who was not having a very good time. I left the hospital for a rehab center on the 3rd post op day. I had the food I wanted to have available set aside at home along with a suitcase with clothes in it and my wonderful husband brought it all to my room. In rehab, again, I provided all of my own meals. I was there only to learn what I needed to from the physical and occupational therapists to be able to be independent enough to come home. Let me tell you – hospitals and rehab centers, at least the ones I was in, are NOISY! I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Three days later, I did come home. That was truly heaven. My molecules just sang a happy song when I settled into my own surroundings. I had the luxury of having one or the other of my daughters with me for the first week that I was home. Kim, who lives locally and is the mother of my grandsons, had let her Principal (she teaches) know that she might be taking some time to help me out. She picked me up at 2 pm on Tuesday and stayed with me until Jeff got home. She also was here early on Wednesday morning to spend the day with me. We even sat out on my deck in the beautiful spring weather. Bliss. Tracy, my daughter who lives on the opposite side of the country, and her partner arrived on Wednesday evening. They took over the job of spoiling me and took wonderful care of me, shopping, cooking, cleaning and helping me with my exercises. Tracy is also a massage therapist, so I had the advantage of her healing hands as well. The girls left this morning, but they made sure to fill my refrigerator with lots of great food that I can grab and eat independently. It is now two weeks post my surgery. There have been crashes, but it helped knowing that they were day 3 from surgery, or day 4 from when they took out the epi-dural, which was feeding me constant pain medication. And, this first week at home has been a little overwhelming with all the people in my home at all times, with the girls staying here and lots of company from family and friends as well. It was kind of like Grand Central Station around here. And, I had a pretty major complication due to a known allergy to betadyne, which they used on my leg anyway. So, more meds (prednisone and benadryl) to treat this. Fortunately, I am now off all medications other than an occasional ibuprofen. That and some ice seem to be all that I need to control any discomfort from my physical therapy. Man, is this therapy a lot of work! I had a new physical therapist come to my home today, and he looked at how well I am doing and just gave me more to do. LOL So, now I have several exercises that he wants me to do 3 sets of 25 every day. Oh, and WALK! I’ve started walking on my treadmill again so that the weather is not a factor. Takes away the excuses. So, I’m walking around my house a lot (to the bathroom) and at least 1/4 mile once or twice a day on the treadmill. He expects to send me to outpatient PT next week. This is hard work. But, I planned to be serious and aggressive with my rehab, so the physical therapists are warning me not to overdo. Finding the right balance is my goal. The things I think I did best were the pre-planning about the surgery, my food and my personal care. I’ve been careful to eat more fruit than normal for me. It has been really important for me in keeping my cravings from all the meds and the surgery from going crazy. What I could have done better was to make sure that I had more quiet time after surgery. I am now meditating again and it sure feels great. I am enjoying the peace and quiet in my home today. I have discovered how to do laundry without bending or challenging my restrictions by using my "grabber" as an assistant. And, I’m getting better at telling people that it is now nap time. I am needing at least one nap a day. So, what I’d like to leave you with is that life can throw you a huge curve in the form of a major surgery and you don’t have to feel like a victim. You can be in charge of your care and make your health care providers your partner in this process. Challenges will come up, but they don’t have to throw you. Finding and using my voice in this entire process has been very empowering. And, I am getting better every day. ©Kathleen DesMaisons 2006. Here are the folks who are helping put the newsletter together: Gretel, the liaison for the recovery list and the webmaster puts it all together Naomi, liaison for step 4 gathers the recipes David, who runs the Radiant Recovery® Store talks about what new products we have. You are getting the weekly newsletter from Radiant Recovery® in response to your signup. A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter.htm. ©2006 by Kathleen DesMaisons . All rights reserved. You are free to use or transmit this article to your ezine or website as long as you leave the content unaltered and use this attribution: "By Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D. of Radiant Recovery®. Please visit Kathleen's website at http://www.radiantrecovery.com for additional resources on sugar sensitivity and healing addiction." Please notify me at kathleen@radiantrecovery.com to let me know where the material will appear. Banner Photograph by Geraint Smith |